For FC Cincinnati’s opening match of the 2025 Leagues Cup, Pat Noonan made the switch at the goalkeeper position for just the second time this season. Usual starter Roman Celentano was given the night off, and Evan Louro was given the gloves to start against CF Monterrey.
Louro, 29, made his second appearance of the season for the first team, his first since February, but showed no signs of rust as he helped carry FC Cincinnati to a 3-2 victory and played a key role in keeping his side on top.
For any player, going months without seeing game action can be a significant challenge. For a goalkeeper, particularly those who are not the first-choice keepers, it’s really just part of the job. Part of the grind of being a keeper is waiting for an opportunity and seizing on it when it comes. Louro did exactly that last Thursday night by looking and playing the part of a first-choice keeper, and kept himself prepared as such during the time between starts.
“I think everybody can kind of take it in different ways. Personally, I pretend every Monday that I'm playing on Saturday,” Louro explained after the match in the Leagues Cup mixed zone at TQL Stadium. “And when they put the lineup up and I'm not on the lineup, I get a little disappointed for a second, and then I'm like, ‘All right, I know my role for this week,’ but I just treat it like I'm supposed to be playing.”
Louro has been the ‘backup’ keeper for nearly every match this season for FCC, appearing on matchday rosters 28 times. With Leagues Cup providing a unique setting outside of regular season action, Noonan decided to call upon Louro for the opening game and reward him for the hard work he puts in. Louro is also an extremely capable goalkeeper in his own right and more than capable of winning a match for FCC, making Noonan’s choice clearer if it wasn’t already.
“He's out there because we believe that we can win with him in goal. I think we have the strongest goalkeeping group in the league. It's deep. That's a credit to (FCC Director of Goalkeeping) Paul Rogers and the work that goes into the improvement to the day-to-day,” Pat Noonan said last Thursday after defeating CF Monterrey 3-2 in Leagues Cup. “Those guys are pushing each other all the time and they look after each other; they do it the right way. They're good teammates, because they all want to be out on the field. Tonight was Evan's opportunity, and you can see it was important for him. He's on the field for a meaningful win, and you can see his teammates are happy for him, too. So that's the work that goes into every day in training and being a good teammate that people don't get to see. Everybody talks about Roman, and rightfully so, but Evan, Alec (Kann), Paul (Walters), these guys push Roman the right way, and they're ready for an opportunity. So tonight was Evan.”
The goalkeeping room at FC Cincinnati is a close-knit and supportive community. So while Louro had not been starting, the idea of being frustrated at Celentano or anyone else's success simply doesn’t compute with them. The success of each individual is seen more as a collective win for the group, as they look to push one another towards success and ultimately win games.
“Facts, facts, I think, I think so as well,” Louro said when learning of Noonan’s praise of the goalkeeper room as being best in the league. “That goes out to Paul Rogers. I mean…he's the guy with the Infinity Stones, Thanos, yeah, he's the one that's collecting all the guys that he can get. He's the best, for a reason.”
At FC Cincinnati, Louro is recognized for his affable personality and ability to connect with teammates from diverse cultural backgrounds. The descriptor of “Good Vibes Guy” is often used, but that can sometimes dismiss the actual quality he brings to the team as a player, or paint him in the light of a guy whose only skill is his personality. Which is, frankly, untrue, and Thursday in the Leagues Cup served as a reminder of that. However, to be shown the support of his coaches and teammates in the way they did, by giving him the start, was still a welcome and appreciated moment for the keeper.
“For the staff, and my teammates as well, to just have that confidence in me, it means a lot," Louro said after the match. “It means a lot. They didn't need to do that. But you know, I go in every day and I work my ass off, so I knew I was ready.
“We all want each other to do well,” Louro added of the support he felt. “So when I'm not playing, I want Roman to do well. And I know that he was the first one to come out to me after (the game), and so did the rest of the guys, Paul (Walters), Alec (Kann) and Nate (Crockford). So, I mean, we have a good group.”
Noonan went back to Celentano between the pipes for the second game of Leagues Cup against FC Juarez, sticking to a plan he says they set prior to the tournament. But the performance by Louro continued to prove why FC Cincinnati’s goalkeeping department is so strong, and the trust in them is warranted.
"We had a plan and Evan did a really good job,” Noonan reiterated a few days later of Louro’s performance. “Like I said before, we're confident with Evan, with our entire goalkeeping crew, and we had a plan going into this tournament about how we wanted to utilize that position. So I think we're on track to continue that way, but Evan did a good job."
Ayoub Jabbari is #AllForCincy
FC Cincinnati continued to augment the roster with the transfer window open, announcing the signing of Moroccan forward Ayoub Jabbari, on loan from French club Grenoble, through the end of the 2025 season with an option to complete the transfer at a later date. The move is the second addition of the window after signing Ender Echenique.
Jabbari, 25, has played nearly all of his professional career in France, most notably making an impact for Paris FC of Ligue 2 before joining Grenoble in 2024. The Moroccan forward, known for his ability in the air and for challenging center back with his combination of speed and strength, stands at an imposing 6 '4". Given the success a player like Kei Kamara has shown for FCC this season, Jabbari may represent another option in the attack for FCC, which could be utilized as the season enters the stretch run.
“I think it'll be a good attacking piece, a complementary piece to what we have,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of the addition. “As far as the player and what we've seen, good hold up play, a willing runner on both sides of the ball, somebody that can stretch the game, which I think at the moment is important for where we're at.
“A physical presence, defensively an honest defender. I think (he is) somebody who could lead the line, that first line, in a good way, with getting pressure to the ball. In our conversations (Jabbari) seemed excited about this opportunity, and we're excited to welcome him.”
“We're excited to welcome Ayoub to the club,” said Chris Albright, FC Cincinnati General Manager, in a press release announcing the signing. “His physicality, work rate, and hold-up play will be a valuable addition to our team. We expect him to be an immediate character fit within our group, and we look forward to him joining us in Cincinnati.”
Jabbari comes into FC Cincinnati after a nearly completed offseason, last appearing on May 10th for Grenoble in a Ligue 2 match as a substitute. After not seeing the field as much in the opening parts of the season, the forward scored three times in the final seven matches of the season in France, making just two starts in that stretch.
While at this point it is unclear exactly how Pat Noonan will choose to deploy him, or even exactly when he arrives, as publicly that was not disclosed at the time of the announcement over the weekend, Jabbari comes in with experience as an impact sub or a starter and can provide further depth at forward for the stretch run. With only nine games to play in league play, though, he will need to be ready to have an instant impact in whatever capacity Noonan calls upon him for.
With the transfer window remaining open for a few more weeks, it is unclear whether this move is the finishing touch on the roster or just another tweak in a larger plan. As an international player, FC Cincinnati will likely need to acquire an International Roster slot for him, but from there it is unclear as to the space or leverage FCC have to add further within the Roster Compliance rules. General Manager Chris Albright has been clear when on the record that they will always continue to work to find ways to improve the team.
However, as it stands now, regardless of what may come or not come next, Noonan has indicated that he is pleased with the makeup of the group and the diversity of options the team has at its disposal.
“We do. We have a good balance, I think, with Ender (Echenique) joining, with Ayoub now, Kai (Kamara), obviously. We have different profiles, different skill sets, and things that these guys bring to the team,” Noonan said last Saturday after the announcement of Jabbari but before their Leagues Cup match with FC Juarez. “You're always looking to improve and and find different ways to be able to attack, be able to defend and again, we think these are good additions in this moment to strengthen our our group, which we're already very pleased with and and we know if there was no additions, we're in a good place to continue to progress and challenge for things.”