After a week away from action due to the international window, FC Cincinnati is back in action and travel to New England for a matchup with the Revolution at Gillette Stadium this weekend. The break at the midway point in the season provided an opportunity for reflection and a rest after some challenging struggles in recent weeks. Still, now that they are back on the training pitch, the squad feels they are ready to face the second half of the season.
"I think the break came at a good time for the group," FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said Thursday ahead of training. "Obviously, enough time to plan it so guys could get away and see family, get out of town, reset, whatever it was. And I think we came back in a pretty good way."
"A lot of it was just about accountability, and what do guys need to do to come in and add value to our group after the break," Noonan continued on what the conversations were like over the break. "We're in a good position as far as where we're at in the table, but we are looking for more consistency in our play. You know, when our attack's been good, our defense has struggled, when both have been okay, the set pieces have let us down. So it's, you know, if we want to be a better team, we've got to do this all consistently. And so that's what I take away from the first half. We're still searching for a few answers to see how we can be at our best. And what I said to the staff and to the players, we have to continue to push each other to get through tough moments, to have a desire to improve and not settle at any moment for where the group's at."
The trip to New England kicks off a month-long "road trip" for FC Cincinnati, where they play all three of its June matches on the road before returning to TQL Stadium in July. The Revolution have been in a strong run of form of late and are undefeated in their last nine. The previous match New England lost was the 1-0 loss at FC Cincinnati earlier this April.
"They have a talented group. I think the only thing that's maybe been significant, aside from the results, is structurally, some of the things that were different from our first matchup," Noonan said of the matchup. "You're just waiting for a win, or you know, a set of good results to kind of change the feeling, and they've gotten that. You can see they've taken off from there, and they're in a very good place, performing well and getting results.There were also, I think, moments within the early struggles that were more towards the result than the performances."
FC Cincinnati enter this match sitting second in the Eastern Conference, four points back of first.
FC CINCINNATI at NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION – June, May 14, 2025 – 7:30 p.m. ET – Gillette Stadium
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Against New England
FC Cincinnati are unbeaten in three-straight seasons at Gillette Stadium and last season defeated the Revs on their home turf for the first time since the inaugural meeting between the clubs in March 2019.
Head Coach Pat Noonan, the former Revolution first-round draft pick and 2003 Rookie of the Year Runner-Up and two-time All-Star with the club, has always had tight battles against New England as manager of FC Cincinnati. Under Noonan, the seven MLS matches between FC Cincinnati and New England Revolution have ended in three ties - and the other four matches have been decided by one goal.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
Last time on… – FC Cincinnati defeated New England, 1-0, in April at TQL Stadium. Sergio Santos’ 65th minute goal was the difference in the rain-soaked win.
Excluding the Covid-altered schedule in 2020 and 2021, all-time, FCC have swept eight Eastern Conference opponents at least once by winning both the home and away Regular Season matchups at least once in a single season: TOR, ATL, PHI, MIA, NSH, NYC, ORL and MTL.
FCC seek to sweep the Revs for the first time.
Taming the Turf – FC Cincinnati are 0-2-0 this season on turf, but prior to the 2-0 loss at Charlotte FC on March 15, Cincinnati were unbeaten in 10-straight on turf. Since April 2022, the Orange and Blue are 3-2-7 on turf. Prior to then, FCC (since 2019) were 1-6-1 in road matches on turf, with the lone win being at Gillette Stadium.
On This Day – 2025 marks the 10th anniversary for FC Cincinnati. On this date eight years ago, June 14, 2017, FC Cincinnati’s historic run to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup as a second-division USL side was propelled by a victory in the Fourth Round over in-state rivals Columbus Crew.
Djiby Fall’s 64th minute header was the difference in a historic 1-0 win in the first Hell is Real derby at Nippert Stadium. The Orange and Blue would advance next past Chicago Fire FC on penalties and past Miami FC into the semifinals.
Great in June – FC Cincinnati welcome the calendar flip to June. FC Cincinnati are 9-3-3 in all competitions in June since the start of the 2021 season.
SCOUTING New England Revolution (6-4-5, 23 Points, 10th in Eastern Conference)
After a slow start to the 2025 campaign, the New England Revolution have effectively turned their season around and been one of the hottest teams of late. Unbeaten in their last nine, with five wins in that stretch, New England currently sits in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Still, with two games in hand, they are squarely in the playoff picture at the midway point this season.
The last time the New England Revolution lost a match was April 5, when they visited TQL Stadium and lost 1-0, but since then, they have seen a resurgence. In part, that has coalesced with big offseason addition Leo Campana, who came in via trade with Inter Miami CF. Campana, in eight starts, has scored two goals and helped revitalize the offense. On the offensive end, though, it is Carles Gil who stirs the straw for the Revs. Gil leads the club with 10 goal contributions (six goals, four assists) and is the dominant attacking midfielder for the club.
"He's one of the best players we have in this league," FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of Gil. "As far as attacking creativity, no matter how well you game plan against him, you know, if you're not close enough to him, he's going to make the game and he's going to make plays, because he has the ability to create separation, and then he has the vision to see runs off the ball, see danger, and put teams, put opponents in really tough spots."
On the defensive end, New England has been known for many years for their quality goalkeeping talent; Aljaz Ivacic is no exception. The Slovenian keeper has made 49 saves this season while earning seven clean sheets in 15 appearances.
Head Coach Caleb Porter has been formationally flexible with his squad, using a variety of lineup shapes this season. Most often, though, the Revs have used a three-center back formation with two wing backs on the flanks. At times, though, they have shifted to a four-man back line. On the defensive line, Mamadou Fofana has been a stalwart on the center back line.
