Match Preview

PREVIEW | FC Cincinnati meet CF Montréal in midweek matchup at TQL Stadium

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FC Cincinnati resume a four-game homestand with a midweek matchup against CF Montréal set for Wednesday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m. at TQL Stadium.

Tickets for Wednesday’s match are still available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (513) 977-5425 (KICK).

The Orange and Blue bring their perfect 6-0-0 MLS record at home this season into the midweek match against a Montréal side which have won four-straight league games and six-straight across all competitions.

Wednesday’s game will stream for free exclusively on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. With the match being at home, fans watching on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV will have the option to switch to the local ESPN 1530 home radio broadcast as their audio source.

FC CINCINNATI vs CF MONTRÉAL – WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2023 – 7:30 p.m. ET – TQL STADIUM
HOW TO WATCH
Stream: MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app (Free)
TV Talent (English): Eric Krakauer (play-by-play), Lloyd Sam (analyst)
TV Talent (Spanish): Diego Pessolano (play-by-play), Luis Gerardo Bucci (analyst)
Radio: ESPN 1530
Radio Talent: Tom Gelehrter (play-by-play), Kevin McCloskey (analyst)

Be sure to follow @FCCincinnati on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for live updates from the game.

WATCH ON MLS SEASON PASS
Wednesday night’s game will stream for free on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. No blackouts, no restrictions. Fans can also listen to the match locally on ESPN 1530.

To switch to the home radio audio:

  1. Click on the live FC Cincinnati match in MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
  2. Click on the radio button located in the bottom right-hand corner.
  3. Choose “Home Team’s Local Radio: English” to listen to FCC’s local broadcast during the match.

For more information on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, visit FCCincinnati.com/SeasonPass. Each full-season ticket account will include one subscription to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (one per account). Season Ticket Members should check their email for information. FAQ for Season Ticket Members

GAME ACTIVATIONS
Don’t forget to swing by Washington Park beginning at 4:30 p.m. for a number of free activities leading up to kickoff, including live music, FCC inflatables, face painting, food and drink specials and more. At 6:30 p.m., fans can join the high-energy march into the stadium with smoke, drums and chants.

Beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, fans in Ohio can purchase 50/50 Raffle Tickets to support the FC Cincinnati Foundation. All tickets can be purchased online at FCCincinnati5050.com or on the official FC Cincinnati app.

For a full list of gameday activations and TQL Stadium information, visit the matchday guide, HERE.

ALL-TIME SERIES
In seven prior matchups, the head-to-head series is dead-even at 3-3-1. Both teams have tallied the same numbers of goals against each other, 15 apiece.

Last season, Montréal outscored Cincinnati both times, winning each matchup by a 4-3 scoreline. Three of the previous four matchups have featured at least seven goals, with the lone outlier being a scoreless draw in Cincinnati in August 2021.

SCOUTING CF MONTRÉAL (5-6-0, 15 PTS., 7TH EASTERN CONFERENCE)
CF Montréal enter Matchday 13 as one of the hottest teams in MLS. Four-straight 2-0 league wins have Montréal up to seventh in the Eastern Conference after winning just one game through the first two months of the season.

It has been feast or famine for CF Montréal, who are one of just two teams without a draw this season (Inter Miami CF). Montréal also have been held scoreless in all six losses, while outscoring their opponents 11-2 in their five wins.

Montréal’s defensive efforts have fueled their current run of form, led by Aaron Herrera and Rudy Camacho. The pair have played, and started, in 10 of Montréal’s 11 matches. In net, Jonathan Sirois picked up his fourth clean sheet of the year on Saturday against Toronto.

The attack is also finding its footing following the departures of Djordje Mihailovic and Kai Kamara. Romell Quioto, who led all Montréal scorers in 2022, once again paces the team in 2023 with three goals. Yet Quioto has managed just one goal over his last seven appearances as Chinonso Offor has stepped up to lead the attack, scoring in two-straight games.

Midfielder Mathieu Choinière has supplemented Montréal’s attack this season, scoring two goals, adding two assists and registering 20 shots, all season-highs.

First-year Head Coach Hernán Losada is in his second MLS coaching stint, having joined CF Montréal in December of 2022. Losada previously managed D.C. United, holding a 16-19-5 record in 15 months with the Black and Red. As a player, Losada enjoyed a 16-year career which saw the Argentine attacking-mid score 101 goals in 370 matches throughout Europe and South America.

FC CINCINNATI NOTES
BUSY STRETCH AHEAD Wednesday begins the first of potentially four-straight weeks for the Orange and Blue with two games-per-week. FC Cincinnati benefited from a bye week this past Saturday which prevented an eight-game month of May, but the seven-game month of May scheduled for FCC will match the busiest month in club history (seven games in both October 2020 and October 2021).

HIGH-SCORING BATTLES Goals tend to come in bunches when FC Cincinnati and CF Montréal meet. Three of the last four matchups between the two sides have seen at least seven-combined goals. And those have not been lopsided results either – all four games were decided by no more than one goal, with the lone outlier being a scoreless draw.

In just seven matchups, Cincy and Montréal have combined for 30 goals, 15 apiece. That marks a combined 4.29 goals-per-game mark, the highest-total among any fixture across all competitions for FC Cincinnati.

100 FOR NICK (AGAIN) FC Cincinnati defender Nick Hagglund enters Wednesday night with 99 career regular season appearances for FC Cincinnati. The Cincy native will become the first player in club history to reach the milestone of 100 regular season games played for the club when he next suits up for FCC.

Hagglund was the first to reach the 100-appearance milestone across all competitions on April 1 against Inter Miami CF. Brandon Vazquez became the second player to reach that milestone in FCC’s last match, the 1-0 win over NYCFC in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32.

HAVING THE FIRST SAY Opponents have scored on FC Cincinnati first just once this season (April 15 at St. Louis CITY SC). Every other team in MLS have conceded first in an MLS game at least twice this year.

THE FORTRESS The Orange and Blue enter Wednesday with an unblemished 6-0-0 home record, having earned 18 points through six MLS matches at TQL Stadium this season.

Last season, the best home winning streak in MLS was nine games, co-held by each conference champion (LAFC: 5/28-9/18 & Philadelphia Union: 6/26 - end of season).

ONE-GOAL GAMES FC Cincinnati enter Wednesday night with a 7-0 regular season record in one-goal games, the most wins in such games across MLS this year. Three other clubs have won four games decided by one goal, the next-closest mark to Cincy (New England Revolution, FC Dallas, San Jose Earthquakes).

Last season, FC Cincinnati were 6-6 in games decided by one goal.

NOONAN’S TAKE
Head Coach Pat Noonan on the schedule ahead
“Just mapping out the next month really, it's a busy schedule. And certainly the focus is Montréal, but we understand that it's going to be a lot of games with the addition of our Open Cup game against Red Bulls, there's going to be a lot of opportunities and a busy stretch where really the focus is less on training, and it's going to be our preparation for games and quick turnarounds and just kind of taking inventory as we go through this stretch to put a strong group out there to help us keep moving in the right direction in terms of results."

Noonan on Montréal’s form
“I think you see some comparisons to our last league opponent, D.C., where they're in good form … And what we've seen is defensively, and I think there's similarities to D.C. as well, they do a good job of going to the ball and pressing the ball. They're organized, you could see they're tougher to break down. And they still have quality with the ball … They're a strong team, and certainly with confidence right now and in good form.”