FC Cincinnati defeated New York City FC, 1-0, Saturday night at TQL Stadium for the Orange and Blue’s fourth-straight win against NYCFC. In his 200th career MLS regular season start, Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta picked up his second goal of the season in the 57th minute, and his second game-winning goal in as many games.
FC Cincinnati improved to 3-0-2 (11 points) five games into the regular season, and the Orange and Blue top the Supporters’ Shield standings to conclude Matchday 6. New York City FC dropped to 1-4-0 (3 points).
Roman Celentano and the defense continued their early-season dominance. Celentano picked up his third clean sheet of the regular season and his fifth across all competitions.
Next up for FC Cincinnati is a trip to North Carolina on Saturday, March 30 to take on Charlotte FC. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the match will stream on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Luciano Acosta, GOAL – 57’ (1-0) – After a scoreless first half, Cincinnati broke through early into the second half. Aaron Boupendza played a ball in towards Luciano Acosta who left it, to the top of the box where Corey Baird was ready to receive. Baird then tapped a return pass to Acosta who dribbled around two defenders and lined the ball into the corner of the net just out of the reach of goalkeeper Matt Freese.
GAME NOTES
- Luciano Acosta became the seventh player in MLS history with at least 60 goals and 80 assists.
- Acosta made his 200th MLS Regular Season start on Saturday, becoming the 163rd player in MLS history to reach the mark.
- Acosta started his eighth-career goal streak for FC Cincinnati.
- Saturday’s starting temperature of 39°F matched the coldest MLS Regular Season kickoff in club history at home (March 11, 2023 vs SEA).
- Nick Hagglund made his season debut, entering as a second-half substitute.
- Corey Baird recorded his first goal contribution for the Orange and Blue.
- FC Cincinnati improved to 4-6-2 all-time against NYCFC … the club has won four-straight and are undefeated against the club with Head Coach Pat Noonan leading the club.
- FC Cincinnati have scored 247 goals across all competitions since 2019.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs New York City FC
Date: March 23, 2024
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 24,282
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 39 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 0-1-1
NYC: 0-0-0
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Baird, Boupendza) 57’
NYC – None
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Luca Orellano (Malik Pinto 88’), Ian Murphy, Matt Miazga, Kipp Keller (Nick Hagglund 73’), DeAndre Yedlin, Pavel Bucha, Yuya Kubo, Luciano Acosta (C), Corey Baird (Sergio Santos 82’), Aaron Boupendza (Gerardo Valenzuela 90’+5)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Arquimides Ordoñez, Alvas Powell, Bret Halsey, Stiven Jimenez
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
NYC: Matt Freese, Birk Risa (Justin Haak 52’), Thiago Martins (C), Strahinja Tanasijevic, Kevin O’Toole (Agustin Ojeda 78’), James Sands, Andres Parea, Andres Jasson, Hannes Wolf (Alonso Martinez 67’), Santiago Rodriguez, Julian Fernandez (Malachi Jones 67’)
Substitutes not used: Luis Barraza, Rio Hope-Gund, Maximo Carrizo, Drew Baiera, Jacob Arroyave
Head Coach: Nick Cushing
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/NYC
Shots: 10 / 7
Shots on Goal: 6 / 3
Saves: 3 / 5
Corner Kicks: 5 / 4
Fouls: 13 / 16
Offside: 2 / 2
Possession: 48.2 / 51.8
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Yellow Card) 20’
NYC – Andres Perea (Yellow Card) 45’+5’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Rafael Bonilla
Ast. Referees: Hayden Oscanao, Leonardo Sanchez Cordero
Fourth Official: Jaime Herrera
VAR: Mark Geiger
