December 2, 2023 (Cincinnati, OH) – MLS Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference Final took centerstage as the two Ohio teams faced off in the Queen City. Columbus Crew come back from a 2 goal deficit to move on to the MLS Cup Final.
- Date: December 2, 2023
- Competition: MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Final
- Venue: TQL Stadium
- Kickoff: 6:09 p.m. ET
- Box Score: FC Cincinnati 2, Columbus Crew 3.
- Referee: Allen Chapman
STARTING XI
FC Cincinnati (3-4-1-2): 18 Celentano; 32 Murphy, 15 Mosquera, 2 Powell; 31 Barreal, 93 Moreno, 7 Kubo, 13 Arias; 10 Acosta; 19 Vazquez, 9 Boupendza (Head Coach – Pat Noonan)
Columbus Crew (3-4-2-1): 28 Schultz; 18 Amundsen, 4 Camacho, 31 Moreira; 14 Yeboah, 8 Morris, 6 Nagbe, 23 Farsi; 10 Rossi, 20 Matan; 9 Hernandez (Head Coach – Wilfried Nancy)
SCORING SUMMARY
14′ FC Cincinnati – Brandon Vazquez (Assist: Aaron Boupendza)
45′+3′ FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta (Assist: Álvaro Barreal)
75′ Columbus Crew – Alvas Powell (Own Goal)
86′ Columbus Crew – Diego Rossi
115′ Columbus Crew – Christian Ramirez (Assist: Cucho Hernandez)
STATS: (CIN/CLB)
- Shots: 11/26
- Shots on Goal: 6/8
- Blocked Shots: 2/12
- Saves: 5/5
- Corners: 3/8
- Fouls: 25/14
- Offside: 4/1
- Passing Accuracy (%): 81.2/87.4
- Possession (%): 37/63
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 65′ – IN: Julian Gressel, Christian Ramirez OUT: Mohamed Farsi, Aidan Morris (CLB)
- 65′ – IN: Raymon Gaddis OUT: Santiago Arias (CIN)
- 73′ – IN: Dominique Badji OUT: Aaron Boupendza (CIN)
- 76′ – IN: Sean Zawadzki OUT: Yaw Yeboah (CLB)
- 85′ – IN: Obinna Nwobodo OUT: Yuya Kubo (CIN)
- 91′ – IN: Yevhen Cheberko OUT: Rudy Camacho (CLB)
- 106′ – IN: Sergio Santos, Marco Angulo OUT: Brandon Vazquez, Junior Moreno (CIN)
- 111′ – IN: Kevin Molino OUT: Alexandru Matan (CLB)
MISCONDUCT
- 45′+2′ Yellow Card – Steven Moreira (CLB), Foul.
- 73′ Yellow Card – Luciano Acosta (CIN), Foul.
- 82′ Yellow Card – Dominique Badji (CIN), Foul.
- 99′ Yellow Card – Brandon Vazquez (CIN), Persistent Infringement.
- 117′ Yellow Card – Yerson Mosquera (CIN), Persistent Infringement.
- 120′+1′ Yellow Card – Julian Gressel (CLB), Foul.
Pat Noonan
“The guys gave everything. I can’t fault them. There are things I could’ve done better… I will look back at it and blame none of those players.”
Pat Noonan, FC Cincinnati
A heartbreaking end to the 2023 season for FC Cincinnati, but not an unfamiliar one – all three major matches for FC Cincinnati (US Open Cup Semifinal vs RBNY 2017, US Open Cup Semifinal vs Inter Miami 2023, Eastern Conference Final vs Columbus Crew 2023) all came as a loss after being up 2-0. The 2-0 lead will continue to haunt the Orange and Blue as their biggest rivals celebrated in TQL Stadium and now host the MLS Cup Final at Lower dot com stadium next weekend.
FC Cincinnati, more specifically Pat Noonan, elected not to use their sixth substitute in the 3-2 loss to Columbus in stoppage time. Granted, depth was certainly an issue, with Matt Miazga, London Aghedo, and Nick Hagglund (3 center backs) all unavailable.
“I could’ve done better to manage that situation… Subs, timing, shape – there was just some concerns physically with some guys.”
Pat Noonan
Roman Celentano
FC Cincinnati’s second overall pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft had a standout season, finishing third in MLS Goalkeeper of the Year voting, second in the league in clean sheets, conceding 1.1 goals/90, tied for 6th in all of MLS.
“Not much really to say. The game speaks for itself. The biggest game in club history against our rivals. We’re up, and then you’re not and you just can’t come back. It’s on us. They’re a good team, but it’s on us.”
Roman Celentano
Celentano signed a long term contract extension with the club back in the start of September through the 2027 season. He’s a part of the long term plans for FC Cincinnati, as the club begins its offseason.
2-0
I suppose writing on such a touchy subject for fans, fresh off a loss in the biggest match in club history is probably not going to be received very well. That’s understandable. Nonetheless, the club has still shown the inability to get over the hump. It’s not a particular match, but the only constant since the club was formed in 2015 to now – holding the 2-0 lead.
FC Cincinnati, against the run of play, were up 2-0 after the conclusion of the first half on Saturday. Two relatively low percentage chances, 0.09 xG on Brandon Vazquez’s opener and 0.02 xG on Luciano Acosta’s golazo in first half stoppage time. Columbus still managed 11 shots to Cincinnati’s 5 in the first half, a pretty dominant 23 touches in the opposition box to Cincinnati’s 2 touches… and yet Cincinnati were able to defend well and counter efficiently and clinically.
In the second half, you started to see the team struggle defensively, leaking more chances. FC Cincinnati essentially defended for 45 minutes straight, and yet, on the counter, they gave themselves chances to put the game away but lose the ability to finish. That, combined with the best chance (shot by Aaron Boupendza in the 51st minute) being saved well by Columbus’ Patrick Schulte, it allowed Columbus the chance to put the ball in the back of the net twice. Which, they did.
In the next 30 minutes of extra time, FC Cincinnati register one shot. That was in stoppage time of the second half of extra time, a 0.08 xG chance on a header by Yerson Mosquera. That’s it. Álvaro Barreal and Luciano Acosta looked gassed. The team could only defend and hope for penalties. And when Christian Ramirez put the third goal in the back of the net for the Crew, you could sense the end of the season coming.
Fans have plenty of things to point fingers at. Officials, Miazga, Noonan, etc… and yet it just comes down to the Crew, whether you like it or not, outplaying FC Cincinnati. The Columbus Crew took 26 shots in 120 minutes, roughly a shot every 5 minutes. FC Cincinnati took 11 shots in that same time frame, with 10 in the first 90 minutes.
Contracts…
Looking now at the offseason and ahead at the 2024 season, FC Cincinnati need depth. They’ll likely lose some of their key starting talent in Brandon Vazquez and Álvaro Barreal. Yerson Mosquera’s loan is over, and he’ll likely plug into that Wolves squad come the new year. But, the team lacks depth. Four center backs in a 3 back system is not nearly enough. Yes, London Aghedo and Joey Akpunonu are on the roster, but they combined for a total of 8 minutes in the entirety of the MLS regular season. They were non-factors. Ideally, they take the second year leap in the same way former Duke defender Ian Murphy did this year, but that’s certainly no guarantee. Combine that with losing Yerson Mosquera, the team should be looking for a starting CB to play alongside Miazga and Murphy/Hagglund for next season.
The same goes at the wingback position – Santiago Arias has a contract option for the 2024 season, which personally I expect the club to exercise. Alvas Powell signed a contract extension through the 2025 season, and Ray Gaddis also has a contract option for the 2024 season. That’s RWB. On the other side, Álvaro Barreal has a contract option for both the 2024 and 2025 seasons, he’s likely gone with a move to Europe (Ajax?), and so while I expect the club to exercise the option, he’s likely played his last match for Cincinnati. Bret Halsey would be the logical replacement within the team, with his contract lasting through the 2024 season. Isaiah Foster is also signed through 2024, but has yet to play a minute of MLS Regular Season soccer.
I would continue to list the rest of the positions, but depth isn’t as big of a factor in those areas. Moreno and Kubo are both out of contract, so we will see how the club approaches the CDM position as well.
Thank You
If you’ve made it this far (or even if you haven’t) – thank you. I’ve grown a lot as a writer, trying to manage the ins and outs, everything… I’ve appreciated the support. I don’t know what 2024 looks like. If Area and the club will allow me to continue to produce content, work to improve and to elevate content to not just be previews and recaps, focus more on player interviews, player features, and writing compelling content… I’m game.
To Pat, Laurel, Carter; To John, Patrick, Evan – Thank You. This wouldn’t have happened, this wouldn’t have been possible without you.
Check out Area Sports Network on Instagram & Twitter and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel. We hit 1k subscribers and look to continue to grow the channel. Stay tuned for more content going forward!
