Cover Photo: Anders Saling (IG: @SalingMedia)
MLS Matchday 36 Information
- Who: S – FC Cincinnati (19-4-8, 65 points) vs New York Red Bulls (8-13-10, 34 points)
- When: Saturday, October 4, 2023 – 7:30 PM EST
- Where: TQL Stadium – Cincinnati, OH, USA
- How To Watch: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass
2023 Matchups
- May 23, 2023: New York Red Bulls 1(3) (Vanzeir 90’+2′) – FC Cincinnati 1(5) (Kubo 42′)
- July 12, 2023: New York Red Bulls 1 (Fernandez 28′ (Pen)) – FC Cincinnati 2 (Acosta 80′ (Pen), Nwobodo 90’+3′)
Key Storylines
New York Red Bulls defender Hassan Ndam will be unavailable Wednesday in Cincinnati, serving a one-match suspension for his red card on Saturday’s loss to Chicago.
FC Cincinnati have announced a Supporters’ Shield Trophy Celebration following the conclusion of Wednesday’s match. The Orange and Blue have secured their first trophy since joining Major League Soccer.
Nick Hagglund won the 2017 Supporters’ Shield with Toronto FC six season ago… and exactly six years prior to winning the Shield with FC Cincinnati on September 30, 2023, he won the shield with the Reds on September 30, 2017.
Brandon Vazquez and Pat Noonan received MLS Team of the Matchday honors for FC Cincinnati’s victory over Toronto FC over the weekend. For both of them, it’s their second TOTM nod, as Vazquez made the bench on MD5, and Noonan received the honors on MD29.
Upper 90
Justin Ruderman, founder of Upper 90 (Twitter/X: @U90Official), composed a great video essay on the FC Cincinnati turnaround that Chris Albright and Pat Noonan have constructed in Cincinnati. It’s a very digestible video for people at all levels of soccer knowledge, and a great trip down memory lane for those who have been around FC Cincinnati the past few years. I’ve attached the link below.
Pat Noonan
On Supporters’ Shield vs MLS Cup (H/T Pat Brennan, Enquirer):
“It’s a big achievement. Maybe that conversation was different years back, but for me it’s the consistency of a team over the course of a season. And, for me, now, even my own opinion has changed. I think it has, now, surpassed MLS Cup in terms of relevancy. That’s not to take away the desire for our team to hold an MLS Cup trophy, but for that group to be the top team over the course of the season, I think, is very meaningful. The hope is that we can find a way to achieve both, but that’s what how I feel about the Supporters’ Shield.”
Nick Hagglund
“A lot of emotions that go into this” stated Hagglund on Monday when asked about the Supporters’ Shield (H/T Laurel Pfalher, Queen City Press). “Ultimately, just really proud and happy to be able to give this city and the fans something to be really excited and proud about. After what the club endured in the first three seasons, and how awesome the fans were every game, coming out even when we weren’t winning – to be able to give them something just made me extremely happy. To see all the faces coming off the bus [at CVG], to see them stick through and to continue to support, I’m just really happy to give them something that they can enjoy.”
“It’s about being sharp, it’s about execution. You always want to be peaking going into playoffs, and it’s an important realization that we aren’t done and the next three games are tune-ups for us: to get everyone ready and healthy, however the best way to do that is in terms of lineup, in terms of who goes out there, the subs, everything.” Hagglund stated when asked on the upcoming matches. “[Just] making sure we’re ready to go come playoffs.”
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