MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Matchday 1 Information
- Who: s – FC Cincinnati (20-5-9, 69 points) vs Atlanta United (13-9-11, 50 points)
- When: Sunday, October 29, 2023 – 8:00 PM EST
- Where: TQL Stadium – Cincinnati, OH, USA
- How To Watch: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass, FS1, FOX Deportes
2023 Matchups
- May 23, 2023 (US Open Cup): 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′)
- October 4, 2023: FC Cincinnati 1 (Acosta 68′ (Pen)) – New York Red Bulls 2 (Amaya 12′, Manoel 17′)
Format and Rules
It’s officially spooky season – FC Cincinnati’s first MLS Cup Playoff match against the Red Bulls is just two days before Halloween. The format of this first round – even scarier.
The Round One of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs goes as follows:
- Best of three – first team to win two matches advances to the Conference Semifinals of the Playoffs.
- Hosting rights go as follows: home, away, home for the higher seeded team, and away, home, away for the lower seeded side.
- Matches that end the 90 minute regular time tied will go straight to Penalty Kicks. You heard that right, there’s not additional time period – those two 15-minute periods FC Cincinnati played against Inter Miami at TQL Stadium this season in the US Open Cup Semifinal. Those periods will be played in the Conference Semifinal, Conference Championship, and MLS Cup Finals, but not for the Round One matches.
Want some more rules updates for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs? (per MLS)
- A player receiving three yellow cards will be suspended.
- A player who receives a third cumulative yellow card in the Conference Semifinal is eligible to play in the Conference Championship, where yellow card accumulation resets.
- Yellow Cards issued during the match DO NOT carry over to PK shootouts. Here’s some examples:
- Example 1: The goalkeeper is cautioned in his first match of the Playoffs. The goalkeeper is cautioned in the regulation period of the second match. The same goalkeeper is cautioned during the Penalty Kick shootout in the second match. It’s his second yellow card of that second match, but he is not be sent off during the match, but is suspended for his next playoff match due to Yellow Card Accumulation.
- Example 2: A player is cautioned twice during the same Penalty Kick shootout. That player is sent off and is suspended for their next match.
Phew.
Brandon Vazquez
Last year, these two sides met up in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, where FC Cincinnati won in Red Bull Arena 2-1. The winning goal was scored by Brandon Vazquez, in a year where he scored 18 regular season goals and earned a spot on the MLS Best XI.
When asked about that goal, Vazquez spoke about how it was a confidence boost.
“Absolutely. I tell myself that I’ve done it before in a game where there’s a lot of pressure and it’s gonna be the exact same thing. I’ve been in a lot of situations like this, and I think it’s good to have that experience and confidence going into this game.”
Brandon Vazquez (FC Cincinnati)
While initially it would look as if Vazquez’s 2023 season doesn’t meet the breakout season he had in 2022. He has 8 goals in MLS play, but also has a total of 16 goals across all competitions for FC Cincinnati, 3 in US Open Cup play and 5 in Leagues Cup. Vazquez also had 3 goals for the US Men’s National Team in CONCACF Gold Cup play this summer.
Luciano Acosta
FC Cincinnati’s captain had himself an MVP-calibre season in 2023. Acosta led the league with 31 goal contributions (17 G, 14 A), captained the MLS All-Stars in Washington D.C. against European giants Arsenal… the list goes on.
When asked about being nominated as a Landon Donovan MLS MVP Finalist, Acosta jokingly remarked, “If I don’t win, I’m gonna have to fight somebody.” He then praised the other two finalists, Atlanta’s Thiago Almada and LAFC’s Dénis Bouanga before also showing some love to the other MLS Awards Finalists on FC Cincinnati: Pat Noonan, Roman Celentano, and Matt Miazga.
Concerning the new MLS Cup Playoff format, Acosta shut down the question by simply stating that “we need to respect the MLS and let’s say I don’t want to talk about that.”
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