After this weekend, Major League Soccer will take two months off from competition so its players can focus on the FIFA World Cup.
FC Cincinnati (4-5-5, 17 points) hosts Orlando City (4-8-2, 14 points) 7:30 p.m. May 23 at TQL Stadium. FCC’s next MLS match comes July 22 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Cincinnati is tied for eighth in the Eastern Conference with DC United, but only two points out of fifth place. They are three points ahead of Orlando and Toronto, who are tied for 10th. So a loss could drop them out of playoff position heading into the break.
The break will give Cincinnati a chance to recover from an injury-filled first half of the season.
“Health is important. We haven’t been afforded consistency in that,” said head coach Pat Noonan. “Some of it unfortunate, some of it we have to look at and say when anytime you have muscle issues, if there (are) trends to that, then it’s things that we can control in a better way. We need to be healthy, and especially along the backline, that’s been the biggest challenge is keeping guys healthy. And sure, we have more experience, we have, you know, some of the higher ages along our backline, but we need to be healthy and that factors into the defending side of things, and performing better and conceding less.”
Finishing strong against Orlando will be key. There will be 19 MLS games after the break.
” I don’t know if it’s fully set in that after this game there’ll be such a long break, but we’ve just tried to focus on getting to the break in the best way possible,” Noonan said. “And results wise, you could say that’s not been the case, but we’ll try to go into this game the best way possible. And then go into the break on a little bit of a high…hope to perform well in front of our home fans and get a win.”
On the current injury front, Noonan expects Andrei Chirila, Alvas Powell and Nick Hagglund to be available for Orlando. Teenage Hadebe is back in training but won’t be available.
FC Cincinnati notes
*With a win in his 151st MLS match as coach of FC Cincinnati, Noonan would match the MLS post-shootout era record (since 2000) as the fastest coach to reach 75 regular season wins, held by current Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer.
*FC Cincinnati has scored multiple goals in seven consecutive games, which is the longest streak in the club’s MLS era (2019-present).
*FC Cincinnati native Kyle Smith, in his first season with FC Cincinnati, will face his former Orlando City side for the first time. Smith made 216 appearances in seven seasons from 2019-25 with Orlando and was part of the club’s 2022 U.S. Open Cup-winning season.
*FC Cincinnati’s 11 goals scored from the 75th minute onwards are the most in MLS. Ten of FC Cincinnati’s 17 points this season have come in matches in which FC Cincinnati trailed at some point in the match.
*FC Cincinnati forward Tom Barlow was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 14. Evander was named to the Team of the Matchday bench.
Barlow earned his first league-wide honor with FC Cincinnati following his brace in FC Cincinnati’s dramatic 3-3 draw at San Diego FC. Barlow entered as a halftime substitute and wasted no time making an impact, scoring in the 50th minute off of Evander’s corner kick. After San Diego went ahead deep in stoppage time, Barlow’s heroics rescued a point for FC Cincinnati. Barlow’s 90’+8 minute goal, scored on the final kick of the night, served as the latest equalizer in an MLS Regular Season match in club history.
Barlow became the third substitute in the club’s MLS era to score multiple goals in a match. Yuya Kubo scored three at San Jose in 2024, and Ayoub Jabbari scored two at O&M FC in February. Evander recorded two assists for his 16th career match for FC Cincinnati with multiple goal contributions, second in club history.
A look at Orlando City SC
Orlando leads the all-time series, 5-4-4, and has won two of the last three in TQL Stadium with a draw. Cincinnati has only beaten Orlando once at home in seven tries.
The game matches the two teams that have conceded the most goals in MLS play. Cincinnati has allowed 35 and Orlando 38.
A lot of Orlando’s issues came early in the season, allowing five at NYCFC and Nashville, and six at LAFC. They have played better lately, starting with a 4-3 win at Miami May 2 in which they rallied from a 3-0 halftime deficit. They are 1-1-1 in MLS play since and beat Atlanta May 19 to advance to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup.
After just one win in their first seven league matches, Orlando parted ways from longtime manager Óscar Pareja, who had managed the club since 2019. In his place in an interim role is Martín Perelman. Perelman had previously been an assistant with Orlando as well as the head coach of Orlando City B in MLS NEXT Pro.Leading the Orlando offense is forward Martín Ojeda, who has already scored nine goals this season and is following up a 2025 campaign where the Argentine scored 16 goals in addition to 15 assists.
In the midfield is a collection of veterans for Orlando, with plenty of club experience between them. Braian Ojeda leads the team in minutes played this season, along with Iván Angulo and Eduard Atuesta in the middle. On the right flank of the midfield is Designated Player Marco Pašalić, who was recently selected by Croatia for their 2026 World Cup roster.
Leading the backline is Swedish defender and captain Robin Jansson, who is now in his eighth season with Orlando, and Griffin Dorsey, who is one of the more dynamic attacking fullbacks in MLS. In goal is Maxime Crépeau, who was key in LAFC’s 2022 MLS Cup-winning campaign.
“We’ve seen a couple different things, but whether that’s by design or not as far as the change, I can’t really speak to that,” Noonan said. “But it’s a very strong team, and one that, with our matchups (has always) been entertaining and competitive, and with us having to be very strong to deal with all of their threats. They compete as well as anybody in the league, they’ve got leadership on the field, they know how to manage different aspects of the game.”
Orlando is known for being a fast-paced team that has a lot of movement off the ball.
“You have to be communicating,” Noonan said. “You have to pass on runners at times, or else they’ll pull you out of your structure, and you know, for me, that’s not ideal in how we want to defend against their setup. Typically teams that run and are active are tough to play against for different reasons. But for me it’s the attacking interchanges, the strengths that they have along their front line. And it’s not to take away anything from the guys getting them the ball, because they have good passers, good composure along the back. So, how we pressure will be important, and that’ll dictate how we deal with things that are going on behind that initial press.”
How to tune in to FC Cincinnati vs. Orlando City
Watch: Apple TV (English – Callum Williams, Calen Carr and Michele Giannone; Spanish – Ramses Sandoval and Miguel Gallardo)
English Local Radio: iHeart Media ESPN 1530 | SiriusXM FC 157
Spanish Local Radio: La Mega 101.5 FM
Saturday is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Night at TQL Stadium which celebrates the rich cultural heritage and contributions of the AAPI community. This special evening features performances, cultural storytelling, and partnerships with local AAPI organizations. Tickets are available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati hopes to get momentum going into two-month hiatus
Reporting by James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
