FC Cincinnati looks for its third win in a row in Major League Soccer when the club heads to Charlotte this weekend.
Cincinnati will play Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. May 9. The match airs globally on Apple TV. The Official English Radio home of FC Cincinnati, iHeart Media ESPN 1530 and the official Spanish Radio home – La Mega 101.5 FM – will broadcast the match.
The Orange and Blue (4-4-3, 15 points) bring a five-game unbeaten run and two-game winning streak into the match at Charlotte (4-5-2, 14 points), which has lost four straight matches in all competitions. Cincy is tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference, but only three points ahead of 11th-place Red Bull New York.
However, Cincinnati has never won in Charlotte, the only Eastern Conference club Cincy doesn’t have an away win at. Cincy has lost three straight overall to Charlotte, which is tied for the second-most wins at home (41) since entering the league in 2022 and the fourth-most points (139). Charlotte leads the all-time series 4-2-2.
“They’ve been very consistent in what they do and how they play and how they’re tough to play against both sides of the ball,” said FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan. “It’s a tough place to play, and they’re a very experienced team, and their run of form was similar to challenges that we’ve had with results. So they’re going to be motivated.”
A look at Charlotte FC
Charlotte got off to a good start this season, but have lost twice to first-place Nashville in recent weeks. Since their last win, 2-1 at NYCFC April 18, they have also lost 4-1 at struggling Orlando and were shut out at New England last weekend, 1-0. They also took a stunning 2-0 loss to Atlanta at home in the U.S. Open Cup.
Kristijan Kahlina has been Charlotte’s keeper for five seasons and one of the best keepers in MLS during that time. The Croatian keeper won the 2024 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and enters this match third in total saves this season despite Charlotte’s total negative goal differential.
“They’re good at getting isolation with their wingers and getting into the box with really hard runs,” Noonan said. “They’re a team that runs well to goal, and so that’s caused us problems previously, defensively. They’re disciplined, and you got to be patient and pick the moments to take risk playing forward.”
Pep Biel leads the offense with five goals and four assists. Star forward Wilfried Zaha is hoping to lead the Ivory Coast at the FIFA World Cup. Ashley Westwood, a former player from Burnley in the English Premier League, is the team captain. Kerwin Vargas and Idan Toklomati have also been dangerous up front.
“Kahlina is a very good goalkeeper, experienced saves with his feet under pressure. I think he’s very strong,” Noonan said. “Westwood in the middle, the feel he has for the game, the leadership. You can always see that from afar. Zaha is a very difficult player to prepare (for). Vargas, they’ve had multiple guys, I think, in those positions, depending on available players. So the winger spots are a challenge for sure.”
Player availability for FC Cincinnati
Noonan said that Miles Robinson and Obinna Nwobodo would be available for Charlotte. Alvas Powell took a knock in training and will be evaluated. Teenage Hadebe is a couple of weeks away.
Pavel Bucha is a full-go after being hit hard on an ankle late in the Chicago game, in what looked like a potential long-term injury.
“He was worried after the game, because he thought maybe there was a break, just based on the contact,” Noonan said. “And then once the X-ray came back, I think he was in better spirits. But then there was also the concern of, you know, the next 24 hours, you know, if he rolled it, but he came in the two days off, and felt very good about how he felt, and then was able to train this week. So, tough kid.”
Notes and milestones for FC Cincinnati
With a win Noonan would become the fastest coach in the MLS post-shootout era (since 2000) to reach 75 regular season wins, besting the previous mark by Seattle’s Brian Schmetzer (151 games to reach 75 wins). Charlotte will be Noonan’s 148th MLS match as coach of the Orange and Blue.
Evander was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday after his first career hat trick last weekend in a win over Chicago. Evander has now scored in three of Cincinnati’s last four matches. Roman Celentano’s career-high eight saves earned him a spot on the Team of the Matchday bench. His eight saves are tied for the second-most saves by an FC Cincinnati goalkeeper in MLS history.
“I think he still understands the communication that he needs to provide in getting guys into spots, especially when it’s closer to our goal,” Noonan said of his veteran keeper. “But I think that was a more big picture, an important game for him based on the previous two where we saw a couple moments that we’re not accustomed to seeing, and that’s the life of a goalkeeper. he showed his character, just like many of our guys do, and was the reason that we were even in a position to get three points so but, but all the moving parts in front of him.”
Evander and Celentano’s honors are the seventh and eighth Team of the Matchday honors for an FC Cincinnati player this season: Miles Robinson (1), Ender Echenique (5), Evander (8-Bench, 11), Kévin Denkey (9-Bench, 10), Roman Celentano (10-Bench, 11-Bench)
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati hopes to extend MLS winning streak to three
Reporting by James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
