There was no easing back into MLS play for FC Cincinnati, as they kicked off the “second half” of the league campaign by welcoming Western Conference leaders Vancouver into TQL Stadium. The two squads turned out plenty of offense, but the Orange & Blue rode a brace from Pavel Bucha to come away with a 4-3 win.
To Cincinnati’s favor, they carried a clean bill of health, with no one listed on the official availability report. For Vancouver, the big story lied in the absence of Sebastian Berhalter from both the Starting XI and the squad altogether. However, to the Caps benefit, Ryan Gauld made his return to the pitch for his first start of the season.
Theoretically, a high pressing team going against a defensively struggling team that also happens to have one of the best attacks in the league ought to provide a good watch. As head coach Pat Noonan would put it after the match, “We’re not boring. There’s ways to be a little bit less exciting, I would say.”
FIRST HALF: EARLY AND OFTEN
The returning fans, and any new ones, did not have to wait long for the action to kick-off. In fact, with the traffic making life rough for commuters, some may have even missed the start of the action.
Just nine minutes into the contest, Sami Gidi made a traversing run forward, navigating his way into a crossing position. His effort, in his own admission, was originally intended for Kenji Mboma Dem, who let the pass run beneath him. This selflessness resulted in Pavel Bucha finding himself wide open, and with a centering touch and clinical finish into the top corner, the Orange & Blue opened the scoreline.
Unfortunately, as Noonan mentioned, there are ways to be less exciting.
Just three minutes later, Vancouver would find an equalizer. Mirroring FCC’s effort, a foraying run by Bruno Caicedo resulted in a cross that was sweetly met by Jeevan Badwal to knot the score.
The bleeding wouldn’t stop there, as just 13 minutes later, FCC would become the victim of poor favor with the soccer gods.
Finding himself in an unusually open part of the field around the top of the box, midfielder Oliver Larraz fired an effort towards goal that would take a quirky deflection off Ryan Gauld, nestling itself into the back of the net to give Vancouver a short 2-1 lead.
Much to the chagrin of fans of defensive soccer, the scoring wouldn’t be staunched there. The Orange & Blue would find a near immediate equalizer of their own in the 28th minute. This time it was Ender Echenique working his way up the field, eventually squeezing off a crafty cross from near the touchline and finding Kevin Denkey for his tenth goal of the season.
With the equalizer in hand, the lead was next on the horizon for FCC. Riding their momentum fast tracked the pursuit of that goal, as Evander would make a classic run down the middle before finishing from just outside the box. This effort coming in the 36th minute served as a statement that Evander’s scintillating form from prior to the break was to pick up right where it left off.
SECOND HALF: STANDING THEIR GROUND
Coming out of the break with a slim one goal lead, a fourth on the evening was most certainly at the top of the priority list for FCC to begin the second half. Fortunately, this adrenaline pumping attack didn’t make the sold-out crowd at TQL wait very long.
Just 11 minutes out of the break, Evander would collect the rebound from his own blocked shot, chipping a pass out wide to a streaking Bucha for the finish. The brace on the evening for Pavel marks his third all-time for FCC, having previously achieved the feat in 2024 at DC United and in 2025 at Montreal. Additionally, his second goal moved him into sole ownership of tenth place on the all-time scoring list for FCC.
Despite now having a two-goal lead, any nerves that had been soothed were not to remain that way for long. Once again Vancouver responded just three minutes later. After scoring earlier, Badwal would find an assist when Gauld bagged his brace on the evening courtesy of the former’s service.
Following the trend of the game, one would think that more goals were in store in this contest, yet despite Vancouver grabbing the mantel of possession by the horns, The Orange & Blue defense pitched a shutout for the remainder of the match.
“Box defending was pretty strong, some blocked shots in there,” Noonan noted. “But for me, the preventative nature of how we can eliminate so much pressure closer to goal, and that’s tough.
“Guys are tired, and you have an opponent that’s moving the ball well and you know, you’re a step off or a duel off, now you’re going to have to defend the box well and I think that was a positive there at the end. But there were still some transition moments, there were some opportunities for us to, I think, put the game away, even with all that pressure that we withstood.”
BACK TO BUSINESS
The three points won on Wednesday night propels FC Cincinnati into fifth in the Eastern Conference. While the offensive effort was impressive, there is clearly still work to be done on the defensive side of the ball, as the win brings FCC’s goal differential to zero.
Already extremely dangerous in the attack, Noonan expressed his belief in another level for his side, should they be able to iron out the defensive side of play. “Defensively, we still have to understand the importance of the collective and the discipline in how we do it. And then I think that can take our group to another level.”
The afterglow of the victory will be short-lived, as FC Cincinnati travels up I-71 on Saturday for the away leg of the “Hell Is Real” Derby, a short turnaround for a match that transcends the typical intensity found on a MLS pitch. Columbus lost their own home match on Wednesday, falling 2-1 to NYCFC.
Vancouver stays on the road to face Minnesota United at Allianz Field on Saturday.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Date: July 22, 2026
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 71 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 3-1-4
VAN: 2-1-3
CIN – Pavel Bucha (Gidi, Miazga) 9’, Kévin Denkey 28’, Evander (Valenzuela, Mboma Dem) 36’, Pavel Bucha (Evander) 56’
VAN – Jeevan Badwal (Caicedo, Johnson) 12’, Ryan Gauld (Larraz, Ocampo) 25’, Ryan Gauld (Badwal, Ocampo) 58’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Ender Echenique (Bryan Ramirez 63’), Samuel Gidi (Teenage Hadebe 88’), Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson (Kyle Smith 64’), Pavel Bucha, Gerardo Valenzuela, Obinna Nwobodo, Evander, Kenji Mboma Dem (Tom Barlow 64’), Kévin Denkey (Ayoub Jabbari 88’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Alvas Powell, Nick Hagglund, Tah Brian Anunga
VAN: Yohei Takoka, Tate Johnson, Mathias Laborda, Tristan Blackmon, Édier Ocampo (Ranko Veselinović 84’), Oliver Larraz, Andrés Cubas (Rayan Elloumi 84’), Bruno Caicedo (Cheikh Sabaly 44’), Jeevan Badwal (Jean-Claude Ngando 62’), Ryan Gauld (C) (Nikola Djordjevic 62’), Brian White
Substitutes not used: Isaac Boehmer, Sam Adekugbe, Thomas Müller, Mihail Gherasimencov
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/VAN
Shots: 10 / 19
Shots on Goal: 6 / 6
Saves: 3 / 2
Corner Kicks: 1 / 3
Fouls: 12 / 13
Offside: 0 / 3
Possession: 38 / 62
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
VAN – Tristan Blackmon (Yellow Card) 2’
VAN – Mathias Laborda (Yellow Card) 17’
CIN – Pavel Bucha (Yellow Card) 41’
VAN – Édier Ocampo (Yellow Card) 48’
VAN – Andrés Cubas (Yellow Card) 60’
VAN – Brian White (Yellow Card) 78’
NEXT MATCH:
MLS Regular Season: @ Columbus, 7:15 PM, Saturday July 25th, FS1, Apple TV+
Recommended for you
