All signs pointed to FC Cincinnati having a chance to complete a two-win week coming into Saturday night’s match versus the visiting Seattle Sounders. While The Orange and Blue had an unblemished bill of health, the side from the pacific northwest had an astounding eight players ruled out with injuries. This has been an ongoing problem for Seattle, and has played a major role in the eight game losing streak they were mired in coming to Cincinnati.
Even with the clean bill of health, expected rotation occurred within the starting XI. Kevin Denkey began on the bench, with Tom Barlow and Kenji Mboma-Dem starting at the top. On defense, Andrei Chirila made his long awaited return to the backline; with Brian Anunga and Bryan Ramirez coming into the midfield to spell Pavel Bucha and Obi Nwobodo.
FIRST HALF:
From the opening whistle, it became clear that Seattle was going to be more than happy to sit back and allow FCC to control the flow of the game. Consistently sitting in a low block, the first half saw Seattle maintain an anemic 29% of the posession and only manage two shots. The Sounders’ injury circumstance notwithstanding, Pat Noonan spoke highly of the first half defensive effort, “We didn’t give up a whole lot. Where we played the game and when we made mistakes, we were in good positions to get some pressure to the ball and deal with the direct moments.”
Along with the stout defensive performance, the attack dialed up a maelstrom of pressure. Mustering a total of 10 shots, with eight on goal, there is certainly an argument to be made that the scoreline should have been more robust than the 1-0 it ended up being at the half.
The one goal capped off a sequence that saw four of those 10 shots come in a 10 second window in the 24th minute. With Bryan Ramirez kicking off the volley and having his pair of efforts kept out only by some sublime defending, it was ultimately Evander who put the bow on the goal. The thundered effort from the Brazilian wizard marks his 24th goal contribution of the MLS campaign, a league leading tally. Moreover he extended his home MLS scoring streak, which stretches back to May 13th.
SECOND HALF:
Neither side made any changes coming out of the locker rooms to begin the second half. With no alteration, the pattern from the first half began in earnest yet again.
Despite controlling a similair amount of the posession to the first 45, an evident lack of finishing in critical moments allowed a nagging feeling of trepidation to persist.
As the clock hit the 75 minute mark, Seattle manager Brian Schmetzer made a pair of changes that in hindsight were critical to their equalizer. Bringing on Roldan and Rusnak opened up the visitors attack, with all three of their shots on goal for the game coming following their entering the match. This uptick in vitality for the visiting attack hit it’s zenith in the 83rd minute.
The sequence began with a corner and while initially cleared and the counter sprung, a sliding tackle from Nouhou sent Seattle back on the attack. Finding Rusnak left in an acre of space the Slovakian midfielder sent a cross into the box, with a streaking Kalani Kossa-Rienzi providing the finishing touch.
With only three minutes of added time at the 90 minute mark, FCC were unable to find a late lead as they did on Wednesday versus NYCFC.
POSTGAME:
This draw, while still resulting in a point, felt more akin to a loss than a viable result. However there are positives to be gleaned. The defense once again looked strong, allowing only a single goal for a third consecutive MLS match.
The Orange and Blue will now have a full week to review and prepare before they make the journey to Geodis Park to take on Eastern Conference leaders Nashville next Saturday.
QUICK RECAP:
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Seattle Sounders FC
Date: August 22, 2026
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 77 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-0-1
SEA: 0-1-1
CIN – Evander 24’
SEA – Kalani Kossa-Rienzi (Rusnák) 83’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Bryan Ramirez (Pavel Bucha 73’), Andrei Chirila, Miles Robinson, Samuel Gidi, Ender Echenique (Alvas Powell 89’), Tah Brian Anunga (Obinna Nwobodo 89’), Gerardo Valenzuela, Evander (C), Kenji Mboma Dem (Kévin Denkey 59’), Tom Barlow (Ayoub Jabbari 73’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Nick Hagglund, Teenage Hadebe, Kyle Smith
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
SEA: Andrew Thomas, Antino Lopez (Albert Rusnák 77’), Ryan Sailor, Stuart Hawkins, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, Snyder Brunell (Danny Musovski 61’), Peter Kingston, Paul Rothrock, Edson Carli (Nouhou 61’), Sebastian Gomez (Kim Kee-hee 90’+1), Osaze De Rosario (Alex Roldan 77’)
Substitutes not used: Stefan Frei, Xavi Gnaulati, Rafael Jauregui, Mark Bronnik
Head Coach: Brian Schmetzer
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/SEA
Shots: 17 / 16
Shots on Goal: 9 / 8
Saves: 2 / 7
Corner Kicks: 9 / 4
Fouls: 7 / 14
Offside: 2 / 1
Possession: 71 / 29
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Ryan Sailor (Yellow Card) 38’
CIN – Bryan Ramirez (Yellow Card) 64’
SEA – Peter Kingston (Yellow Card) 75’
NEXT MATCH:
MLS Regular Season: @ Nashville, 8:30 PM, Saturday August 29th, AppleTV+
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