FC Cincinnati (11-9-11, 42 pts.) made an essential step toward the MLS Cup postseason with a mammoth 2-0 win over D.C. United (7-12-12, 33 pts.) on Saturday.
“It’s not always going to be pretty, it’s not always going to be comfortable,” head coach Pat Noonan pointed out. “You’re not always going to have time and space. So knowing how to win games in that fashion—we just did that back to back, and that’s hard to do against any team in this league, so I’m pleased about that.”
A scheduling quirk caused by the postponement of FC Cincinnati’s originally scheduled fixture versus D.C. United set the stage for a critical home-and-home set between two sides fighting for their playoff lives. Wednesday night’s leg at TQL saw a gritty performance, boosted by a pair of goals from David Doudera and Teenage Hadebe, secure a full three points.
Beating the same side back-to-back in rapid fashion is never easy. However, the added bonus of boosting their playoff hopes gave the Orange and Blue ample incentive to put forth one of their best, and most complete, showings of the season.
Both sides made a sole change to their Starting XIs. For FC Cincinnati, Bryan Ramirez slid into the midfield, a move caused by a late-week injury to Tyrell Malacia. Additionally for the Orange and Blue, midfielder Ender Echenique was again unavailable due to injury. Positively, the defensive options on the bench got a boost as Jose Martinez made his first appearance there since signing.
The Black and Red’s lone change came in the reinstatement of MLS veteran Sean Johnson between the pipes. Johnson, who was unavailable Wednesday due to injury, replaced Alex Bono.
First Half:
With such proximity existing between Saturday’s fixture and the last between these sides, there wasn’t much of a “feeling out” period from the whistle. Where most matches spend their infancy in an exchange of testing forays, these two sides traded deep runs in the opening five minutes. Nothing would come from either, yet the tone of the game was established as an offensive, aggressive meter.
The opening half-hour kept this tempo, as neither side struggled to come forward. However, a bit of last-ditch defending from D.C. and the Black and Red’s offensive disconnect kept things scoreless.
A non-contact injury induced substitution of D.C. forward Jackson Hopkins in the 35th minute perhaps served as the catalyst for the permissive environment that immediately preceded FCC’s opening score.
The build-up began with a Tom Barlow run, segued by a pass to Pavel Bucha, and capped off by a screamer from Evander. The Brazilian magician’s effort warbled through the air in a way that dissuaded Sean Johnson from even attempting a save. The captains’ audacious effort broke a scoring drought dating back to August 22nd.
That banger would carry the Orange and Blue into halftime with a lead.
Second Half:
Neither side made any personnel changes to begin the second half. As a mere seven minutes into the second frame, a beautiful bit of teamwork led to the capstone effort for the evening.
The sequence was headlined by Evander, finished by Barlow, but made lightyears easier by the off-ball movement of Ramirez. As Evander made his run up the near wing, a tactical run from Ramirez discouraged Lucas Bartlett from closing down on the Brazilian. This open channel was soon filled by a crisp through ball, one which Barlow converted for his 10th goal of the MLS season and 13th overall.
The remainder of the match took on contrasting feels for the sides. For the hosts, desperation soon filled the gaps. For FCC, staunch box defending and a tactical shift allowed the Orange and Blue to see out the victory in shut-out fashion.
Despite the lack of any major points of action, the late stages of the match did feature a prominent moment for one member of FC Cincinnati. Coming on for Bucha in the 85th minute, Dado Valenzuela made his 100th appearance for the club. He is the 15th player in club history to achieve that milestone. What sets this occurrence apart, however, is that Dado is the first FCC Academy graduate to do so.
Postgame:
Two matches, four days, and six points that will perhaps change the entire fate of the Orange and Blue’s season. There are so many finer points to that synopsis.
Both matches featured tenacious efforts to get ahead and stay there. The impact of David Doudera, both in scoring and in his energy on both ends of the pitch, was prevalent. Evander returned to his magical ways of scoring and creating. Most of all, the complete defensive effort spelled consecutive victories by a total scoreline of 4-1.
The Orange and Blue end the evening sitting in eighth, tied with seventh-place Orlando on points. However, Cincinnati are still behind on total goals.
Remaining in front of them are three matches against quality opponents. On Wednesday Cincinnati will travel to South Florida to take on third-place Inter Miami and Lionel Messi. Next Saturday will feature a mid-afternoon Halloween tilt with sixth-place Philadelphia. The Orange and Blue finish the regular season on November 7th, hosting the Supporters Shield winners, Nashville SC.
Stat Report:
- The two goals on the evening bring FCC’s season total in MLS play up to 64, tying the club record set in 2022.
- With his second-half assist, Evander becomes only the second player in league history (Leo Messi) to record three consecutive seasons of 15+ assists.
- With his goal and assist, Tom Barlow brings his season tallies to 10 goals and five assists. Coming into this season he had two career MLS assists and had never scored more than four times in a season.
Quick Recap:
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at D.C. United
Date: October 24, 2026
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: Audi Field | Washington D.C.
Attendance: 16,046
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 53 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
DC: 0-0-0
CIN: 1-1-2
DC – None
CIN – Evander (Bucha, Barlow) 35’, Tom Barlow (Evander, Bucha) 52’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Bryan Ramirez, Teenage Hadebe, Nick Hagglund, Kyle Smith (Samuel Gidi 59’), David Douděra (Alvas Powell 75’), Obinna Nwobodo (Tah Brian Anunga 59’), Pavel Bucha (Gerardo Valenzuela 85’), Evander (C), Tom Barlow (Kenji Mboma Dem 59’), Kévin Denkey
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, José Martínez, Andrei Chirila, Ayoub Jabbari
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
DC: Sean Johnson, Keisuke Kurokawa, Lucas Bartlett (C), Kye Rowles, Silvan Hefti (Oscar Avilez 65’), Andre Dozzell, Brandon Servania (Jared Stroud 65’), João Peglow, Kimito Nono, Tai Baribo, Jackson Hopkins (Nikola Markovic 34’)
Substitutes not used: Alex Bono, Matti Peltola, Conner Antley, Seasn Nealis, Nathan Ordaz, Kamil Castillo
Head Coach: René Weiler
STATS SUMMARY: DC/CIN
Shots: 13 / 9
Shots on Goal: 2 / 3
Saves: 1 / 2
Corner Kicks: 8 / 3
Fouls: 12 / 10
Offside: 2 / 1
Possession: 49.8 / 50.2
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 24’
DC – Tai Baribo (Yellow Card) 34’
CIN – Tom Barlow (Yellow Card) 38’
Next Match:
Major League Soccer: at Inter Miami CF, 7:30 PM, Wednesday October 28th, AppleTV+
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