
CF Monterrey Topples FC Cincinnati, 2-1
March 15, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release
FC Cincinnati fell to CF Monterrey 2-1 in a second leg battle Thursday night at Estadio BBVA in the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16. On aggregate, Monterrey earned a 3-1 win to advance to the Champions Cup Quarterfinals.
Trailing 1-0 on aggregate entering the second leg, the Orange and Blue conceded first late in the first half after a back-and-forth opening 45 minutes. Two minutes into the second half, 2023 MLS Most Valuable Player Luciano 'Lucho' Acosta scored his first goal of 2024 - the 40th of his FC Cincinnati career - to bring things level on the night and give FCC a one-goal deficit on aggregate.
Rayados forward and former FCC man Brandon Vazquez scored the contest's next goal in the 68th minute to seal the result and send Monterrey into the Champions Cup Quarterfinals against Inter Miami CF.
AS IT HAPPENED
MTY: Luis Romo, GOAL - 41' (1-0; 2-0 on aggregate) - Monterrey found open space near the top right side of the Cincinnati 18-yard box. After a quick exchange of passes, Maximiliano Meza looked to place a shot at the far post, but Luis Romo took possession with his back to goal, redirecting Meza's initial attempt in with a skillful flick.
CIN: Luciano Acosta, GOAL - 47' (1-1; 2-1 on aggregate) - Cincinnati wasted no time coming out of halftime and captain Luciano Acosta brought things level in the 47th. A brilliant solo effort from Acosta led to the goal, as the reigning MLS Most Valuable Player beat one defender, driving into the box and dancing through three collapsing Monterrey defenders near the top of the box. Acosta finished the move with a well-placed shot past Esteban Andrada.
MTY: Brandon Vazquez, GOAL - 68' (2-1; 3-1 on aggregate) - Vazquez doubled Rayados lead in the second half and pushed the aggregate score to 3-1. A long ball out of the Monterrey half found Maximiliano Meza through on goal after clearing the Cincinnati back line and a quick pass across the face of goal found Vazquez wide open at the back post for an easy tap in.
The Orange and Blue return to Major League Soccer competition Sunday, March 17 at the New England Revolution. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and the match will stream, for free with no subscription required, on Apple TV. The match will be carried on the radio locally by Fox Sports 1360 and iHeart.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati are 3-2-2 across all competitions, with seven of eight matches complete in the opening 25 days of the season.
- Luciano Acosta's goal - his first of the season - was his 40th career goal for the Orange and Blue across all competitions ... He only trails Brandon Vazquez (43) for the most all time.
- Thursday marked FC Cincinnati's 29th all-time match, across all competitions, against a non-U.S. based club ... FC Cincinnati are 14-10-5 in those matches.
- Only two players who played for FC Cincinnati had appeared in a match at Estadio BBVA prior to Thursday night's match (Miles Robinson with Atlanta United; Luciano Acosta with Atlas FC).
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at CF Monterrey
Date: March 14, 2024
Competition: Concacaf Champions Cup - Round of 16, Second Leg
Venue: Estadio BBVA
Kickoff: 10:15 p.m. ET
Weather: 81 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
MTY: 1-1-2
CIN: 0-1-1
MTY - Luis Romo (Meza) 41', Brandon Vazquez (Meza) 68'
CIN - Luciano Acosta (Yedlin) 47'
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Luca Orellano (Malik Pinto 79'), Ian Murphy (Kipp Keller 79'), Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin (Alvas Powell 85'), Pavel Bucha, Yuya Kubo, Luciano Acosta (C), Corey Baird (Sergio Santos 66'), Aaron Boupendza (Gerardo Valenzuela 85')
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Evan Louro, Arquimides Ordoñez, Nick Hagglund, Bret Halsey, Isaiah Foster, London Aghedo, Stiven Jimenez
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
MTY: Esteban Andrada, Stefan Medina, Victor Guzman (Edson Gutierrez 82'), Hector Moreno (C), Gerardo Arteaga, Jorge Rodriguez, Luis Romo, Jesus Gallardo (Jordi Cortizo 79'), Sergio Canales, Maximiliano Meza (Jesus Corona 83'), Brandon Vazquez (German Berterame 83')
Substitutes not used: Luis Cardenas, Cesar Ramos, Sebastian Vegas, Omar Govea, Jaziel Martinez, Erick Aguirre, Alfonso Gonzalez
Head Coach: Fernando Ortiz
STATS SUMMARY: MTY/CIN
Shots: 15 / 9
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 3 / 2
Corner Kicks: 12 / 3
Fouls: 5 / 13
Offside: 0 / 0
Possession: 54 / 45
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN - Ian Murphy (Yellow Card) 43'
MTY - Gerardo Arteaga (Yellow Card) 84'
CIN - Malik Pinto (Yellow Card) 88'
CIN - Gerardo Valenzuela (Yellow Card) 90'+2
OFFICIALS
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderon
Ast. Referees: Juan Carlos Mora, William Arrieta
Fourth Official: Keylor Herrera
VAR: Daneon Parchment
AVAR: Tristley Bassue
Major League Soccer Stories from March 15, 2024
- LA Galaxy Partner with Oak Sports Holding to Bring MLS NEXT Pro Affiliate to Ventura County - LA Galaxy
- Sounders FC Hosts Colorado Rapids in Saturday Matinee - Seattle Sounders FC
- Houston Dynamo FC Host Portland and Dynamo 2 Open Season on Sunday - Houston Dynamo FC
- Sporting KC Hosts San Jose on Saturday - Sporting Kansas City
- LAFC Travels to Face Minnesota United on Saturday, March 16 at Allianz Field - Los Angeles FC
- Six Atlanta United Players Receive National Team Call-Ups for March FIFA Window - Atlanta United FC
- Rosters Announced for Venezuela Versus Italy Friendly Match on March 21 at Chase Stadium - Inter Miami CF
- Chicago Fire FC Midfielder Sergio Oregel Jr. Called to National Team Duty - Chicago Fire FC
- Injury Report: Trio Absent vs. Toronto - New York City FC
- Inter Miami CF to Take on D.C. United on the Road on Saturday - Inter Miami CF
- Minnesota United FC vs. Los Angeles Football Club - Minnesota United FC
- Xherdan Shaqiri Called up to Switzerland National Team - Chicago Fire FC
- Match Preview: Atlanta United vs. Orlando City SC - Atlanta United FC
- Five Columbus Crew Players Receive National Team Call-Ups - Columbus Crew SC
- Forward Kristian Fletcher and Defender Matai Akinmboni Make U-19 United States Youth National Team Roster for Matches against England and Morocco - D.C. United
- FC Dallas' Nolan Norris Called into U.S. U-19 Men's Youth National Team Training Camp - FC Dallas
- New England Revolution Academy Highlights: March 15, 2024 - New England Revolution
- Rapids Travel to Lumen Field for Western Conference Clash with Seattle - Colorado Rapids
- Charlotte FC's Liel Abada Receives National Team Call up for EURO 2024 Qualifier Playoff Semifinal - Charlotte FC
- Charlotte FC's Jere Uronen Resprenting Finland in EURO 2024 Qualifiers - Charlotte FC
- CF Montréal Takes on Chicago Fire FC on Saturday - Club de Foot Montreal
- Inter Miami CF 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Quarterfinals Set - Inter Miami CF
- Revolution Goalkeeper Henrich Ravas Called in to Slovakia National Team for March FIFA Window - New England Revolution
- Alejandro Bran Called up for International Duty - Minnesota United FC
- Ticketing Information Announced: Inter Miami CF 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Quarterfinals - Inter Miami CF
- 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Quarterfinal Pairings and Schedule Confirmed - New England Revolution
- Ariel Lassiter Called up by Costa Rican National Team - Club de Foot Montreal
- FC Cincinnati Look to Take Lessons Learned from Concacaf Champions Cup Pain to MLS Play, Future Competitions - FC Cincinnati
- New York Red Bulls Homegrowns John Tolkin and Daniel Edelman Selected to U.S. Men's Olympic Team Training Camp - New York Red Bulls
- Revolution Homegrowns Esmir Bajraktarević and Noel Buck Earn National Team Call-Ups - New England Revolution
- George Campbell Called up by U23 United States National Team - Club de Foot Montreal
- FC Cincinnati Exit Concacaf Champions Cup Despite Champion Quality Performance - FC Cincinnati
- CF Monterrey Topples FC Cincinnati, 2-1 - FC Cincinnati
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent FC Cincinnati Stories
- Preview: Hell Is Real Ignites Rivalry Week as FC Cincinnati Take on Columbus Crew
- Orange and Blue and Crew 2 Square off in Double Derby Weekend in Columbus
- By the Numbers: FC Cincinnati at Columbus Crew
- Kévin Denkey Wonder Goal Secures FC Cincinnati 3 Points in Toronto as Orange and Blue Down TFC 1-0
- FC Cincinnati Sign Obinna Nwobodo to Contract Extension

