Cincinnati's Streak Ends: Home Draw Halts Winning Run
MLS FC Cincinnati

Cincinnati's Streak Ends: Home Draw Halts Winning Run

Published on August 22, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Last updated: August 22, 2026
Source: FC Cincinnati News Release


CINCINNATI - FC Cincinnati and Seattle Sounders FC played to a 1-1 draw Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd at TQL Stadium.

The Orange and Blue (8-6-7, 31 points) had a four-match home MLS win streak snapped in the draw, the first dropped points in league play at home since May 13. The Sounders (7-9-4, 25 points) snapped an eight-match league play losing streak.

After a wild sequence with two saves and a goal line clearance in front of the Seattle net, Evander gave Cincinnati the lead in the 24th minute. The All-Star midfielder has scored a goal in six consecutive MLS matches at home.

The Sounders spoiled FCC's chance for a fifth-straight win at home with Kalani Kossa-Rienzi's 83rd minute equalizer, ending the match in a 1-1 draw.

The Orange and Blue head south for a matchup with Supporters' Shield-leading Nashville SC next Saturday, August 29. Kickoff from GEODIS Park in the Music City is set for 8:30 p.m. ET. The match airs globally on Apple TV and over the radio locally in English on iHeart Media ESPN 1530 and Spanish on La Mega 101.5 FM.

FC Cincinnati are back home on Saturday, September 5 to host D.C. United. Tickets are available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK.

AS IT HAPPENED

CIN: Evander, GOAL - 24' (1-0) - FCC were denied multiple times in rapid succession before Evander laced the opening goal. Bryan Ramirez and Kenji Mboma Dem's initial shots from point blank were stopped by the Seattle keeper, then a Sounders defender blocked a Ramirez rebound chance along the goal line. Finally, the ball fell to the right of the penalty spot, where Evander sent in another patented laser under the crossbar into the back of the net.

SEA: Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, GOAL - 83' (1-1) - The Sounders pushed the ball down into the right corner for Albert Rusnák, who crossed the ball back inside the six-yard box for Kalani Kossa-Rienzi to finish one time for the equalizer.

GAME NOTES

- Evander's 24th minute goal was his 15th across all competitions in 2026, placing him tied for 10th for most goals in a single season in club history (Kévin Denkey, 2026; Luciano Acosta, 2024).

- With the goal, Evander added a league leading 24th goal contribution.

- Evander's 13 goals in MLS matches rank tied for second in MLS.

-Since May 13, Evander has now scored in eight of the nine home matches across all competitions, netting nine goals over that span.

- Evander has scored in six-straight home MLS matches dating back to May 13.

- Tah Brian Anunga made his fifth MLS start this season, and his first MLS start since May 16 at San Diego FC.

-Andrei Chirila made his fifth career MLS start Saturday evening, his first MLS start since May 9 at Charlotte FC.

- Saturday marked the 10th sellout of TQL Stadium this season.

- FC Cincinnati's eight first-half shots on goal were one shy of the club record for SOG in a half (9, 6/23/21 at CHI, first half).

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'

OFFICIALS

Referee: Drew Fischer

Ast. Referees: Micheal Barwegen, Lyes Arfa Fourth Official: Chris Penso VAR: Younes Marrakchi AVAR: Claudiu Badea

FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan

Seattle Sounders FC Postgame Press Conference August 22, 2026

Thoughts on the 1-1 draw ... (0:22)

"Overall, a strong performance, but a moment there at the end where we take too much risk and they punish us for it. It's unfortunate that on a night where we have enough opportunities to get the second goal and put the game away, we don't do it. That's the game. They came back and punished us, that's the difference."

On how Seattle impacted the match ... (1:01)

"Defensively, it was a lot of straight matchups with their structure, so we tried to find some space in the wide areas to move up the field. They had the line of five, and we tried to use our wing backs and Tom (Barlow) to free up some spaces. But they defended against the ball really well. There were enough moments there, but again, we talked about decisiveness in those moments and taking them, we could have done a better job there. Controlled territory, they had some dangerous moments in transition, but the big moment is the risk we take on the second phase of that set piece. When you don't win that duel and you have too many guys ahead of the ball, they put it wide and in the box, and we didn't have the numbers."

On struggling to score goals despite a lot of chances ... (2:07)

"If we're talking about struggling to score goals and that's because we aren't scoring three or four, that's just not how it's going to be. It's hard to score goals. We had enough chances to, but our goal production has been good. You're not going to win every game with three or four goals in the net and only have success that way. You got to win 1-0, and we were in a position to do that."

On differences defensively in the second half vs the first half ... (2:48)

"Defensively, the first half was as strong as we've had all year. 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. Miles (Robinson), Sami (Gidi) and Andrei (Chirila) I thought did a really good job and we were able to win knockdowns, as well, and control that part of the game. In the second half, some of the moments where we turned the ball over and they had space in transition is where some of those opportunities came where they advanced the ball and had territory. I thought overall, it was still a relatively strong defensive performance, but the moment at the end is what sticks out. That's all that matters is the scoreline in those moments. Disappointing."

How the team managed to dominate possession and adapt to having the ball so often ... (4:07)

"Like I said, we had to defend against their structure, which they were organized and the ball has to move quickly and then you have to win a couple of duels or you have to be able to create some separation to invite more pressure and open up space in and behind their back line. And we just didn't do that consistently enough. When we found the moments, we didn't have the end product. Possession didn't matter because we didn't score more goals."

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 22, 2026


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