FC Cincinnati Host NYCFC as Final Stretch of the Season Heats Up
MLS FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati Host NYCFC as Final Stretch of the Season Heats Up

Published on August 22, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


FC Cincinnati continue to build and battle as the 2025 regular season enters its final stretch, with a visit to TQL Stadium from New York City Football Club next up on the agenda. With seven games to play in the regular season, the table is as tight as can be, and every match will have massive ramifications on not only the Supporters' Shield race but also playoff seeding.

The Orange and Blue sit atop the Eastern Conference table entering Saturday's match and are tied for the top of the league on 52 points. A win on Saturday would, at the very least, keep pace with the top of the table and, at best, lift FCC into pole position with six games to play.

In the last meeting between New York and FC Cincinnati, it was the Empire State club that came out on top against FCC. However, a lot has changed since then, and the FCC is looking to get its revenge and defend its home grounds.

"I think the preparations have been good. In just looking at New York City, obviously our first matchup they were superior, and I know that was a while ago, but they've been pretty consistent in their play and really in their personnel for the last stretch here," FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said Friday ahead of the weekend tilt. "It's a good challenge for us, we're at home, and we know we need to step up our play and in this stretch run, be dominant at home if we want to maintain our position."

"We worked all year to be in this position. This is exactly why we've done what we've done. So we're trying to cherish every game and no matter who we play, we look for three points," Lukas Engel added later at his press availability. "First of all, I hope the game is going to be a little bit different than last time, because we had a tough afternoon there...but over the season I think we are only getting better every game. So no matter what they're going to come at us with, we are prepared."

NYCFC have been one of the most dominant teams at home this season, but have struggled when going on the road. One thing that stands out, though, for FC Cincinnati's Head Coach is that while their results have been varied, NYC have been very stable in both their selection choice and their style of play.

"I don't think they change too much of their play structurally or with ideas," Noonan said Friday of whether NYCFC makes chances when playing home and away. "I imagine they're more comfortable playing at home, as are most teams. And yeah, we could talk about the dimensions and the optics of it, but they're very good at home, and I think that's common, so I think we can put aside just maybe the specifics of where they play, but they're pretty consistent in their play, results is the difference. They can, I think, add, subtract pieces within their group, and not much changes. I think they do a really good job with the recruitment of having like-for-like and having good depth."

With the closing of the Secondary Transfer Window coming Friday at 1 a.m., the roster for FC Cincinnati looks a little different heading into this game than it did the last time they played. The club announced Thursday that they traded defender DeAndre Yedlin to Real Salt Lake, but also announced the captures of Dominik Marczuk and Brenner on loan as well.

The newcomers will be unavailable for the match, as will the traded Yedlin. Additionally, the team will be without Miles Robinson, who will be out with a calf injury. Even with numerous changes to the lineup and some unavailable players to choose from, Pat Noonan feels that they've shown the team can respond to adversity, and those selected will be more than capable of getting the job done.

"They're key pieces, but it's no different than what we've experienced for years now," Noonan said Friday on the absence of Yedlin and Robinson. "We've lost key pieces at different times for different reasons; injury, international duty, all these things, and we have guys that I think do a good job of preparing themselves, and the coaches do a good job of working with guys to make sure their confidence is there and they're ready. So with the departure of DeAndre, and now with Miles picking up an injury, we'll have guys that are ready to go. I think, depth wise, along the back line specifically, we've been pretty good all year as far as being able to rotate guys and have guys ready to play."

FC CINCINNATI vs New York City Football City - Saturday, August 23, 2025 - 7:30 p.m. ET - TQL Stadium

Watch/Stream (English/Spanish): MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

English Local Radio: iHeart Media: FOX SPORTS 1360

Spanish Local Radio: La Mega 101.5 FM

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FC Cincinnati Official Mobile App: iOS and Android

Versus NYCFC

Saturday will be the 19th all-time meeting between FC Cincinnati and New York City FC, which is Cincinnati's most matches against any opponent since joining MLS in 2019.

The two sides met an impressive six times last season in all competitions (2 MLS Regular Season; 1 Leagues Cup; 3 MLS Cup Playoffs). Although Cincinnati led the head-to-head 3-2-1, NYC won the shootout in the lone tie, in Game 3 of the Round One Best-of-3 series.

FC CINCINNATI NOTES

Stretch Run - FC Cincinnati enter Matchday 30 atop the Eastern Conference Standings with 52 points and tied with San Diego FC for the most points in MLS.

Five of FC Cincinnati's seven remaining matches in the 2025 MLS Regular Season will be at TQL Stadium. The Orange and Blue are 7-3-2 (.667) at home in MLS play this season.

Four of the five remaining home matches, including Saturday night, come against teams who enter Matchday 30 above the Eastern Conference playoff line: New York City FC (August 23), Philadelphia Union (August 30), Nashville SC (September 13) and Orlando City (September 27).

Kévin! - FC Cincinnati Designated Player Kévin Denkey is back after missing nearly a month of action. Last Saturday at Portland Timbers in making his first start since July 12, Denkey scored in the 10th minute to net his 13th MLS goal in his first season in the league.

Despite Denkey missing much of July, his seven game-winning goals are tied with NYCFC's Alonso Martínez for the MLS lead.

One Goal Wins - Since the start of 2023, FC Cincinnati's 41 one-goal wins are nearly 20 more than the next closest club (Seattle Sounders FC, 23 one-goal wins since 2023). The Orange and Blue are 13-3 this season in games decided by one goal.

Welcome Aboard - On Tuesday, FC Cincinnati announced the acquisition of Ghanaian midfielder Samuel Gidi (pronunciation: Ghee-Dee) from MŠK Žilina of the Slovakian First Division via transfer. Gidi will join the club as a U22 Initiative Player, pending receipt of his P-1 Visa, on a contract through the 2028 season with an option for 2029. He will occupy an International Roster Slot.

Gidi, 21, has made over 100 professional appearances in Europe with Žilina. In parts of four seasons with the club, the midfielder has scored nine goals and added eight assists.

SCOUTING NYCFC (12-8-5, 41 Points, 8th in the Eastern Conference)

NYCFC comes to TQL Stadium winners of their last two matches and deep in the hunt for one of the final guaranteed playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. With 41 points, the Pigeons sit in 8th place, and if the season were to end now, they would host the Wild Card game to open the MLS Cup Playoffs against Chicago Fire FC.

But with seven matches to go, New York can still radically change its place in the table. Cross-town rivals New York Red Bulls and Chicago Fire both sit just two points behind them, and Charlotte FC sit just three points above NYCFC, but the Bronx/Queens-based team have two games in hand over all of them.

In their most recent match - the return to league play after Leagues Cup 2025 - NYCFC took down Nashville SC at Yankee Stadium to improve their record at home to 9-3-0. New York is one of the most dominant clubs in Major League Soccer when playing at home this season, and have not lost a home game since May.

But their record on the road is a different story. With a 3-5-5 record when playing outside Yankee Stadium or Citi Field, NYCFC have the fewest wins on the road of any team currently in a playoff position. The output is fairly similar on both ends, though, as New York has scored 21 goals at home and 15 goals on the road, despite playing one fewer game at home. On defense, NYCFC have conceded 19 goals on the road compared to just 11 at home. The 11 goals conceded at home is the third fewest allowed in MLS.

In all, NYCFC play some of the lowest event soccer in the league. While owners of a goal +6 goal differential, NYCFC matches have had a combined 66 goals in total (for and against combined), which is the fourth lowest total in MLS this season and the second lowest in the Eastern Conference. Only Austin FC (53), Real Salt Lake (60), and Toronto FC (61) have had fewer total goals in their matches.

This low event figure does not speak to overall quality in any way, but it does suggest that NYCFC is perfectly comfortable playing in low-scoring or close games and have been generally successful in getting results.

In terms of players to keep an eye on, the forward combination of Hannes Wolf and Alonso Martínez lead the way offensively for NYCFC. Both, in MLS action, have combined for 14 goal contributions this season. Martínez leads the way in goals scored with 13 and one assist, whereas Wolf serves more as the playmaker with five assists - though Wolf does have nine goals of his own as well. In the 2-1 win over Nashville SC last weekend, Martínez scored the winner in the 77th minute.

On defense, Justin Haak leads the defensive line as a center back, with his defensive partner rotating in the 4-3-3 formation based on matchups and player availability. Tayvon Gray, who is a regular in the lineup, has appeared as both a center back and right back, but Strahinja Tanasijević appeared as the centre back beside Haak in their most recent game.

Another notable figure who will likely factor into this match is veteran midfielder Maxi Moralez. The 38-year-old Argentine midfielder initially joined the club in 2017 as a Designated Player and has remained with the club ever since, except for a brief stint back in Argentina in 2023. Moralez has appeared in all 25 matches this season and scored twice while adding a team high nine goals.

Matt Freese has been the man between the pipes for NYCFC this season, appearing in 22 games and only missing three matches for the Concacaf Gold Cup, where he started all seven games for the United States. Freese had represented the US at the youth level, and had been called into training camps in the past, but his Gold Cup experience was his first Senior appearance with the United States Men's National Team.

Pascal Jansen is the Head Coach of NYCFC, joining the club at the start of the 2025 season. The London-born manager came to Major League Soccer after managing briefly in Hungary and the Netherlands. He has an extensive history serving as a youth coach, spending five years as the manager of Dutch side PSV's youth teams before making the jump to the senior level.

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 22, 2025


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