FC Cincinnati See Victory Fall Away in Final Moments, Settle for Draw in 1-1 Heartbreaker with Orlando City SC
MLS FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati See Victory Fall Away in Final Moments, Settle for Draw in 1-1 Heartbreaker with Orlando City SC

Published on September 29, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


The marquee matchup of the week, lined up as a primetime start for MLS Season Pass Sunday Night Soccer on AppleTV, lived up to the hype. It was a dynamic, competitive, nail biting affair that went down to literally the final kick of the match. For the entire American soccer audience and those watching worldwide, it was exactly the kind of match you hope for to cap off the weekend.

For the entire audience-save for one fanbase, that is.

After taking a lead in the 73rd minute on a brilliant pass and strike from Evander to Kévin Denkey, FC Cincinnati had to exit the field settling for a draw. Orlando City SC, after challenging the home defense all night, broke through in the 90+6 minute to level the game. The cross in from the wide channel found a head, and snuck in to make the otherwise hysteric TQL Stadium crowd stunned and left FC Cincinnati with one point instead of three.

"We missed an opportunity, of course, tonight," Head Coach Pat Noonan said at the postgame press conference Sunday night. "There are things we clearly have to improve on...whether sloppy turnovers, rushed plays, I think we struggled to control the tempo and some of our decisions and how we attacked put us in some vulnerable spots. I don't want to say a fair result. It could have been worse with that. So, take a point, look at some of the things, specifically defensively, that have to improve."

The ramifications of the result were fairly clear even entering this game, and equally devastating. If FC Cincinnati wanted to make a chase at the Supporters' Shield, or at the top spot in the Eastern Conference they would need a win. They didn't control their own destiny, but there was an opportunity there to push the chance at a trophy to the final day and be there to win it if someone else slipped up.

Opportunity is still mathematically there, but at some point the odds feel long and the reality of the situation begins to loom on top of you. Which makes this draw one that feels more like an outright loss, and perhaps a season defining loss at that.

"Definitely unacceptable. Super sour taste. We had it two minutes away and it's definitely heartbreaking," FC Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson said postgame. "They pretty much came in and took our three points from our hands.

"Obviously they're a good team, but...we were up one-nil in the 95th minute. We can't let that happen."

Robinson captained the side tonight and cleaned up a lot of danger, particularly in the first half when Orlando looked most dangerous. The defense as a whole though was a point of emphasis for Head Coach Pat Noonan postgame, who highlighted how at times this game could have been far worse than the 1-1 draw it ended up being.

Orlando, a dangerous team in transition, was given several opportunities to get out and run but only through great intervention did FCC manage to keep them off the scoreboard. So even beyond the one goal FCC conceded, Noonan felt there was work to be done on that side of the ball.

"Organization, defensively, I think, how we got behind the ball and how we made the game difficult. The teams break us down. It's too easy, too many pieces out of place and then you have to defend a very good team in the attack, in isolation, dealing with crosses, dealing with runs behind, so it's just a disconnected defensive effort."

FC Cincinnati did have opportunities on the attack all game and broke through on a combination similar to some of their other goals of late, where Evander picked out Kévin Denkey on a run to the box. The space opened up around Denkey when Brenner darted in the other direction and took the attention of two defenders. The combination has played out with the forward roles reversed recently, so to see it work in reverse was a fascinating look at what the attack is capable of.

"I'm happy with the goal, but honestly, I feel like it's like a game that we lost," Kévin Denkey said after the loss. " It's really difficult, because we are home and we had these three points in our hands, and we let it go. It's really difficult. It's not even like we draw."

"This game looks like a playoff game - it will be difficult until the end," Denkey continued. "That's why we need to be prepared for this kind of intensity and focus until the end, especially now. We didn't take these three points so we need to learn from this. It's not okay it happened, but if we don't learn, that's the thing. So we need to learn."

An element of this match that goes in theme with the rest of the season is that FC Cincinnati once again found themselves in a one goal game. The intensity in the final moments is ramped up as all it takes is one good moment to swing the tide, but for the most part not only this season but the last couple of years, FC Cincinnati has been experienced and effective at closing out these games and getting results.

The knock on the team at times has been their inability, or perhaps the perception of unwillingness, to go for a second goal and put the game away that way. Tonight that balance perhaps swung in the wrong direction.

After the goal in the 73rd minute, FCC kept pushing for more, and were nearly successful. They even continued to push for that match sealing a second goal late into stoppage time before Orlando struck for their equalizer.

This time though it wasn't necessarily a conservative attitude that was the downfall. A reading of this game you could come away with is Orlando scoring because FCC was not adequately focused on defense, being caught too far forward and allowing Orlando an opportunity.

That balance is still something FC Cincinnati is reckoning with. But it may not be about having to pick a particular ideology of what you should do late (aggressive vs conservative) more so understand how to do both effectively and have the presence to know what that looks like.

"That's fair. Brenner still had a pretty good look to go 2-0, so the chances are still kind of there, but it's how you get to those spots," Noonan said, acknowledging the challenge they're trying to solve within that part of the game. "How do you make sure that it's the right moment to attack and understand the game? We're up a goal, and if we get a second goal, it's because it's a mistake on their end or a little bit more patient with tempo control to allow us to close the spaces. And I think that's what we're still trying to figure out."

"The aftermath of the goal, I still think for a stretch, we were in pretty good control," Noonan added. "We could have got that second goal, but the priority needs to be defending in a better way. So, we know what we can create. There were plenty of chances out there, but what's more concerning is how we concede.

FC Cincinnati now go on the road for the final time, before closing the 2025 regular season campaign at TQL Stadium on Decision Day. The point earned in Sunday night's draw, while bitter, did inch FCC closer to clinching home field advantage in Round One of the playoffs to the point where now all they will need is a single point from their final two games to do so.

But most importantly, perhaps, with the Supporters' Shield technically possible but mostly unlikely, FCC now have three weeks before the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs begin and therefore three weeks to sort out the kinks and find their best soccer going into the playoffs. It will be of the utmost importance for them to continue to work and learn from this match if they want to lift a trophy in 2025.

"At this stage, and if we want to make a run in the playoffs, it has to be better," Pat Noonan said assuredly. "We need to improve in these final two weeks and into the playoffs."

The Orange and Blue first take on the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, October 4th at the newly named Sports Illustrated Stadium (formerly Red Bull Arena). That will be their first opportunity to rebound from the heartbreak they felt Sunday night.

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