FC Cincinnati Stuck to Their Plan But Close Leagues Cup 2025 with a 2-1 Loss to Chivas Guadalajara
MLS FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati Stuck to Their Plan But Close Leagues Cup 2025 with a 2-1 Loss to Chivas Guadalajara

August 8, 2025 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said one day before the match that they had a plan. That going into Leagues Cup 2025 they had mapped out a course for how they would handle the tournament and were going to stick to it.

Some results in the days prior to FCC's Saturday night match with Chivas Guadalajara could have dictated, or at least clarified, The Orange and Blue's chances at advancing in Leagues Cup. But they were sticking to the plan; and that plan dictated that FC Cincinnati was going to use their depth in the third match of Phase One, and give an opportunity to its young players to prove themselves and make an impression.

Unsurprisingly, they got what you could call a 'mixed bag' of outcomes from that plan. FC Cincinnati rotated nearly the entire lineup, leaving only one player who has been a regular starter in the lineup, and allowed for youth to shine in the match. It wasn't a typical night at TQL Stadium, but it was a fun one.

In the end, FC Cincinnati, captained by Nick Hagglund and flanked by three players making their first career start for the club, battled hard with one of Mexico's most historic and successful clubs but came up short and fell 2-1 to end their Leagues Cup journey for the year.

The defense continued to shine as Chivas Guadalajara, who only rotated four players from their lineup in the previous match, only scored once in each half with both being unconventional goals. The first half goal was earned on a converted penalty, a call that went initially unwhistled but after a view from the ref with the VAR it was deemed that Brian Anunga had fouled the Chivas player in the box and they converted from the spot. The second came nearly an hour later as Chivas intercepted a poorly taken pass from Teenage Hadebe in the FCC defensive third and immediately made the home side pay for it.

Despite the result and given the context, FC Cincinnati apprised itself well against a strong team and walked away with a performance they could ultimately be proud of.

"We wouldn't have changed how we went about it," Pat Noonan said postgame from the dais at TQL Stadium, referring to if they would have made lineup changes if the League Cup format were different. "We kind of knew the challenges of advancing, and we weren't able to but we got a lot to take out of individual play, the collective play, and I think we're moving in a good direction. I think the guys see that too."

In the past, as recent as Friday prior to this match even, Noonan clarified his belief that every match provides you answers and further your information pool. He also made sure to remind everyone that his expectations for the team, and the players on it remain high- no matter what starting XI he picks. So even with a young, rotated, lineup, he expects them to go out and perform.

That expectation helps raise the level of play. That standard helps push young players like Stefan Chirila, Kenji Mboma Dem, Ender Echenique (who all made their first starts with FCC) and Stiven Jimenez (making his second start, first since 2023) to reach for a higher level. And in the long run become better players.

The same was true for young players of different classifications. Gilberto Flores has been called upon more often than those four previously mentioned, but he too started, had an opportunity to play a full 90 minutes, and showed progress in that time.

Andrés Davila, an intriguing prospect from FC Cincinnati 2 who was called up to the first team for this match via short-term agreement, also made his club debut and made a positive impression to say the least. A 18-year-old forward from Colombia, Davila came on in the 67th minute and stamped his name in club history by scoring two minutes later. By coming to the near post and taping in the cross from Alvas Powell past the Chivas keeper, Davila became the 8th player to score in his first team debut, the youngest player to score a goal in club history (surpassing Gerardo "Dado" Valenzuela's record at 19), and the only player to ever score as a short-term call up.

So even without regular starters and star contributors in the lineup, the intensity and effort remained high and helped FCC to a very respectable draw against a tough opponent.

"I think collectively we lacked a little bit of creativity and movement off the ball," Noonan said in evaluating the game from a team perspective. "I think it was too predictable when they were pressing us and some of the options for our back line as the game progressed. I think it improved (as the game went on)...but yeah, lacked a little bit of creativity."

"I think there were some good stretches where we made it difficult for them to play," Noonan added in praise of the team.

FC Cincinnati entered the third and final game of Leagues Cup 2025's opening phase sitting on 4 points (one win and one draw/shootout loss) and needing a win to advance. Only the top four MLS teams in the table advance. So while previous days results across the tournament could have made FCC's advancing scenarios clearer, it was ultimately going to take FC Cincinnati winning by at least four goals to advance with the tiebreaker scenarios needed. And even that was going to require some additional help from two other games.

"A lot of things factored into it, but a lot of guys needed a little bit of a rest, just based on how the last two weeks have played out," Noonan said of the lineup. "So in our conversations, we decided this was the group to start the game for us. So for the most part, the guys did a good job, and (showed) a lot of resolve. In the end, it isn't what we wanted, but there were a lot of good individual performances from guys that haven't been getting minutes."

Part of some of the creativity that Noonan says the game lacked stemmed from a noticeable lack of cohesion at kick-off, particularly from the forward group. Which, given who was playing it's hardly unfair to say that may have been expected. For all three members of the "attacking" group, which included Chirila, Mboma Dem and Echenique, this was their first start for the club but also their first time in an environment like TQL Stadium against a Liga MX team.

Noonan highlighted how they were able to adapt over time, and how figuring it out or problem solving is an important part of development. So a night like Thursday night, in the long term scope of the club's future, is important because it gives those players opportunities to get that experience and learn from them.

"What a real game and a real team looks like and a scenario where there's implications," Noonan said of what he thinks, or hopes, the young players who played on Thursday take away from the game. "Those three haven't worked together, I don't expect it to look perfect, but you have to figure things out and understand how you can be effective with your play. So those are good learning experiences for younger players when you can see that there's a lot of room for improvement, but then you analyze it, you try to talk through some of the things that they're seeing at a higher level than they're accustomed to."

Echeninque came into the game in a different situation than the rest of his teammates, but earned high praise for his performance. The newest player to the squad as of now, Echenique is still building up his fitness after just over a week with FC Cincinnati, but in his minutes the young Venezuelan U22 player put on display exactly how he can impact the team in the immediate.

Multiple times in the first half Thursday, with Echenique coming off at halftime, FC Cincinnati's best offensive moments came from the young winger using his dribbling and speed to beat multiple defenders and progress the ball into the attacking third.

"Ender had another good showing tonight," Noonan said. "Good to build fitness but also see how effective he can be - whether it's beating guys on the dribble and how he can create separation, recognizing the right pass at the right moment to attack goal.

"Then defensively, I thought very honest with his play, and this is a guy whose fitness levels aren't at the levels of some of his teammates, but that's just sheer determination of how he pushed himself."

Echenique started at striker, which, while only a title was not one he was expected to be sorted into when he first arrived. But given the circumstances, he was deployed as such. That said, Noonan said postgame that the performance was informative of potentially new ways they could use him.

The lineup, while young, did have some staples and "normal" selections in it that provided some balance and veteran leadership to the group. Nick Hagglund, the Cincinnati native and member of The Orange and Blue since the club's debut in MLS, donned the captain's armband for the first time since 2019 and led his team on defense. The start marked another major milestone for Hagglund, who made his 150th appearance for FCC to become just the third player in club history to meet that mark.

Hagglund had been sitting on 149 since suffering an injury earlier this season in Atlanta, breaking two ribs and suffering a collapsed lung in the process, but in his return to action was marked by his steady hand and veteran presence.

"The 150 (appearances) is a testament to Nick and his commitment to this group and helping them to move the clock forward, and he certainly has," Noonan said of Hagglund. "He's a big part of our success, the role that he plays as a leader and what he's endured over the last couple of years with the injuries and to still be able to step out there and perform like that, you know, just shows how strong of a character he is, so it was nice to see him out there."

FC Cincinnati is now back into MLS play, with a race to the end of the season and the playoffs. There are nine games left to play and The Orange and Blue sit just one point out of first place in the Supporters' Shield table. They go into their return to league action Sunday against Charlotte with fresher legs but still in strong form thanks to the rotation Noonan led over the last two weeks in Leagues Cup.

At the end of all of this, given how results went around the tournament after FCC's match, to even have the chance to advance FCC would have had to have won 6-0 against Chivas Guadalajara. A tall task. So while they're trophy chances were over in Leagues Cup, FCC secured an opportunity for their young players, rotated their players for optimal freshness, and maintained their principles to earn a respectable (if not impressive) result.

It wasn't a perfect night on Thursday, and it probably could never have been and that die was cast after the second game in the tournament, but given the surrounding subtext it's about as close to an ideal game for FC Cincinnati as you could have hoped for.

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