FC Cincinnati Take on New York Red Bulls in Final Road Match of the 2025 Regular Season
MLS FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati Take on New York Red Bulls in Final Road Match of the 2025 Regular Season

Published on October 2, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


FC Cincinnati depart for their final road match of the 2025 regular season with aspirations of getting their performances back on track and earning all three points. The Orange and Blue have been quality on the road this season, earning 10 wins in 16 league matches, but if they want to put pressure up the table and maintain their place for playoff seeding, they will need an 11th win to come this Saturday night.

The opponent this weekend, the New York Red Bulls, come into this one with interesting circumstances. After being formally eliminated from playoff contention, the Red Bulls will play the final two regular-season games with nothing to play for as far as the standings. Regardless, FC Cincinnati is preparing for this game with the highest intensity and focus it can, knowing they need to win for their own sake and improve their performances ahead of the start of the playoffs.

"I can't talk for the other side, what I know is, here's what we can control: the position we're in, and the position we're trying to end up in. Right now, it's hold the position we're in, and maybe with a little bit of luck, we can jump a spot," FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said Thursday ahead of the team departing for New York. "But all we can control is how we go out and perform.

"What their approach is? I don't know. There's a lot of ways that they can go into this game with new personnel, with trying something new, or it's the same. We have an idea of what that looks like but we have to be prepared for a motivated team, a team that wants to end the season strong. And, like I said, we need to make sure we get our stuff right."

Not in control of their own Supporters' Shield destiny, FC Cincinnati can still apply pressure on the leaders until the final day with a win, and should they get a little help from around the league, they could enter that final day with a chance. Still, they are in control of their playoff positioning, and with two wins to close the season, they could finish no lower than second in the Eastern Conference. They can also punch their ticket to the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup with favorable results, so there is plenty to play for and earn this weekend.

"It doesn't change anything for us at the moment, whether they got something to play for or not. We need to bounce back from the other day and win the game no matter what they throw at us," defender Lukas Engel said Thursday after training. "We have to do what we do and just win the game."

FC CINCINNATI at New York Red Bulls - Saturday, October 4, 2025 - 7 p.m. ET - Sports Illustrated Stadium

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History with New York Red Bulls

Including the 2017 U.S. Open Cup Semifinals when FC Cincinnati were a USL side, Saturday marks the 20th all-time meeting between Cincinnati and New York, more than any other opponent in FCC club history.

FC Cincinnati earned their first regular season home victory earlier this season over the Red Bulls, taking down the New York side 1-0 on opening day with Kévin Denkey scoring to give FCC the win. The two sides have also met three times in the MLS Cup Playoffs, once in 2022 and against in 2023 where FC Cincinnati faced off with RBNY in the Round One Best-of-3 series. In all three matchups, FC Cincinnati came out victorious; doing so twice in regular time and once in a penalty shootout.

FC CINCINNATI NOTES

CLINCHED! - The Orange and Blue have qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Only FC Cincinnati, the New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC, LAFC and Real Salt Lake qualified in each of the three seasons between 2022-2024. With a win last Saturday, FC Cincinnati also became the second team in MLS history to win 18 games in a season three years in a row.

New Name, Familiar Venue - FC Cincinnati have played more road matches at Sports Illustrated Stadium than any other road venue, by far. Saturday will be FCC's 16th all-time visit to Red Bull Arena and - the 14th in FCC's MLS era (since 2019). FCC have faced NYCFC three times in Red Bull Arena and also faced Red Bulls II twice in Harrison in the club's USL days.

Record Breaking Scorer - One more goal for FC Cincinnati midfielder Evander will give the star midfielder the all-time FC Cincinnati club record for goals in all competitions in a season. He will, at minimum, have five remaining games to hold the record for himself, as he enters Sunday with 21.

Evander has four games remaining to score his 18th MLS Regular Season goal of the season, which would match the club record for MLS Goals in a season (Brenner and Brandon Vazquez, both in 2022). None of his goals in 2025 have come from the penalty spot.

It's Been A While - FC Cincinnati and the New York Red Bulls first met this season on Matchday 1. That night, on February 22, was a frigid 30 degree kickoff at TQL Stadium which saw FC Cincinnati win 1-0 behind Kévin Denkey's 70th minute game-winning goal. Seven months, over 200 days later, the two sides meet again in New Jersey in early October.

SCOUTING New York Red Bulls (12-13-7, 43 Points, 10th in the Eastern Conference)

The New York Red Bulls enter this game having been formally eliminated from the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs earlier this week, thanks to Chicago Fire clinching the final available spot with their midweek win over Miami. The charter MLS club's 15-year streak of making the playoffs has come to an end, and FC Cincinnati take them on fresh off that disappointment, making it curious to see what kind of Red Bulls team emerges.

The Red Bulls have had a season nearly equally divided between their home venues. Away from home, New York is a challenging 2-10-4 this season, but at their Harrison, NJ, home of Sports Illustrated Stadium, they are a dominant 10-3-3 in 16 MLS matches there this season.

Anchored by their stars, New York ranks second league-wide in goals scored at home this season with 36 - trailing only the Vancouver Whitecaps in home goals - while ranking second-to-last in road goals this season with only 11.

The two DP attackers account for over half of the side's scoring output. Emil Forsberg, who joined the Red Bulls last year, has scored 11 goals while adding a team-high 10 assists. His running mate, and 2025 signee, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, leads the team in scoring with 16 goals and has added five assists as well.

"With Forsberg, always with top players, it's how they read the game, how they move off the ball, whatever the ideas are in the build up to games in their preparation, you see players like him that are always looking around to see where the space is going to be," Pat Noonan said on the Red Bulls midfielder. "They're anticipating the game quicker than most, understanding when to receive and move on the dribble when pressure is there, and how to play on one touch like I mentioned, know where their teammates are, where the support is. He plays the game at a high level."

"Choupo-Moting as well. How he moves within the backline, when there's space to run to goal his movements are very good. Deceptive in how he changes speeds, how he uses his body, he's very strong with that and in knowing how to create his shots," Noonan continued on the forward. "You see even the first goal against NYC, how he uses his body, how he delays a little bit to find his teammate. He's got good vision and looks to be a very unselfish player. So it's not just about goals, it's about scoring goals as a team and winning. So you can see those things with top players and certainly those are two of them."

From there, 10 other players have scored for the Red Bulls, seven of whom have scored once.

The New York side is coming off a devastating loss in their playoff hopes, falling to cross-river rival New York City FC in the Hudson River Derby in a rare loss at home. In that match, head coach Sandro Schwarz deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation, which has become the most common shape the side has gone to this season.

In that match, the defensive back line consisted of young defender Noah Eile and league veteran Tim Parker in the middle, with outside backs of Raheem Edwards and Kyle Duncan.

Brazilian keeper and long-time Red Bull Carlos Coronel remains the steadfast option between the posts and is looking to close his fifth season with the club on a high note. Coronel has made nearly 160 appearances for the side and has played all but nine possible MLS matches for the team in that time.

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Carter Chapley -

Staff Writer @CarterChapley

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