MLS FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Split Points in Team's First Trip to BC Place

June 11, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


FC Cincinnati and Vancouver Whitecaps FC played to a 1-1 draw Saturday night at BC Place in the team's first ever trip to their Western Conference opposition. The result snaps a six-match winning streak for the Orange and Blue and is the second consecutive 1-1 draw for the Whitecaps.

The Orange and Blue remain atop the Eastern Conference table with 40 points (12-1-4), eight points clear of Nashville SC while Vancouver remain sixth (5-5-7) in the west with 22 points.

The first half featured plenty of chances for both sides in what was a back-and-forth affair over the opening forty-five minutes of play. Vancouver's Brian White, who leads the Whitecaps with six goals on the year, nearly opened the scoring for the hosts in the 11th minute.

A long, bouncing ball played in towards the Cincinnati penalty area found its way onto the foot of White, who delicately chipped up and over Roman Celentano, but the attempt was wide of the far post and out of bounds to end the attack.

Brandon Vazquez, in search of his fifth goal of the season, responded to the White chance less than a minute later with a wonderful individual effort. Matt Miazga connected with Vazquez out of the back as Vazquez controlled skillfully and navigated around and through three Whitecaps defenders before releasing a quick shot that was saved by Yohei Takaoka.

Dom Badji, who started his fourth game in the last five matches across all competitions, had the half's best look in the 40th minute. The chance came as a result of Álvaro Barreal's attacking charge into the Vancouver area, and an initial shot that was deflected and saved.

Takaoka's save left the ball free near the penalty spot, where Badji was first to claim, and quickly fired a shot towards goal. Whitecaps defender and captain Ranko Veselinovic blocked the shot and cleared off the goal line to keep things knotted at 0-0 going into the break.

Luciano Acosta provided a moment of magic off the bench for the Orange and Blue in the 83rd minute, scoring his eighth goal of the campaign. Miazga assisted on the goal, picking out Acosta with another quality ball out of the defensive third.

Acosta was able to beat Veselinovic to Miazga's ball and chipped Takaoka with his first touch from a difficult angle.

But Vancouver brought things level six minutes later in the 89th minute with a penalty conversion from Ryan Gauld. Sergio Cordova drew the foul after getting into a dangerous area and Gauld tucked it away for his third goal in as many matches to end it in a 1-1 draw.

FC Cincinnati return home to TQL Stadium on Wednesday, June 21 as the Orange and Blue take on Toronto FC. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with tickets still available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (513) 977-5425 (KICK). The match will also stream exclusively on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app and fans can also listen to the match locally on ESPN 1530.

Check out the FC Cincinnati Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from June 11, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central