Game Day Preview #PENvCIN
September 21, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Penn FC (9-12-8, 35 pts) need a big result this Saturday night when first place FC Cincinnati (20-3-6, 66 pts) travels to FNB Field to keep its own 18 match unbeaten streak alive.
Penn FC's playoff hopes took dipped after a disappointing 3-0 loss to defending USL champions Louisville City FC this past Wednesday, causing Penn FC to fall to 13th place in the Eastern Conference standings. Penn FC currently sits six points out of the final playoff spot, but with only five matches left, the team must win out to maintain its chance at the final playoff spot.
Rush Soccer's First Team last faced FC Cincinnati in Week 22 where the future MLS side stole a 1-0 win on its home field. The match was as the scoreline indicated, a very even and tough match which saw Penn FC outshoot FC Cincinnati but unfortunately couldn't convert any of their chances. Penn FC was on its way to earning a point on the road when FC Cincinnati's Emmanuel Ledesma buried his free kick into the back of the net in the 80th minute.
The Blue and White will look to make a statement on Saturday, get some revenge on its own field and come away with three crucial points.
Head coach Raoul Voss believes his team is playing well now but just need to take more advantage of their opportunities when they create them.
"If we show the same effort and commitment that's half the battle," said Voss at training this week. "Now we got to make sure we are more crucial in front of goal. We didn't take advantage of our opportunities and made a few too many mistakes in the back, and that's what we must work on to avoid those mistakes. Obviously, you can't win games if you don't score so we must take advantage of other chances -- we had plenty of chances and we didn't score."
FC Cincinnati come into this match red hot, winning their last seven in a row and will look to ride its top goal scorers, Ledesma and forward Danny Konig. Ledesma currently sits as the eastern conferences fifth-leading scorer with 13 goals on the year. Penn FC will look to neutralize both forwards while trying to keep a clean sheet on the night.
Penn FC and FC Cincinnati face off this Saturday night at 7 p.m. Gates at FNB Field will open at 5:30 p.m. and fans are encouraged to arrive early to snag free vouchers from the Pennsylvania State Lottery.
Tickets for the match are available at penfc.com/tickets. Fans unable to make it to FNB Field can watch the match on the ESPN+ streaming platform.
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