New York City FC II Shuts out FC Cincinnati
MLS NEXT Pro New York City FC II

New York City FC II Shuts out FC Cincinnati

Published on May 23, 2026 under MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
New York City FC II News Release


New York City FC II secured a 2-0 victory over FC Cincinnati 2 on a wet evening in Queens. An own goal from Cheikhou Niang opened the scoring before Joseph Suchecki doubled the advantage in the second half, as the Pigeons earned back-to-back wins in MLS NEXT Pro.

Match Recap

A wet Saturday evening in Queens was the backdrop for New York City FC II's latest fixture against FC Cincinnati 2.

The Pigeons came into the game fresh off a dramatic 3-2 Hudson River Derby win in their last outing and were keen to maintain their momentum against Cincy.

It was the visitors, however, that registered the first chance of the game thanks to Charlie Holmes in the third minute. Thankfully, his header failed to hit the target.

Stefan Chirila then drew a save from Mac Learned minutes later before Joseph Suchecki registered New York City FC II's first shot of the game.

In the 14th minute, Cooper Flax fired off a strike that was deflected behind for a corner. The hosts claimed the lead from the resulting set piece, with Cheikhou Niang putting the ball past his own goalkeeper.

Sebastiano Musu then tried to double the advantage a minute later but failed to keep his attempt on target.

The wet conditions were having an impact on proceedings, with the ball zipping across the field.

Niang attempted to draw his team level just after the half-hour mark, but his effort flew over Learned's crossbar.

As the half drew to a close, New York City FC II looked comfortable in possession but were unable to convert that into clear-cut chances.

The start of the second half saw a renewed effort from Cincinnati to draw level. Niang was the first player to try to produce an equalizer, only for his header to fly well wide.

In the 57th minute, Holmes tried his luck with a header, but he did not trouble Learned. That was followed by a shot from Niang that Learned did well to smother behind for a corner.

Head Coach Matt Pilkington made a double change in the 64th minute as Juan Ponce and Gil De Souza replaced David Duque and Henrik Hvatum.

Ponce almost doubled the Pigeons' advantage after intercepting a pass out from the back. His eventual shot was closed down and deflected behind for a corner.

Just as in the first half, the resulting set piece proved costly for Cincinnati, as Joseph Suchecki fired into the roof of the net to give New York City FC II a 2-0 advantage in the 67th minute.

Ponce then went close again in the 81st minute from inside the area, forcing William Kuisel to get in front of the ball to block it.

In the 90th minute, Pilkington turned to his bench again, introducing Lucas De Pinho and Dylan Randazzo for Elhadji Samb and Sebastiano Musu.

What's Next

Next up for New York City FC II is a game against is a game against Columbus Crew 2 on Saturday, May 30. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM ET.

Check out the New York City FC II Statistics

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