Written by: Kyra Campbell
FC Cincinnati mounted a late rally on Saturday to draw Chicago and remain unbeaten on the season, after being down 3-1.
FCC started the match out strong, with Junior Moreno scoring his first goal of the season in the 8th minute. Not too long later, the momentum switched in the Fire’s favor, leading to three unanswered goals. The first was an extremely well-placed shot from Przybylko in the 32nd minute. The second would come from a penalty on Chris Mueller, committed by Yerson Mosquera, in the 45th minute, converted by the Chicago captain Czichos. Then, right after the second-half restart, Mueller would get a goal himself. Chicago would continue to dominate the match until around the 80th minute when Lucho Acosta was subbed in for Cincinnati. Acosta had an immediate impact, assisting Sergio Santos’ 84th-minute goal, his second on the season. Moreno would once again find the back of the net in the 87th minute, securing his second-ever brace.
Outside of the super-sub of Acosta and the resilience of the team to come back down two, there were not many bright spots for the Orange and Blue. It was a woeful game from the defense, with Ian Murphy in the starting line-up to replace Nick Hagglund, who was on a red card suspension. Marco Anuglo also saw his first start for FC Cincinnati, though his play left much to be desired, with the midfield struggling to create many chances.
FC Cincinnati will look to regroup this week and address the issues exposed in this match as they head into the weekend when they will travel to take on Nashville this Saturday.