Written by: Kyra Campbell
FC Cincinnati (12-1-4) drew the Vancouver Whitecaps (5-5-7) 1-1 on Saturday to finish out a grueling stretch of 10 games in 35 days. The draw allows FCC to keep their 8 point lead in the Supporter Shield standings over second place Nashville (9-3-5).
Cincinnati’s lineup was somewhat rotated. Ian Murphy once again filled in on the backline with Nick Hagglund still dealing with an injury. Yuya Kubo got the start in Luciano Acosta’s typical spot, giving him some rest. Alvas Powell featured as right wingback.
The first half of the match was pretty back and forth. Cincinnati struggled to find its footing initially on the artificial playing surface and Vancouver nearly took advantage of that a couple of times. Near the 70th minute, Vancouver subbed in a couple of their starters and FC Cincinnati responded in kind, bringing on Lucho and Santiago Arias. A few minutes later, Yerson Mosquera received his 5th yellow card, suspending him for the Toronto match on the 21st (though he was more than likely going to miss this match due to international duty anyways). The stalemate was finally broken in the 83rd minute, when Lucho chipped the Vancouver keeper off a Matt Miazga long ball to score his 8th goal of the season. FCC would not be able to hold onto its 1-0 lead, however, as Miazga conceded a penalty in the 87th minute and Vancouver’s Ryan Gauld was able to convert.
FC Cincinnati will have ten days off in between matches due to the international break. When FCC does return to league play, they will be missing two key players in Brandon Vazquez and Matt Miazga who were called up to the U.S. Men’s National Team for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup. That next match is on Wednesday the 21st when Toronto FC (3-5-10) will come to TQL. The match is at 7:30pm and as always, fans can catch the action on the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.