Saturday marks the last home game of the regular season for FC Cincinnati as the Orange and Blue host Chicago Fire FC. The kick-off of the TQL Stadium is on October 1 at 7:30 PM.
Orange and Blue currently occupy fifth place in the Eastern Conference and can take the club’s first place in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs with a combined win or loss to Inter Miami CF, Orlando City SC or Columbus Crew. For more information, among other clinching scenarios, check out the Playoff Watch. .
Saturday night is Fan Appreciation, presented by Kroger. FC Cincinnati will celebrate the fans who have been with the club every step of the way, especially in this year’s strong campaign. The atmosphere is sure to be energized with plenty of activations, prizes and giveaways for every fan in attendance, including a chance to win a pair of 2023 season tickets, or a trip to an away game during the 2023 season. For more information, visit the Match Day Guide.
There are still very limited tickets available for Saturday’s game. Visit the ticket page at fccincinnati.com/tickets, or call 513-977-KICK for more information. There is no charge for tickets sold through the club.
FC CINCINNATI vs CHICAGO FIRE FC – SATURDAY OCTOBER 1, 2022 – 7:30 PM ET – TQL STADIUM
HOW TO WATCH?
Local television: star64
Local Stream: fccincinnati.com
Out of market flow: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN 1530
Talent: Tom Gelehrter (play-by-play), Kevin McCloskey (analyst), Alex Stec (sideline)
Make sure to follow @FCCincinnati on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for live updates from the game.
As part of Fan Appreciation, Fan Fest kicks off at 4:30 PM in Washington Park with a host of fan experiences and activations, including player autographs, live music, food and games. At the TQL Stadium, fans can enjoy $2 off all drinks, as well as 20% off merchandise in the team store (some restrictions apply).
Prizes and giveaways are planned throughout the competition. Every fan present automatically has a chance to win a few season tickets for 2023 or a trip to an away game in the 2023 season. The prizes will be awarded during halftime.
Fans watching at home also have a chance to win two season tickets for 2023. Details on how to enter will be shared during the broadcast on Star64 and the stream on FCCincinnati.com.
For more information on all activations surrounding Saturday’s matchup, including pre-game festivities and Washington Park activities, visit the Matchday Guide here.
Can’t make it to the game and looking for a place to watch Orange and Blue? This season, head to one of the club’s official Pub Partners, which broadcasts all home and away matches and offers fans opportunities to win prizes throughout the season.
ALL-TIME SERIES
FC Cincinnati leads the all-time MLS series over Chicago Fire, 3-2-2
SCOUTING CHICAGO FIRE FC (9-15-8, 35 PTS, 12TH EASTERN CONFERENCE)
Chicago Fire FC has been eliminated from the playoffs after being mathematically eliminated in a crushing 3-2 defeat to Charlotte FC last September 17. Halfway through 2-0, the fire allowed three times in the second 45, including the 96th minute in a do-or-die matchup with Charlotte.
The Fire is led by freshman head coach and MLS veteran Ezra Hendrickson, who took over this offseason after three years as an assistant in Columbus. He has ties to FC Cincinnati’s Pat Noonan, as the duo were part of the 2008 Crew squad that won the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield.
Hendrickson’s squad is led offensively by Swiss pro and Designated Player Xherdan Shaqiri and his team-high seven goals and 11 assists. The veteran is mirrored by the young 18-year-old Jhon Durán and his six goals. On September 10 against Inter Miami CF, Durán became the sixth player in MLS history to record multiple goals in a single season by the age of 18 or younger.
Another young stud for the Fire and a shining bright spot for their season is their goalkeeper, 18-year-old Gabriel ‘Gaga’ Slonina. The 18-year-old Homegrown player has put down 16 clean sheets in his career in 43 appearances for the Fire and will join Chelsea FC permanently after this season. However, Slonina has been ruled out for Saturday night, which may open the door for former FCC goalkeeper Spencer Richey to start in Queen City.
Saturday will be Federico Navarro’s first game since signing a new contract through the 2027 season with Chicago, as announced on September 27. Since joining the Fire in the summer of 2021, Navarro has played 40 games and was named the team’s most valuable player in his debut season with the club. Navarro’s 62 tackles won second place in the MLS in 2022.
Chicago is 1-2-2 over their last five, including a 3-1 win over Inter Miami CF. The Fire have been inconsistent in finding the back of the net this season, having been knocked out in 13 games this year. However, the Fire outperformed the last three, scoring seven goals in that span and scoring at least two goals in every game.
9 – Luciano Acosta has netted nine goals in his career (4 G, 5 A) against Chicago Fire FC, where he tied most against an MLS side (Atlanta United FC).
12 – Saturday is the 12th game this season for FC Cincinnati in which the Orange and Blue play on four or fewer rest days (over all competitions). In the 11 previous games FC Cincinnati has been impressive with a 6-2-3 record.
31 – Chicago Fire has scored 31 goals without penalty this season, the fewest this season in Major League Soccer.
FC CINCINNATI COMMENTS:
AFTER THE SEASON beckons – For FC Cincinnati, the easiest way to reach the club’s first place in the MLS Cup Play-offs is simple: win both last two games and the Orange and Blue are in.
On Saturday FC Cincinnati was able to qualify for the home crowd in the TQL Stadium. For that to happen, it would take one of five scenarios:
1) CIN win + CLB loss or draw
2) CIN win + MIA loss or draw
3) CIN Win + ORL Loss or Draw
4) CIN draw + CLT loss or draw + CLB loss or draw + ORL loss or draw + MIA loss
5) CIN draw + CLT loss or draw + CLB loss or draw + ORL loss + MIA draw
With Inter Miami CF taking the field at Toronto FC on Friday night, the Orange and Blue could see themselves in a ‘win-and-in’ scenario on Saturday night. Kick-off for both teams from Ohio is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with the Crew taking on the New York Red Bulls in Columbus, while Orlando City SC heads into New York City FC on Sunday afternoon.
THE UNSUCCESSORIES ORANGE AND BLUE – With a tie against Seattle Sounders FC on Tuesday night, FC Cincinnati has the longest active unbeaten run in MLS with 11 consecutive games. It is also the longest unbeaten run by an MLS club this season, and it will end the year as the longest run with the next active unbeaten run in six games (SKC, NSH, PHI).
In addition, the Orange and Blue are unbeaten in 10 consecutive games at TQL Stadium, the second-longest active streak behind Philadelphia Union, who have not lost once at home this year.
BRENNER ON FIRE – FC Cincinnati forward Brenner has scored six goals in his last three appearances for FC Cincinnati. He is in the midst of the sixth series of goals from 3+ games in FC Cincinnati history.
If he were to find the back of the net on Saturday, he would become just the second player in club history to score in four consecutive games, a feat teammate Brandon Vazquez achieved earlier this season (July 23 – August 13).
EXTINGUISH THE FIRE – FC Cincinnati had a winning 3-2-2 record against Chicago in seven previous encounters, but never defeated the Fire in Cincinnati. In fact, the home team has won head-to-head between Cincinnati and Chicago just once in the MLS, a 3-0 Fire win in 2020 with no fans at Soldier Field.
A win over Chicago would be the sixth opponent FCC has defeated at home for the first time in club history this season (MIA, ORL, PHI, CLT, SJ).
NOONAN’S TAKE
Head Coach Pat Noonan on the team’s playoff scenarios
‘I know the scenarios, or some of them. I still said to the group, we get on the field and win, teams still have to chase us, and every week that happens, it’s a week less that they can catch us. So here we are with teams of three or two [games] to play. We’re in a good place. But the teams chasing us will also take points away from each other. I think if we can get three points this weekend we’ll be in a good position.”
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