FC Cincinnati Fall 2-1 to LAFC in Rain Soaked Saturday Night Performance

September 28, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release

With a constant downpour showering the pitch at TQL Stadium, FC Cincinnati weathered the rain but could not find the final push it needed and fell 2-1 in a grueling match with LAFC.

Despite a heavily rotated starting group for the visiting Los Angeles Football Club, FC Cincinnati struggled to break down the Black and Gold’s midfield defense in the first 25 minutes of the match and was forced to batten down the hatches to keep the match level. Roman Celentano made three key saves before the 20-minute mark expired, and FC Cincinnati did not register a shot until the 38th minute.

The challenge at hand became even more difficult in the 35th minute. After winning a tackle and securing the ball back, Chidozie Awaziem fell to the ground in pain and needed to be substituted out of the game. Alvas Powell came on for the defender in the unexpected substitution.

Almost immediately, LAFC found the space to strike, driving through the middle of the field, and David Martinez put the shot on. A deflection on the shot may have made it more challenging, but either way, the ball was in the back of the net, and LAFC had the one-goal advantage.

After the goal, FC Cincinnati found their spark and pushed play forward, finally earning that shot on target. Luciano Acosta and Niko Gioacchini earned the best opportunities. But neither could beat the keeper before the referee’s whistle went, and FC Cincinnati found themselves heading to the locker rooms looking for answers in the second half.

The lone change to the lineup at halftime was Sergio Santos replacing Gioacchini. But the mindset also clearly changed, and FC Cincinnati came out of the locker room with a fire to match the rain.

FC Cincinnati pressed and pressed and pressed and the dam finally broke when Luca Orellano unleashed another in his collection of goals from distance. Orellano lined up his shot from outside the box and struck a laser beam directly on target from the right of the keeper. While heading on the frame, LAFC forward Kei Kamara went to head it away, but the pace of the shot made it skim off his head rather than deflect away and redirected into the net. As the ball was on frame, Orellano was awarded the goal attribution for his 10th of the year in MLS, making him the third FCC player this season with 10 goals in league play.

With the score now level, the match opened up as both teams went looking for a winner. LAFC Head Coach Steve…