When Pat Noonan was introduced as FC Cincinnati’s new head coach in December 2021, he remarked that the club could turn TQL Stadium into “the most difficult place to play in Major League Soccer.” A bold proclamation, considering FCC had just wrapped up a campaign in which won once in 17 attempts in its new West End palace. But progress was made in 2022 (6 wins, 5 losses, 6 draws), though Noonan would often lament his side’s penchant for conceding late goals.
Photograph by Joseph Guzy
In the build-up to 2023, FCC made no secret about its desire to transform TQL Stadium into a fortress. The club adjusted its pre-match festivities, notably bringing back a happy hour—which starts 90 minutes before kickoff—not so subtly located behind The Bailey, the supporters’ section. Sometimes marketing doesn’t require a degree or years of experience. Want your rowdiest fans to show up early? Sell cheap(er) beer for an extended period of time before kickoff.
Publicly—and privately, too, judging from players’ comments to the media—Noonan instituted somewhat of a siege mentality in the Orange and Blue in 2023 to protect TQL at all costs. The players have taken those words to heart all season.
FC Cincinnati’s 3-0 thrashing of Charlotte on Saturday night bolstered its home record to 13 wins, one draw and one loss in 15 league tilts. FCC is the 13th club in MLS history to reach 13 home triumphs in a single season. Just two teams have claimed 14 home victories, and no club has won 15. FC Cincinnati has two regular season home matches remaining: October 4 vs. New York Red Bulls and October 21 vs. Atlanta, which is also FCC’s regular season finale.
It’s been a season full of mentions of the word that Merriam-Webster defines as a “large and permanent fortification, sometimes including a town.” In mid-May, MLS’s communications team began a Tweet acknowledging FC Cincinnati as the fourth league side to start its home slate with seven successive wins with “fortress.” A Twitter search of FC Cincinnati’s official account with “fortress” is full of pre- and post-match fortress-ing. Brandon Vazquez dropped a “fortress” mention ahead of a Leagues Cup match in early August.
And yet the play has matched the messaging. When I declared FCC as the best team in MLS in late May, the club had tallied more victories (10) in its past 11 home appearances than it had in its previous 57 matches at TQL Stadium or its former home, Nippert Stadium. In 23 home MLS, U.S. Open Cup, and Leagues Cup contests in 2023, FC Cincinnati has lost three times— only once in regulation—and has accumulated 58 out of a possible 69 points.
The latest installment of FCC’s home dominance came against a Charlotte side on the periphery of the East playoff race. Cincinnati surrendered zero shots on goals and avoided a yellow card for the first time in 2023, a faultless defensive showing. Offensively, FCC logged nine shots on goals and finished off three classy goals. The topper was a marauding scoring run from midfield by the freshly-extended Lucho Acosta that stamped out any doubt about who should be league MVP. Acosta now leads MLS in goal contributions (goals plus assists) with 27 (a joint-league high 15 goals, 12 assists).
I must also mention the ridiculous freekick goal by Alvaro Barreal, which would rank as the moment of the season for just about any other player. But not Barreal, whose magnificent strike earlier in the summer has been nominated for the Puskás Award, which FIFA gives to the “most beautiful” goal of the calendar year.
Overall, Charlotte was an imperious display for the runaway league leaders, who responded excellently following a near-loss midweek in Montreal, where FC Cincinnati rescued a point via a 97th-minute penalty kick by Acosta. With a nine-point edge in the Supporters’ Shield race and only four league matches remaining, FCC has essentially wrapped up the race for the league’s top record, which guarantees homefield advantage through the postseason.
When that Supporters’ Shield trophy is finally lifted by the Orange and Blue, it will be a fitting conclusion to a regular season defined by its “TQL Stadium = fortress” messaging.
FC Cincinnati returns to action this Saturday at East-worst Toronto.
Grant Freking writes FC Cincinnati coverage for Cincinnati Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter at @GrantFreking.
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