It is October 2022. The Bengals are 4-4 and then don’t lose for three months. The Reds wrap up their first 100-loss season since 1982. And I get depressed for two days after watching The Banshees of Inisherin. Why do Mad-Eye Moody and the Penguin have to quarrel?
Oh, and FC Cincinnati qualifies for the playoffs for the first time since joining Major League Soccer. Exit Wooden Spoons, enter meaningful autumn soccer. A quick 2022 season refresher: Cincinnati’s form was uneven through June, but buoyed by the August addition of Human Victory Cigar Matt Miazga and the lethal attacking trio of Lucho Acosta, Brenner, and Brandon Vazquez (72 goal contributions between them) FCC ripped off 11 unbeaten matches in a row and finished fifth in a crowded East playoff race.
The Orange and Blue didn’t punch their playoff ticket until Decision Day, pummeling host D.C. United 5-2. Ever since, the club has jockeyed for homefield advantage and postseason seeding at this time of year, having secured top-three seeds from 2023 through 2025. If FC Cincinnati reaches the playoffs for the fifth successive season, last week’s pair of victories against D.C. United will be seen as the catalyst for the streak’s continuation.
After hitting a new apathetic season low in a 2-0 home loss to Columbus, Nick Hagglund and Obinna Nwobodo called a players-only meeting. In my sportswriting experience, rarely do such assemblies incite long-term positive or negative change, but for now we’ll credit the Hagglund-Obi Leadership Summit with six points gained.
Less than 72 hours after that wet blanket of a loss to Columbus, FCC scraped out a 2-1 win over D.C. Hagglund, pressed into starting duty due to an injury-hit center back room, made his 180th appearance for the club, eclipsing Yuya Kubo for the No. 1 spot in appearances. The 34-year-old went 90 minutes for the first time since May and marked the occasion with a diving header to clear a goalbound shot in the first half.
David Doudera and Teenage Hadebe each scored their first goals for the Orange and Blue. Doudera’s one-timer was similar to an effort the wingback pushed wide against Columbus. The usual 2026 scoring suspects surfaced in the return leg in D.C. on Saturday night. Tom Barlow tallied his 10th league goal; he scored 19 total in six seasons prior to this year. And then there’s Evander, who snapped a nearly two-month goalless drought with a searing strike that frankly only he and Lionel Messi are routinely capable of in MLS.
The most important development in the 2-0 victory was the defense logging its first clean sheet since April 25 and third overall of the season. For much of the playoff streak, FCC were near the top of such a leaderboard. This season, only two other sides have yielded more goals.
And now the good vibes meet the season-closing gauntlet: at Inter Miami tonight, home vs. Philadelphia on Saturday, and home vs. Supporters’ Shield-winning Nashville on November 7. Cincinnati has zero points and a minus-11 goal differential vs. these three clubs so far in 2026.
Entering tonight’s slate, FC Cincinnati (42 points) sits eighth in the nine-team East field, three points ahead of New York Red Bulls and four points ahead of Columbus. The locals are tied on points with seventh-place Orlando but own one fewer win.
Miami (55 points, third in East) and Nashville (70 points, first in MLS) have qualified for the playoffs, and it’s just a matter of time for Philly (46 points, sixth in East). The Herons do lead the league in scoring, but they’ve also posted just one league clean sheet since August.
The chances will be there for the Orange and Blue tonight. The key is to just not get Messi’d, which is easier said than done when you consider the pain inflicted by the little magician to end Cincy’s season last fall and U.S. Open Cup run in 2023.
Grant Freking is in his eighth year of FC Cincinnati coverage for Cincinnati Magazine.
