A little over 13 months after succumbing to the Philadelphia Union in the East Semifinals, FC Cincinnati has a chance at retribution Saturday night at TQL Stadium. The seedings are nearly reversed from 2022, when top-seeded Philly fought off No. 5 FCC 1-0 in front of a raucous Subaru Park crowd. This time around, the Orange and Blue are the No. 1 seed, welcoming the No. 4 seed to what will be a stimulated TQL crowd, many of whom are crossover Bengals fans likely searching for an outlet to channel their rage over the local quarterback’s season-ending wrist injury.
Each team will be short at least one key player. MLS Defender of the Year Matt Miazga is suspended for yellow card accumulation. He’s also the subject of an ongoing league investigation for allegedly entering the referee’s locker room following the road playoff win at New York Red Bulls.
Philadelphia left back Kai Wagner—think of him as the Union’s version of Alvaro Barreal—will miss out for violating MLS’s anti-discrimination policy. Since joining Philly in 2019, Wagner has been one of the best, if not the best, wing back in the league. He had 15 assists in 2022 alone.
FC Cincinnati will be keeping its fingers crossed that Junior Moreno (Venezuela) and Yerson Mosquera (Colombia) return from international duty unscathed. Aaron Boupendza made it to Gabon for national team duty but did not report on time, per Gabon’s soccer federation. FCC has apparently believed Boupendza’s version of events. General Manager Chris Albright publicly supported the striker last week and expects him to be fit and available against Philadelphia.
More worrisome is the potential absence of midfield wrecking ball Obinna Nwobodo. As of Tuesday, he still hadn’t practiced with the full group since leaving the Red Bulls game early, but he’d at least returned to training outdoors.
I ranked Philadelphia fourth out of eight possible East playoff teams that FCC could face this postseason because of their collective winning spirit as well as their collection of All-Star-level players in striker Julian Carranza, center back Jack Elliott, midfielder Daniel Gazdag, defensive midfielder Jose Martinez, and arguably the best goalie MLS has ever seen, Andre Blake. All five players were integral to the Union’s 2022 side that finished with an absurd plus-46 goal difference in the regular season and came within minutes of the franchise’s first MLS Cup. For comparison, FC Cincinnati won the Supporters’ Shield with a plus-18 goal difference. Two great teams; one just happens to blow the doors off of its opponents much more often.
FCC has more than held its ground against the Union since former Philly assistant coach Pat Noonan, named MLS Coach of the Year on Tuesday, assumed the head coaching reins prior to the 2022 campaign. Though Philadelphia edged FC Cincinnati in last season’s playoffs—admittedly the match that matters the most out of all prior meetings—the Orange and Blue have taken eight out of 12 possible points across four regular-season matches during 2022-23.
Philly started slow in 2023, winning just two of its first eight league matches as it balanced the early-season CONCACAF Champions League with its MLS slate. Though the Union rallied to secure homefield advantage in the playoffs, the club hasn’t possessed the same magic as last season, admittedly a difficult mixture to bottle in consecutive years.
The Orange and Blue’s 2023 season resembles Philly’s 2022 campaign in many ways, but perhaps the standout similarity is the combination of star power, ruthless point accumulation, and a calm hand from the coaching staff. It’s the reason I like FC Cincinnati to advance Saturday night. I think FCC, playing a worthy opponent in an elimination match, will deliver its best performance in months after playing apathetic soccer for stretches after securing the Supporters’ Shield. Most critically, Lucho Acosta has had three weeks to rest his ailing heel/foot. I expect him to terrorize the Union’s back line.
It’s also worth noting that Philly’s playoff success has come largely at home over the past five seasons. TQL Stadium will be a cacophonous cauldron of exhilaration Saturday night.
The FC Cincinnati-Philadelphia winner faces the victor of Orlando City-Columbus in the East Final the first weekend of December. MLS Cup is on December 9. FCC would host both the East Final and MLS Cup should they advance.
Grant Freking writes FC Cincinnati coverage for Cincinnati Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter at @GrantFreking.
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