WASHINGTON, D.C. – FC Cincinnati’s turnaround in 2022 was polished off by clinching the club’s first Major League Soccer postseason berth on the final day of its fourth season in the league.
FC Cincinnati’s attack left room for little doubt Sunday at Audi Field against D.C. United.
Cincinnati led 3-0 by the 24th minute, 4-1 at halftime via a hattrick by Brenner Souza da Silva and won, 5-2, before a sold-out Audi Field crowd on MLS Decision Day.
After starting the day in a win-and-in situation relative to the playoff picture, FC Cincinnati’s best ever regular season campaign wrapped up on a 12-9-13 record. That was good enough for 49 points in the standings and a fifth-place finish in the league’s Eastern Conference.
Consequently, and after the other matches in the east went final, FCC had earned itself a first-round playoff match against New York Red Bulls, a team it twice tied with in the regular season, next week at Red Bull Arena.
MLS officials could confirm playoff dates and start times as early as Sunday night, and FC Cincinnati can be confident of its chances as the No. 5 seed. Over the course of 2022, FCC posted a 3-2-7 record against the Eastern Conference playoff field, with the two losses both coming in competitive games against CF Montreal.
