Supporters and pundits alike are still waiting for FC Cincinnati to affirm and justify their lofty preseason predictions. It's a widely-held belief locally that a match against a club of Seattle Sounders FC's caliber will reveal more information about who and what FCC is.
The first two weeks of the 2023 Major League Soccer campaign have seen FC Cincinnati produce its best-ever start to a season by every conceivable measure. But that doesn't seem to be satisfactory to some fans who believe the club should have higher standards in a season when many believe it should be in serious contention for silverware.
Perhaps even the club itself is of the same mindset, so many in Cincinnati will look to Saturday's match against Seattle at TQL Stadium for the affirmation they seek.
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The game between the two undefeated clubs is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
The early returns for FC Cincinnati have been roundly positive. At 1-0-1 through two matches with just one goal allowed, FCC's is grabbing valuable points in the Eastern Conference standings while buying time for itself to achieve a higher on-field standard.
But after a surprisingly difficult season-opening win Feb. 25 against Houston Dynamo FC and a scoreless draw March 4 at Orlando City SC, which marked only the sixth time FCC's prolific attack had been shutout under second-year head coach Pat Noonan, supporters and observers have griped.
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At times, FC Cincinnati's found itself explaining away those performances. At other times, the club has reassured the public they're content with the start to a 2023 season that is projected to hold legitimate trophy pursuits.
A strong performance against the Brian Schmetzer-coached Sounders, which have twice won MLS Cup and last year went on a historic run to claim the CONCACAF Champions League title, won't require much explaining, and would more than likely assuage early-season concerns.
FC Cincinnati relishes the early challenge
"At different stages of the season there are matchups or results that when you look back on the year, kind of are a good indication of where you end up, with successes and or failures, but this is a good early test for us for different reasons," Noonan said during a Thursday news conference. "One, they've won two games pretty comfortably. In watching them, they haven't conceded a goal and they've scored six. They're kind of sharp in all aspects of the game right now. And for our group, we didn't have the best performance week one and (then) we had a better performance, but the results didn't coincide with how we played, so, it's good for us early on to understand where this particular group is as we match up against one of the top teams in our league. So, like I said, I'm excited to see how our group steps on the field on our home field and with our fans behind us and see how we, in different ways, can make them uncomfortable.
"But we also understand that there's a lot of things that we need to be focused on on their side, to limit their attack, to limit how they can put us under pressure, to limit how they can move the ball and make us chase the game. There's some specifics in that, but it's a really good early test for us and if we find a way to win this game, regardless of how we play, I think that's important that you beat good teams at all stages of the season."
Depleted by injuries and widely thought to be tired from pouring so much into the Champions League, the Sounders missed the MLS Cup playoffs last season for the first time in MLS history. After an early start to competitive action this year via the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco in February, Seattle's jumped out of the gates and made an early statement to the league via a 2-0-0 start in MLS.
The Sounders made seemingly quick work of Colorado Rapids, 4-0, on the opening match day of the season and followed that up with a 2-0 win against Real Salt Lake last weekend.
Jordan Morris, who joined the USMNT at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar late last year, is leading MLS with three goals. Nicolás Lodeiro has posted a league-leading eight key passes, and goalkeeper Stefan Frei made four saves over the first two matches.
Sounders have a veteran core
"You see the inclusion of João Paulo, you know, on the field with Lodeiro, with (Albert) Rusnák, with Morris, the addition of Héber, and I know (Raul) Ruidíaz is coming back, both Roldans, the backline and Frei in goal," Noonan said. "So, I've just named essentially a group that's won a Champions League title, that's won MLS Cup, so, the group that we anticipate seeing is a group that's proven winners. And that's a good challenge for us because we're playing a team after only two weeks of season play that looks very strong, they look like a top team early on. And so I like the fact that we get a really strong group to test us. But we're going to have to be very good on the day, if we want to win a game."
Noonan referenced Héber Araujo dos Santos, a noted FC Cincinnati killer with six career goals against FCC, but Héber is listed as "out" for the game due to a left hamstring injury expected to sideline him for up to a month.
FC Cincinnati right back Santiago Arias is listed as questionable, although Noonan addressed Arias' injury status Thursday and indicated he would rejoin the team in training next week.
Another big crowd expected
FC Cincinnati opened the 2023 season with a raucous sellout for the match against Houston, and the hope is a similar atmosphere for the Sounders game could propel the hosts to a result.
Given Seattle's prominent place in MLS, supporters will have every reason to get excited and noisy.
"The playoff games last year. Those were the ones that were the biggest and best (matches)... but this is a great test for us early on," FC Cincinnati defender Nick Hagglund said Thursday. "Out of the first three games, this is the one that you mark and say 'where are we at?' Seattle is always a good team. They've already come off the blocks pretty hot... it's gonna be a good test for us to see where we're at and what we're ready for."
The one drawback to Saturday night might be out of everyone's control. The weather is forecast to be inhospitable to the hosts and visitors alike.
Saturday's high temperature is forecast to reach 47F, but that will drop to an overnight low of 34F, according to the National Weather Service station in Wilmington, Ohio. Overnight snowfall is also possible.
The match could eclipse the coldest home game in club history (as recorded at the opening whistle), which 41 degrees on March 30, 2019 against Philadelphia Union.
The Game
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m., Saturday | TQL Stadium
Stream/radio: Apple TV; ESPN1530
Series info: Seattle leads the all-time series against FC Cincinnati with a win (2019) and a draw (2022) in two meetings.
Cincinnati.com prediction: Seattle Sounders 2, FC Cincinnati 1.
FC Cincinnati
Record: 1-0-1; Fifth place in MLS Eastern Conference.
Goals for: Two.
Goals against: One
Coach: Pat Noonan – second season at FC Cincinnati.
Projected starting lineup:
Roman Celentano, goalkeeper
Ray Gaddis, right back
Nick Hagglund, center back
Matt Miazga, center back
Yerson Mosquera, center back
Alvaro Barreal, left back
Obinna Nwobodo, midfielder
Junior Moreno, midfielder
Luciano Acosta, midfielder
Brandon Vazquez, forward
Brenner Souza da Silva
Seattle Sounders
Record: 2-0-0; First place in MLS Western Conference.
Goals for: Six.
Goals against: Zero.
Coach: Brian Schmetzer
Projected starting lineup:
Stefan Frei, goalkeeper
Alex Roldán, right back
Yeimar Gómez Andrade, center back
Jackson Ragen, center back
Nouhou Tolo, left back
Albert Rusnák, midfielder
João Paulo, midfielder
Cristian Roldan, winger
Nicolás Lodeiro, midfielder
Jordan Morris, winger
Fredy Montero, forward
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