FC Cincinnati's 2022 Major League Soccer season needs a bookend, a defining moment that will categorize the campaign as definitively successful or partially a success.
That moment arrives Sunday at Audi Field when FC Cincinnati plays the most important match in club history against D.C. United.
The match will be played as part of "Decision Day" in MLS, the season-finale event in which all playoff permutations are accounted for and resolved at the same time. All matches in the Eastern Conference are scheduled to start simultaneously at 2:30 p.m. Sunday while Western Conference matches go off at 5 p.m.
The contest will decide if FC Cincinnati's best-ever season in MLS, which has fluctuated between joyful and frustrating, constitutes MLS Cup playoff qualification.
More:'I'm just tired of it.' Why FC Cincinnati is frustrated during its best season in MLS
FC Cincinnati Chicago lossFC Cincinnati loses five-goal thriller to Chicago Fire, fails to clinch MLS Cup playoffs
FC Cincinnati TQL Stadium top venueFC Cincinnati's TQL Stadium to be named 'Best Venue' award winner at World Football Summit
The path to the playoffs is clear: Win or draw and FCC is in the postseason for the first time in its short MLS history. That accomplishment would put to rest the demons of last-place finishes in each of the previous three seasons.
Cincinnati's opponent, combined with the circumstances of the game and its implications, make it the hardest match FC Cincinnati has played to date in its 2022 season.
"This will be the toughest match of the season because it's the most on the line," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said during a Friday news conference.
Seven teams from each MLS conference will qualify for the playoffs. Five of the spots are already spoken for in the east, and three teams − sixth-place Cincinnati, seventh-place Columbus Crew and eighth-place Orlando City SC − are vying for two remaining spots.
Playoff seeding is at stake for each playoff qualifier and playoff hopeful, too.
FC Cincinnati won't have to worry about other results, although it can still get aid to accomplish its playoff aim if it needs to. In the event of damaging loss to D.C., FCC can also qualify for the postseason as long as there isn't a draw in Sunday's pivotal match between Columbus and Orlando at Exploria Stadium in Orlando.
A loss and a draw between Columbus and Orlando is the only scenario in which FC Cincinnati will miss the playoffs. And Columbus might not mind drawing Orlando, but it's win-and-in for Orlando, so they'll be gunning to avoid anything less than victory.
After losing last weekend to Chicago, FC Cincinnati knew it was still win-and-in for its postseason fate but that circumstance still invited pressure. Then, midweek results opened the chance for FCC to qualify with a draw, too − a development that loosened up the mood around FCC's Mercy Health Training Center this week, Noonan said.
"I think so. Prior to those games, it's, you play the 'what if,'" Noonan said. "Until those games are played and you get those results, there's uncertainty as to what we're going to need to do. And now there's clarity. So I think we understand what we need to do to go and get a result on Sunday."
FC Cincinnati is healthy and on a week of full rest going into the matchup at D.C. United.
Sergio Santos, who was assessed a red card in last weekend's 3-2 upset loss to Chicago Fire FC, is the only regular contributor who will be unavailable for the decisive game in Cincinnati's regular season.
"You try to utilize the previous experiences as far as how you message certain things, you know, we know as a group what we need to do to be a playoff team. So, that part's clear," Noonan said. "It's important that when we step on the field, we're playing to win a game, not playing a game to not lose it. That's two totally different approaches. We're going to step on the field with a with a group that's confident to go and play a game to win the game. And certainly, as the game progresses, you have to have an understanding of what you need to be a playoff team in terms of the final score."
FC Cincy's quirky Audi Field history
On paper, this is the ideal matchup for FC Cincinnati in a must-win game. D.C. United has the worst record in MLS in 2022 and, according to The Washington Post, first-year head coach and former Manchester United FC idol Wayne Rooney is planning to field a starting lineup containing at least three young and unproven homegrown prospects.
Still, there's an obvious feeling of pressure around the Cincinnati-D.C. matchup. Combined with a history of strange matches at Audi Field, no one can reasonably be certain of the outcome on Sunday.
The game marks FC Cincinnati's third-ever trip to Audi Field, and its second on Decision Day.
On Oct. 6, 2019, FCC notched something of an upset draw against United. Cincinnati played most of the match with just nine men after Joseph-Claude Gyau and Roland Lamah were issued red cards.
Playing for the chance to host a playoff match, the tie forced United to start the playoffs on the road − a lost opportunity for the club that was thought to have monetary implication of around $1 million left on the table.
D.C. was throttled a week later and eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in a 5-1 loss at Toronto FC.
“I don't remember much about that game if I have a few memories," FC Cincinnati captain Luciano Acosta, a former United player, said during a Friday interview. "I was very, very angry. It was my last year, I didn't come back (to D.C.) due to contractual situations. We want to win, we want to make the playoffs, and we want to make Cincinnati history.”
Last season, FC Cincinnati lost to United, 4-2, in a Sept. 25, 2021 match that didn't feel nearly that close and was then-manager Jaap Stam's last game in charge at FCC.
The game marked the start of Brandon Vazquez's hot goal-scoring touch. He tallied in the contest and hasn't stopped scoring since, tallying 20 goals since then en route to earning a new contract at Cincinnati.
The Vazquez goal is the best thing that's ever happened to Cincinnati at Audi Field, which has proven to be a tricky venue to get results.
About D.C. United
Of course, D.C. United would savor a chance to play spoiler to FC Cincinnati's playoff push. United has other concerns to tend to, though. The latest indications from the club regarding its stance on Sunday's season finale indicates it might be more interested in assessing its own pool of talent than registering an upset.
Rooney said Friday he planned to start three players aged 20 or younger in the game, signaling his desire to evaluate within the organization, although that doesn't preclude D.C. from gunning for a win.
Goal-scorer Ola Kamara should be available following an illness, The Washington Post's Steven Goff reported Friday. Midfielder Russell Canouse is questionable (concussion protocol) midfielder Victor Pálsson is listed as out for the game due to a hamstring ailment.
United's leading goal-scorer, Taxi Fountas (12 goals), is unavailable while MLS officials investigate his alleged use of a racial slur during a Sept. 18 match against Inter Miami CF.
Kamara is the second-leading scorer for D.C. with nine goals, but the amount of burden he'll be able to shoulder post-illness remains to be seen.
However destitute United's situation might appear at the end of its arduous 2022, there's no question a team playing absent any playoff pressures can be a dangerous opponent.
“It happened to us against Chicago. I think they'll feel the freedom, they won't feel that commitment, the pressure that we are going to feel but that is how it is," Acosta said. "I'll repeat it again, we have to have a cool head and know that we have to play our game. and not play their game. We must try to do the best possible 90-95 minutes that we have to have the opportunity and we were going to be giving it our all the whole time.”
The game
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m., Sunday | Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
TV/Radio/Stream: WSTR Star 64 / ESPN1530 / FCCincinnati.com (in-region); ESPN+ (out of region)
Series info: D.C. United leads the all-time series against FC Cincinnati with an undefeated 4-0-3 record.
Cincinnati.com prediction: FC Cincinnati 3, D.C. United 1
FC Cincinnati
2022 record: 11-9-13, 46 points; 6th place in Eastern Conference
Goals for: 59
Goals against: 54
Coach: Pat Noonan –- first season at FC Cincinnati
Projected starting lineup:
Roman Celentano, goalkeeper
Alvas Powell, right back
Geoff Cameron, center back
Matt Miazga, center back
Nick Hagglund, center back
Alvaro Barreal, left back
Obinna Nwobodo, midfielder
Junior Moreno, midfielder
Luciano Acosta, midfielder
Brandon Vazquez, forward
Brenner Souza da Silva, forward
D.C. United
2022 record: 7-20-6, 28 points, 14th in Eastern Conference (eliminated)
Goals for: 34
Goals against: 66
Head coach: Wayne Rooney - first season as D.C. United head coach
Projecting starting XI:
David Ochoa, goalkeeper
Matai Akinmboni, defender
Steve Birnbaum, defender
Andy Najar, defender
Donovan Pines, defender
Ted Ku-DiPietro, midfielder
Chris Durkin, midfielder
Martín Rodríguez, midfielder
Miguel Berry, forward
Christian Benteke, forward
Kristian Fletcher, forward
