FC Cincinnati launches its fourth season in Major League Soccer against Austin FC, and head coach Pat Noonan will be decide the lineup for his first-ever match in charge of the club.
With two players arriving to preseason late due to immigration issues, injuries and other personnel issues, what FC Cincinnati's starting lineup looks like in Austin is under some questions.
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When the team's at full health, though, here's how we envision FCC lining up for the first match of the Noonan era: Alec Kann (goalkeeper), Ray Gaddis (right back), Gustavo Vallecilla (center back), Geoff Cameron (center back), Ronald Matarrita (left back), Junior Moreno (midfielder), Yuya Kubo (midfielder), Luciano Acosta (midfielder), Allan Cruz (midfielder), Brandon Vazquez (forward), Brenner Souza da Silva (forward).
Here are some things to know about FC Cincinnati's starting lineup:
• Alec Kann - goalkeeper - 31 years old - born in Decatur, Georgia - first season with FC Cincinnati
• Ray Gaddis - defender - 32 - Indianapolis - first season with FC Cincinnati
• Gustavo Vallecilla - center back - 22 - Esmeraldas, Ecuador - second season
• Geoff Cameron - center back - 36 - Attleboro, Massachusetts - second season
• Ronald Matarrita - defender - 27 - Alajuela, Costa Rica - second season
• Junior Moreno - midfielder - 28 - San Cristobal, Venezuela - first season
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• Yuya Kubo - midfielder - 28 - Yamaguchi, Japan - third season
• Allan Cruz - midfielder - 26 - Nicoya, Costa Rica - fourth season
• Luciano Acosta - midfielder - 27 - Rosario, Argentina - second season
• Brandon Vazquez - forward - 23 - Chula Vista, California - third season
• Brenner Souza da Silva - forward - 22 - Mato Grosso Brazil - second season
FC Cincinnati roster information
• Nationality breakdown – This projected starting lineup listed above is comprised of seven different nationalities. There are four Americans (Kann, Gaddis, Cameron, Vazquez), two Costa Ricans (Matarrita, Cruz), one Ecuadorian (Vallecilla), one Venezuelan (Moreno), one Japanese player (Kubo), one Brazilian (Brenner), and one Argentinian (Acosta).
• MLS experience – Unlike in years past, FC Cincinnati is leaning on MLS experience and knowledge throughout the technical side of the organization, and including on the field. Eight of the 11 projected starters have more than two years of experience in the league. Yuya Kubo is entering his third year in MLS while Gustavo Vallecilla and Brenner Souza da Silva are set to begin their second MLS campaigns.
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• Lack of experience together – While FC Cincinnati's achieved a certain level of MLS experience, this group hasn't played together much. Of the 11 players expected to be the club's regular starters, three are new to FC Cincinnati. They join eight counterparts of which five are beginning only their second season at FCC.
• Leading scorers – The above players combined for 24 goals during the 2021 MLS season, with Brenner leading the way with eight goals. That haul constituted an individual single-season club record. Not far behind was Acosta with seven goals. Vazquez was the club's third-leading scorer with four tallies, and he became the first player in team history to score a goal in three consecutive games in October of 2021. Vallecilla and Matarrita both scored twice, and Cruz scored one goal.
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• The leading man – Brenner is the player FC Cincinnati pays to score big goals, and plenty of them. But Acosta is the player they pay to score and facilitate for others. That's a role he's always played to great effect. Acosta contributed to 15 goals in 2021, scoring seven and assisting on eight. That surpassed Emmanuel Ledesma's record of 10 goal contributions (six goals, four assists).
• A new goalkeeper – Alec Kann is the presumed winner of the preseason battle for the No. 1 goalkeeper job, and he has the experience to justify it. Since 2013, Kann's logged 47 appearance and 32 starts in net in MLS. In 2017, he was Atlanta United's No. 1 goalkeeper prior to arrival of U.S. men's national teamer, Brad Guzan. Observers and pundits expect Kann to raise the level of the goalkeeping position for FCC.
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• The full roster – FC Cincinnati can carry up to 30 players on its first-team roster. For now, the club has 27 players listed in the match notes for the Austin game. Nineteen of the team's players return from the 2021 season while eight new players were added in the offseason, according to the notes. The roster of 27 doesn't include Moreno, whose acquisition hasn't been formally announced by the team as of Friday.
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