The giant killers will face the giants of Major League Soccer on Tuesday at the US Open Cup as FC Cincinnati host the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the quarter-finals at TQL Stadium.
In the round of 16, the Hounds pulled off another upset, blanking the Columbus Crew 1-0, their second successive victory against an MLS club, while Cincy held their nerve in a penalty shootout to eliminate the New York Red Bulls.
Match preview
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From bottom feeders to serious trophy contenders, the Orange and Blue have grown tremendously under Pat Noonan, who has been in charge for fewer than 18 months.
The ex-Union assistant seems to have the Midas touch, with his side currently on an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
In late May, they nearly threw away a shot at the US Open Cup quarter-finals for the first time as an MLS franchise, conceding a Dante Vanzeir strike in injury time as the match ended 1-1, though Cincinnati converted all of their spot kicks to advance.
Cincy know all about Cinderella runs in this competition as they experienced one of their own in 2017 when they played a division below Major League Soccer in the United States Soccer League Championship (USL), making it to the semi-finals that year, knocking out a pair of MLS sides in the Crew and Chicago Fire, before squandering a 2-0 second-half advantage versus the New York Red Bulls and losing 3-2 in extra time.
They are no longer an underdog story, currently the team to beat in MLS, losing just one fixture in the 2023 regular season and currently on top of the Supporters' Shield standings with the best record in the league.
The Orange and Blue enter this contest with a 100% record at TQL Stadium, failing to concede a goal there five times in the 2023 regular season, while also posting two clean sheets at home in the US Open Cup.
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Since the start of the 2023 campaign, virtually everything has gone the way of the Riverhounds, who are currently second in the USL Eastern Conference and in the quarter-finals at the US Open Cup for only the second time ever, the first being in 2001.
That year they took out the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in their opening encounter and gave the Chicago Fire all they could handle, losing in extra time 3-2.
The strongest attribute of Bob Lilley's men has been their defensive shape, conceding the second-fewest goals in the USL Championship this season (11) and posting three successive clean sheets in all competitions.
Coming into this contest, the Hounds have yet to concede in three previous US Open Cup fixtures, shutting out the New England Revolution 1-0 on the road in the fourth round before blanking the Crew by that same score, becoming the first lower-division side in this competition to blank two MLS teams on consecutive occasions.
Pittsburgh have never made it beyond this stage, but they should be confident given their current form and the fact that the Hounds have scored first in every match on their current nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
The Hounds have never beaten the Orange and Blue in a competitive outing but have not conceded in their last two fixtures against them, pushing Cincy into extra time at the 2022 US Open Cup before falling 2-0.
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Team News
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Cincy were missing Stiven Jimenez over the weekend as he is with the United States Under-20 side at the World Cup, Sergio Santos is dealing with a hamstring strain and Brenner, who will join Udinese this summer, remains sidelined due to an ankle injury.
Alec Kann was the hero in their shootout triumph versus the Red Bulls, denying Vanzeir from 12 yards away, with Yuya Kubo scoring in normal time of that match and Alvaro Barreal converting the winner from the spot.
Luciano Acosta may be the front-runner for MLS MVP at this stage of the campaign, and the Cincy number 10 had the only goal in their 1-0 triumph versus the Fire on Saturday with Roman Celentano collecting a clean sheet, while their other goals at the US Open Cup have come from Arquimides Ordonez and Brandon Vazquez when they won 1-0 versus Louisville City FC and New York City FC respectively.
Edward Kizza will not be available for Pittsburgh on Tuesday, following his straight red card in the round of 16, while Lilley added four newcomers to the starting 11 against Columbus, who did not begin their US Open Cup fixture versus the Revs with Nathan Dossantos, Luke Biasi and the joint top-goalscorer in the 2023 USL Championship, Albert Dikwa all drawing into the lineup.
The Cameroonian had the only goal when they defeated the Crew, Danny Griffin netted when they upset New England, Jahmali Waite posted a clean sheet in both of those encounters, while he has not allowed one in his last three matches in all competitions.
Kenardo Forbes is tied for second in the USL Championship for assists (three), while Arturo Ordonez has a goal in three straight domestic affairs, putting home the winner in each of their last two matches.
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Kann; Powell, Hagglund, Mosquera; Barreal, Angulo, Pinto, Kubo, Valenzuela; Badji, Vazquez
Pittsburgh Riverhounds possible starting lineup:
Waite; Dossantos, Ordonez, DeShields, Biasi, Hogan; Forbes, Ybarra, Griffin; Showunmi, Dikwa
We say: FC Cincinnati 1-0 Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Cincy are not nearly as susceptible along the back end as the Revs or Columbus, and like Pittsburgh, they have won their share of close 1-0 games throughout the campaign.
Expect the Hounds to try and swarm the Orange and Blue with numerous players behind the ball, it is just difficult to envision the visitors creating much against such a deep squad like Cincinnati, let alone keep them off the scoresheet for 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
