FC Cincinnati earn third consecutive victory in ‘signs of progress’

FC Cincinnati defeated Minnesota United 1-0 on Saturday to secure their first ever three-game winning streak since making their Major League Soccer debut in 2019 as an expansion team.

Brandon Vazquez managed a stunning 93rd-minute goal to seal the victory and lead FC Cincinnati to three points. With another week of results, head coach Pat Noonan hailed the Eastern Conference side for their determination.

“The winning is important for this club, to show signs of progress but to also show that the group that we have is as capable of winning games,” Noonan said. “Regardless of who we’re playing, where we’re playing, as long as we have the mentality that we’ve shown I think certainly over the last week, this can continue.

“Hopefully we don’t settle because we’ve had a good stretch, that we understand that we can do this quite often with the commitment from every player, every single day, and every time we step on the field. It sounds cliche, but when you have that commitment, when you have the buy-in, when you have that effort, nights like tonight, when you’re not your best, you still can find a way to get results.”

Noonan joined the club in December after serving as an assistant coach to Jim Curtin at the Philadelphia Union. Prior to his arrival, FC Cincinnati struggled in the Eastern Conference, missing the MLS playoffs in three consecutive seasons.