FC Cincinnati 2 earned their first win of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season Monday afternoon against New York City FC II in a 1-0 result at Scudamore Field at NKU Soccer Stadium.
Cheikhou Niang, who made his club debut Monday after signing last week, opened the scoring in the 14th minute. Ayoub Lajhar brought play into the New York box from the left wing and drove down to the end line. The New York defense disrupted the move, but Lajhar remained with the play to regain possession and played a quick pass in across the box to Niang, who redirected into the back of the net.
Niang’s goal was enough to earn the Orange and Blue their first points of the year. FCC 2 also earned their first shutout performance of the season with Fabian Mrozek in goal. Mrozek, making his second start of the year against the Pigeons, made four saves to keep New York off the scoresheet.
The Orange and Blue are back on the road this Sunday, April 19 to face Red Bull New York II at MSU Soccer Park. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET with the match streaming live on OneFootball platforms and on MLSNEXTPro.com.
FC CINCINNATI 2 GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati 2 vs New York City FC II
Date: April 13, 2026
Competition: MLS NEXT Pro Regular Season
Venue: Scudamore Field at NKU Soccer Stadium | Highland Heights, Ky.
Kickoff: 1:03 p.m. ET
Weather: 75 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-0-1
NYC: 0-0-0
CIN – Cheikhou Niang (Lajhar, Samson) 14’
NYC – None
LINEUPS
CIN: Fabian Mrozek, Ayoub Lajhar (William Kuisel 70’), Andrei Chirila, Sami Lachekar, Felix Samson, Charlie Holmes (Nathan Gray 83’), Leonardo Orejarena, Michael Sullivan, Deiver Mosquera (Dilan Hurtado 69’), Cheikhou Niang (Mathias Vazquez 58’), Ademar Chávez (Camden Sphire 83’),
Substitutes not used: Luke Broz, Gavin Dehart, Jack Mize, Giovanni Marioni
Head Coach: Sammy Castellanos
NYC: Mac Learned, Kieran Smith, Eoin Martin, Drew Kerr (Jonathan Lopez 70’), Adonis Campos (Dylan Randazzo 46’), Luka Sunjic (Uriel Zietz 84’), Gil De Souza (Cooper Flax 58’), Joseph Suchecki, Sebastiano Musu, Eihadj Samb (Jacob Arroyave 69’), Henrik Hvatum
Substitutes not used: Caleb Danquah, Brennan Klein, Dylan McDermott, David Duque
Head Coach: Matthew Pilkington
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/NYC
Shots: 11/ 14
Shots on Goal: 7 / 4
Saves: 4 / 6
Corner Kicks: 5/ 6
Fouls: 21 / 8
Offside: 1/ 4
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NYC: Dylan Randazzo (Yellow Card) 47’
CIN: Felix Samson (Yellow Card) 52’
CIN: Charlie Holmes (Yellow Card) 64’
CIN: Michael Sullivan (Yellow Card) 84’
NYC: Jonathan Lopez (Yellow Card) 88’
CIN: Matias Vazquez (Yellow Card) 90’+3’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Jorge Escobar
Ast. Referees: Christopher Slain, Eric Burton
Fourth Official: Promise Adebayo-Ige
