FC Cincinnati return to the pitch in short order this week, turning around from a Sunday Night Soccer defeat just three days prior to host D.C. United on Wednesday night at TQL Stadium. This match is the rescheduled game that was postponed due to inclement weather on September 5, and sets up a rare MLS double-header this week for The Orange and Blue as the club will visit D.C. United this weekend after this match.
With FCC right on the playoff line, a win is absolutely vital for the team as they look to continue pushing into the postseason and clinch a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs for the fifth season in a row. With the way results have been going of late, though, FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan is emphasizing finding ways to get results and making the necessary adjustments to position the team for success and make it difficult to play against.
“We have D.C. next, and that's the focus. How do we position ourselves for a better result? And right now, we can talk about stats all we want. We need to win. That's it. We need to win, however that looks, however that feels, we need to win games,” Noonan said Sunday in his postgame press conference. “We're still above the playoff line, and so while it doesn't feel good with the results right now, we have a position that doesn't have us chasing. We can worry just about ourselves and trying to win games and finish out the season.”
Coming out of Hell is Real, FC Cincinnati couldn’t get a result, but they showed some promising play they can build on. Now isn't the time for morale victories, but as FCC look to improve and end the season on a high, there are things they can build on.
“We don't need new ideas and strategies. Who we approach it with our starting group, how we make in-game adjustments, that'll be dictated on what the games look like. But if you look at how the games are being played right now structurally, chance creation, we still concede in almost every big moment that we concede or give up. But I wouldn't say a lot drastically needs to change, other than winning the boxes. That's something that we haven't done,” Noonan explained. “You still want to play the game the way we're playing it, but have a little bit more, I would say, game understanding of when you're playing with the league, when you're trailing, when I say urgency of how do we make the most out of specific moments in the game to change an outcome? Because there were enough there to finish off some plays, but do, as a game progresses and you're down or you've been losing games and things aren't going your way, how do you approach that mentally to either cave or keep pushing.”
FC Cincinnati currently sit 9th in the Eastern Conference, with one game in hand over the rest of the league; that game is this Wednesday’s matchup, and after this D.C. United home tilt, FCC will be back even on games through the end of the season.
FC Cincinnati vs D.C. United – Wednesday, October 21, 2026 – 7 p.m. ET – TQL Stadium
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History vs D.C. United
FC Cincinnati and D.C. United meet Wednesday in a rescheduled match from September 5, which was postponed due to pitch conditions and resulting player safety concerns created by heavy rains and inclement weather in the Cincinnati area.
Wednesday marks the 15th all-time meeting between the Orange and Blue and the Black- and-Red, with D.C. holding a 6-4-4 advantage. Cincinnati have only once beaten D.C. United at home, a 2-1 win at TQL Stadium in May 2023. D.C. United marks one of just two Eastern Conference clubs which FC Cincinnati have never beaten more than once at home (New England Revolution, one home win against).
FC CINCINNATI MATCH NOTES
(Courtesy of FC Cincinnati Communications)
Goal Record – With five MLS Regular Season matches to go, FC Cincinnati have already set an all-time record for goals scored in all competitions in a single season (83). With 60 of those scored in MLS play, FCC are just four goals shy of the club record for goals scored in an MLS season, set in 2022 (64).
Denkey Delivers – FC Cincinnati Designated Player forward Kévin Denkey has scored six goals in his last five appearances for the Orange and Blue to shoot up the club record books.
Denkey has scored 21 goals in all competitions this season, 17 in MLS play, meaning he is just one goal shy of matching the all-time club records for goals scored both in all competitions (22 - Evander, 2025) and in MLS play (18 - Brandon Vazquez & Brenner, 2022; Evander, 2025).
Mr. Orange and Blue – Cincinnati native Nick Hagglund’s next appearance for FC Cincinnati will be his record-breaking 180th in all competitions for the club. On Sunday against Columbus, coming on as a substitute, he drew level with Yuya Kubo for the most games played in club history. Hagglund is the only player to have been on the FCC roster for all eight MLS seasons dating to the club’s first in MLS in 2019.
Schedule Quirk – With the rescheduled match, FC Cincinnati and D.C. United will play in consecutive MLS regular season matches.
Courtesy of Elias Sports, it marks the first such occurrence in MLS this season and just the seventh time since 2022 – when it last happened to FC Cincinnati in back-to-back meetings with Toronto FC – that two sides have faced off in consecutive games.
Three times since 2022 did one team win both matches, including FCC’s matchup with TFC when they won 2-1 and 2-0, and only once did the sides clean split the matchup with one win each.
Scouting D.C. United (7-10-12, 33 Points, 13th in the Eastern Conference, L-W-L-D-L)
D.C. United have been a tough beat this season, and in comparison to recent campaigns, they have been stronger than in years past. After earning 26 points in 2025, they are in the thick of a playoff chase as they look to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2019.
Last weekend, though, DCU fell to Orlando City SC 4-1, dropping them deeper in the East but making them even more desperate for a result on Wednesday night.
With 12 draws this season, D.C. United lead MLS in split games and have shown a strong ability to scratch out results at home and on the road. On the road this season, DCU have earned points in 9 of 14 matches.
Since this match was originally supposed to be played, D.C. United have had mixed results. In seven games since September 5, DCU is 2-3-2 and have fallen from 9th in the East to 13th.
The squad is led by 2026 free agent acquisition Tai Baribo, a forward who, before joining D.C., plied his trade with East Coast Corridor rival Philadelphia Union. Baribo, 28, leads the team in goal scoring this year despite missing time due to injury and is the primary offensive threat, scoring 16 goals in 23 matches.
At the time this game was scheduled, it was unclear whether Baribo would be available due to injury. Now though, he is fully fit and scored D.C. United’s loan goal, a penalty, in their 4-1 loss last Saturday.
“He is a very strong player. We certainly look at the games where he's involved because, without knowing, you anticipate that he could be back,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of Baribo. “When he's on the field, especially when they have the ball, the timing of his movements, the change of speed to attack behind to run in the box is very strong. There's a reason he’s scored so many goals and had success in Philly and now in D.C. He's, I think, an excellent attacker and certainly brings an element of competitiveness, experience and quality to their front line.”
The alternative offensive option has been the side's other DP forward, Louis Munteanu, a Romanian attacker who joined this season and has scored six goals and four assists in 21 games. It is unclear, though, whether Munteanu is available to play, as the Romanian international suffered a lower-body injury during the last international window and has been listed as “out” in recent matches.
Munteanu is one of four players who were listed as Out for their match last Saturday, with only Lucas Bartlett being expected to be back. Bartlett, an American in his third season with the club, is third in minutes played for DCU and wears the armband.
Other key contributors include veteran defenders Keisuke Kurokawa, a Japanese center back who leads all outfield players in minutes played this season, and Silvan Hefti, a Swiss defender who has started in 25 of 29 possible games this season.
Goalkeeper Sean Johnson is another steadfast member of the starting XI this season after joining the club last winter. A member of the 2022 USMNT at the World Cup, Johnson joined D.C. United after three prior seasons with Toronto FC and has started every match this season, earning six clean sheets and making 108 saves.
D.C. United also features a group of younger contributors who, they hope, will become the foundation of future success. Jackson Hopkins, a homegrown midfielder, has appeared in every match this season and has three goal contributions. Nathan Ordaz, 22, is another young addition to the side, with the club investing heavily in a trade to bring the El Salvador international from LAFC to the club in July.
The club is managed by Head Coach René Weiler, who took over in July 2025 and had previous tenures as head coach at clubs in Switzerland, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Belgium. D.C. United typically utilizes a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 formation.
