CHICAGO (Sept. 11, 2022) – Chicago Fire FC II earned a season sweep of FC Cincinnati 2 with a 2-0 win on the road on Sunday. Omari Glasgow opened the scoring six minutes into the second half and Missael Rodríguez scored on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute to turn the match around. Goalkeeper Chris Brady made four saves to earn a clean sheet and close the road portion of the Fire’s schedule on a positive note.
The home team started hot, keeping the Fire defense on its heels early on while holding the visitors from recording their first shot until the 14th minute. Cincinnati held a very high press through most of the opening 30 minutes, and even had a pair of clean shots on goal that Brady had to snuff out in the 27th minute. The teams settled into a stalemate the rest of the half and went into the break with no goals.
But the Fire flipped the script in the second half, suffocating Cincinnati in the opening minutes. In the 51st minute, Michael Nesci got a ball that he put into the six-yard box. Glasgow got on the blind side of his defender before stepping in front of him to strike the ball into the back of the net. His goal was his second in as many games, and the culmination of a series of shots that just missed earlier in the match.
A little over 10 minutes later, the Fire were looking for another shot in the box before Erik Kocs-Washburn was brought down from behind. The referee pointed to the penalty spot and Rodríguez stepped up in the 63rd to make it 2-0 for the Fire. The goal was his seventh of the season, good for a share of second on the team with Josh Penn.
Following the Fire’s second goal, Cincinnati showed some of the attacking urgency they had displayed in the first half. But the defense held, and Chris Brady continued to show his high level of play with saves and even a slide tackle well away from his box. Time ran out and the Fire came away with three road points.
NEXT GAME: Chicago Fire FC II will cap off the 2022 MLS NEXT Pro season with a home matchup against Inter Miami II. First kick at SeatGeek Stadium is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. Match coverage will begin five minutes prior on MLSNEXTPro.com
Social: Twitter - @ChicagoFireFCII (Hashtags: #ChicagoFireII) | Instagram - @chicagofirefcii | Facebook
Box Score:
FC Cincinnati 2 0:2 Chicago Fire FC II
Goals:
CHI - Glasgow (5) (Nesci 1) 51’
CHI - Rodriguez (P) (7) 63’
Discipline:
CIN - Thomas (Yellow Card) 24’
CIN - Sanchez (Yellow Card) 77‘
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Brady; D Ostrem, D Ritaccio ©, D Quintos, D J. Reynolds; M A. Rodriguez (Kocs-Washburn, 30’), M Fleming III, M Kidd; F Penn (Nesci, 45’), F M. Rodríguez (Hernandez, 73’), F Glasgow
Subs not used: GK Mišković; D Kelner; M Nevarez, M Torres-Gale
FC Cincinnati 2: GK Louro; D Govea, D Ramathan Musa (Garcia, 45’), D Thomas; M Markanich, M Valenzuela (Martin, 64’), M Bailey, M Robledo (Sánchez, 76’), M Marshall; F Ordóñez (Daley, 64’), F Harris (Touray, 90+1’)
Subs not used: GK Campuzano; M Penagos, M Vazquez
Stats Summary: CIN / CHI
Shots: 20 / 16
Shots on Goal: 4 / 5
Passing Accuracy: 80.7% / 74.9%
Saves: 3 / 4
Corners: 6 / 2
Fouls: 15 / 15
Offsides: 1 / 0
Possession: 57.6% / 42.4%
Referee: Amin Hadzic
Assistant Ref 1: Eric Burton
Assistant Ref 2: Eric del Rosario
4th Official: Chris Schurfranz
