FC Cincinnati close out remarkable season with 3-2 loss to Columbus Crew in Eastern Conference Final

CINCINNATI — FC Cincinnati's record season has come to an end after a 3-2 loss to the Columbus Crew in extra time of the Eastern Conference Final.

Columbus (17-9-9), which has won two Cups in three previous trips to the final, will host next Saturday's championship match against the winner of the Western Conference Final between defending-champion Los Angeles FC and the Houston Dynamo.

"They gave everything and I'm proud of them for that," head coach Pat Noonan said after the game.

In the "Hell is Real" match of all "Hell is Real" matches, Cincinnati (20-6-9) allowed Columbus to come back from a two-point deficit in the second half to bring the match to extra time.

Noonan said FCC had a good start to the game, but Crew held the momentum for the remainder of the game after the own goal by defender Alvas Powell.

Six minutes prior, Cincinnati appeared to take a 3-0 lead in the 69th minute, but a hand-ball foul on Aaron Boupendza erased the goal.

"Columbus is very good with the ball and they made us pay for that," Noonan said.

Crew striker Christian Ramirez scored 10 minutes into the second half of two 15-minute OT periods. Cucho Hernández and Kevin Molino picked up assists on Ramírez's winner.

Diego Rossi netted the regulation equalizer for Columbus when he scored unassisted in the 86th minute.

Despite the decline after halftime, FCC carried the first half.

Luciano Acosta, the 2023 MLS MVP, took a pass from Álvaro Barreal and scored in the third minute of stoppage time to give the Supporters' Shield winners a 2-0 lead at halftime. The lucky kick came after refs said Columbus defender Steven Moreira clipped the ankle of Brandon Vazquez causing the first yellow card of the game.

Vasquez struck first when he scored in the 14th minute off an assist from Boupendza.

Patrick Schulte finished with five saves for the Crew. Roman Celentano stopped five shots for Cincinnati.

Support for the Orange and Blue was palpable around downtown Cincinnati and TQL Stadium.

FCC defender Nick Hagglund pulled the sword for Cincinnati ahead of the game. Hagglund, a Cincinnati native, was ruled out for the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury ahead of the Round 1 Best-of-3 series against the New York Red Bulls.

The match was the third time this season Cincinnati and Columbus have met, with both teams pulling out a victory on their respective pitch. This was also the first time the two teams met in a knockout stage match since FCC joined the MLS in 2019.

The Crew entered play 0-5-1 when trailing at the half this season. Cincinnati was 11-0-0 this season when leading at halftime.

Columbus is 7-2-4 all time against its rival in a series known as the Hell is Real Derby. Cincinnati has gone 2-1-3 in its last six home matchups with Columbus. The Crew's only previous win in Cincinnati was a 3-1 victory in August of 2019 in the first meeting.

FC Cincinnati was also coming off the news of defender Matt Miazga's suspension through the remainder of the post season. The MLS penalized Miazga, who was voted the league’s top defender this season, due to his conduct after a Nov. 4 match against the Red Bulls.

Noonan voiced his frustration with the suspension in a press conference Thursday.

"Matt made a mistake and now we suffer from it," Noonan said. "Having said that, I think the punishment is way over the top for the actions that transpired. I think this is something that's unprecedented and, taking everything into account, I think this could have been a heavy fine and you try to keep your most important players on the field for key games."

FC Cincinnati closed out a remarkable season, winning the Supporters' Shield and going further than any other season in franchise history.

"I'm disappointed for them, for everything they've done this season," Noonan said.