MLS
Cincinnati make history: second newest team to win Supporters’ Shield: can they beat the points record?
The Ohio franchise achieved their first ever Supporters’ Shield, confirming them as the best team in MLS. But there is one more record to go.
FC Cincinnati’s season is already one for the history books: they are the undisputed leader of the Eastern Conference in MLS, holding an 11-point advantage over Orlando City in second. Now, with just three games to go, they have claimed the Supporters’ Shield, the award granted to the MLS side with the best regular season record.
The team may only be 5 years old, but they have found a coach in Pat Noonan who has led them superbly well, creating a team with a solid defence and deadly attack.
The season the side are having is genuinely special, and they have seen an unprecedented growth rate in all aspects of the franchise. A large part of the success comes from their aforementioned defence: they are the team who have conceded the least number of goals in the league, contrasting greatly with last season where they were third-highest.
Who are Cincinnati’s top performers?
In their fifth season of elite American soccer, the Orange & Blue have dominated the league with a resounding 19 wins from 34 games and their points total of 65 already puts them 8th best Supporters’ Shield winners ever. They are also the second newest side to win the Supporters’ Shield since the expansion to twelve teams in 1998, being beaten only by LAFC, who did it during their second ever season in 2019.
Cincinnati’s success is down to various people. The team is led by Luciano Acosta, one of the candidates to win MVP of the season after a year in which he has got 15 goals and 13 assists, joint top of the Golden Boot race. Brandon Vázquez is another player who has shone and the Mexican-American is the player with the highest value in the team, at $8.5 million. He has 14 goals and 2 assists in all competitions and at 24-years-old, a national team call up with El Tri might soon be on the cards.
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Cincinnati still on the hunt for history
But the season is still far from over. Cincinnati are close to sealing the record for the most number of points in a regular MLS season. New England Revolution, with 73 points, are the holders of that record which they managed in 2021, but Pat Noonan’s side are only eight points away.
To achieve the record, the Orange & Blue need to win their remaining three games, which are against NYRB, Inter Miami - who are still in the playoff fight - and Atlanta United.
