By Katy Korstange, Staff Writer 

FC Cincinnati (2-4-2) and Chicago Fire FC (4-2-2) combined for six goals in a back-and-forth match at TQL Stadium on Saturday, ending in a 3-3 draw.

Chicago Fire took possession early in the match, making several shot attempts saved by Cincinnati keeper Roman Celentano. In the 26^th minute, Chicago forward Hugo Cuypers scored the first goal of the match from outside the box. 

In the 42^nd minute, Tom Barlow scored for Cincinnati on a rebound from a shot attempt by forward Bryan Ramírez. It was Barlow’s first goal for the club, coming into his first start for FCC since joining them from Chicago Fire in January. Barlow’s goal tied the match 1-1 shortly before the half. 

In the fifth minute of added time, a foul from Samuel Gidi inside the box gave Chicago a penalty attempt. Chicago forward Philip Zinckernagel took the penalty and scored despite Cincinnati keeper Celentano diving the right way. The first half ended 1-2. 

Early in the second half, Chicago scored thanks to an assist from defender Andrew Gutman who crossed it to Cuypers, allowing him to score his second goal of the game. This put Chicago up by two in the 48^th minute to Cincinnati, who still only had one goal.

In the 77^th minute, FCC was awarded a penalty kick after Gerardo Valenzuela was pulled down by a defender inside the box. Evander took the kick and delivered, putting the ball into the corner of the goal just between the keeper’s hands and the crossbar. The crowd erupted as FC Cincinnati made the score 2-3. 

The play was restarted in the 86^th minute. Evander took the set piece and his ball was lofted into the box while both teams went towards the goal. The ball was deflected and hit Chicago defender Dje D’Avilla’s shin. The own goal rolled into the net and tied the game 3-3, despite the keeper’s best efforts to save it. 

Cincinnati stayed in primary possession for the remainder of the game and the 10 minutes of added time. After multiple shot attempts by Cincinnati and saves by the Chicago Fire keeper, the game ended in a tie. This awarded FC Cincinnati one point toward the season for a total of eight points and marked their second consecutive point scoring match. 

Last week, FCC scored themselves another point in a match against Toronto FC (3-2-3) that ended in a 1-1 tie. Cincinnati forward, Kenji Mboma Dem, scored the goal in the second minute of stoppage time in the last half of the game. This was the first goal of his MLS career. 

Before this, FCC lost 2-4 against the New York Red Bulls (3-3-2), which did not award them any points. Notably, Cincinnati native, Kyle Smith, scored his first goal for the club off of a throw-in from Nick Hagglund, who is another Cincinnati native and Xaiver graduate.

At their last home game at TQL Stadium, Cincinnati beat CF Montréal (2-6-0) 4-3. This ended FCC’s 3-game losing streak and awarded them their sixth point of the season. 

FC Cincinnati plays New York City FC (3-3-2) on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium at 7:00 pm.

Additionally, Cincinnati returns home on Saturday for a match against the New York Red Bulls again at 7:30pm. Despite their loss the last time they played the Red Bulls, FCC will look to build on their recent momentum to take the win at TQL Stadium.