FC Cincinnati's penchant for offensive shootouts continued in their latest game. FC Cincinnati scored multiple goals for the seventh game in a row May 16 in San Diego. And allowed multiple goals for the sixth time in that span.
Cincinnati and San Diego FC traded goals at the death in stoppage time for a 3-3 draw at Snapdragon Stadium. Both teams end with 4-5-5 records and 17 points.
Visit casino-promo.biz for more information.
Tom Barlow tied the game for Cincinnati on the final kick, moments after Marcus Ingvartsen gave San Diego the lead. Both players scored their second goal of the game.
Ingvartsen scored in transition after collecting a pass from midfield. He fired a rocket past Cincy keeper Roman Celentano to the far post for his 11th goal of the season.
Cincy tied it right away, after Samuel Gidi fired a long pass from midfield into the goal box. Ayoub Jabbari got a head on the ball near the penalty spot and passed it to the side to Barlow, who knocked it in from close range for his second goal of the game and fourth of the season.
"There was despair (after San Diego took the lead)," said FC Cincinnati head coach Patn Noonan. "There's guys that are on the ground because they feel like we let one go. When I look up and I see guys that look a little distraught, it's let's push up and see if we can in this moment, create a little bit of chaos. Credit to Matt (Miazga), he doesn't just put the ball up the field, he finds Sami, and enough delay from Sami to get the ball in a good spot. Then you're relying on two bigs with Ayoub and Tom to challenge for an aerial duel. It was the positioning, and then the control, to be able to lay the ball off, and Tom does a good job in that moment to finish it."
Cincy had 2.2 expected goals to 1.9 for the hosts. San Diego had 58.6% possession and 17 shots to 9 for Cincy. SD had five on target and FCC six. San Diego is a strong possession team.
"I anticipated we weren't going to win at possession," Noonan said. "So a lot of our conversation was making sure our defensive structure was as solid as it could be, to make sure that we had the spaces right to be able to get pressure to the ball and not let them get into good spots to consistently move to goal, which they're good at doing."
FC Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute.
Kenji Mboma Dem converted an open chance after getting a great pass from Evander from the midfield stripe. His second MLS goal of the season and fourth this season.
Soon after that, Anders Dreyer missed an open shot in transition, and he had a great pass to Ingvartsen result in a shot that was wide right.
That followed early dominance for San Diego, who had possession in the final third of Cincinnati’s part of the field for most of the first 10 minutes.
In the 27th minute, Samuel Gidi set up an opportunity for Cincinnati. He sidestepped a defender and made a great pass to Evander in stride, but 19-year old keeper Duran Ferree made a great save for San Diego.
.oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}
Evander ➡️ Kenji Mboma Dem ➡️ GOAL!!#AllForCincy | #SDvCIN | 0-1 pic.twitter.com/pyesRgmDW6
— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) May 17, 2026
In the 29th, Cincy keeper Roman Celentano one-upped Ferree after Dreyer got past the defense and took a pass into the goal box. He was wide open, one-on-one with Celentano. Dreyer tried to lob the ball over Celentano but the Cincy keeper got a hand on it and knocked it over the goal for a corner kick.
Ingvartsen took advantage of another chance in the 33rd, firing a strike in transition inside the left post to tie the game, 1-1. His 10th goal of the season.
In the first half, San Diego had 61% possession to 39 for Cincinnati. They had nine shots to three for Cincy. Both teams had two on target. San Diego had 1.2 expected goals to 0.9 for Cincy.
Early in the second half, Evander hit a rocket on a free kick from 25 yards that Ferree made a leaping save on, tipping it out for a corner kick.
On the corner, Evander delivered a perfect pass near the goal line to Tom Barlow, who came into the game at halftime. Barlow tapped it in for his third MLS goal of the season, Evander’s second assist of the night.
San Diego tied it in the 66th. Pedro Soma delivered a pass from midfield to 35-year old veteran Amahl Pellegrino in transition, who beat Celentano one-on-one from the top of the 18. Another Soma pass to Pellegrino nearly resulted in another goal, with Pellegrino just missing wide.
Celentano made a great save off a free kick in the 87th minute.
"The game was in control as far as them having the ball for long stretches," said Noonan. "There was some good defensive work by our guys, but a big demand against a team as strong as San Diego, and the idea is to still find more solutions to control the tempo."
What’s next for FC Cincinnati?
Cincinnati hosts Orlando City SC May 23 at TQL Stadium. It will be their final game before the entire league takes two months off for the FIFA World Cup.
Orlando drew 1-1 vs. Atlanta May 16 and is 4-8-2 for 14 points.
.oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}
Wow! Roman Celentano denies Anders Dreyer! 😤 pic.twitter.com/UudJF7602q
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 17, 2026
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati vs. San Diego FC in Major League Soccer, May 16