Noonan thrilled with Cincinnati's morale-boosting victory in MLS double-header

Pat Noonan was thrilled FC Cincinnati got a much-needed win over D.C. United on Wednesday as attention now turns to the second part of their rare MLS double-header.

Cincinnati came out on top with a 2-1 victory at TQL Stadium on Wednesday, bouncing back from consecutive losses to the New England Revolution and Columbus Crew.

It put them eighth in the Eastern Conference, leaving their playoff hopes largely in their own hands, and they now travel to D.C. to try to earn a win that could potentially boost them into the automatic qualification spots.

Noonan did not shy away from the importance of the victory, but he is not ready to rest on his laurels with only four games left of the regular season.

"Like we've talked about, we needed three points, and we got that. So pleased with the group effort," he said after Wednesday's win.

"We leaned on some experience, and I think guys were ready to fight the right way. Our reality is our reality, and we needed to use an opportunity after two poor results at home to secure three points and feel better about going into these final four games.

"So that we accomplished, and we know we have to go turn it around at their place in a couple days, and it's going to be equally as difficult.

"But for the psyche, for what we needed, even though it's not the position that we want to be in, we were able to win a game that was important for us to get three points."

As for D.C., they are still in the playoff conversation despite sitting 13th in the East, as they are just three points behind the ninth-place New York Red Bulls.

However, they have won just one of their last seven MLS matches (D2 L4), losing their last two, but head coach Rene Weiler is confident they can bounce back.

"It's kind of like a simulation of a playoff game, so we've got to try to be better in two games against the same opponent," he said.

"We're now down with the loss, and now we'll try to do the second bit of the simulation of a playoff game and to play a successful game on Saturday."

Players to watch

D.C. United – Kimito Nono

Kimito Nono scored D.C.'s only goal on Wednesday to give him three goals on the season.

The only Japanese player with more goals in a single regular season in MLS history is Yuya Kubo, who had 10 in 2024 for Cincinnati.

FC Cincinnati – Evander

Evander notched his 14th assist of the season in Wednesday's win, moving him into a tie with five others for the most in MLS this season.

Over the last three seasons, Evander has 47 assists, joining Lionel Messi (50) as the only MLS players with at least 40 regular-season assists in that time.

Form and head-to-head

Cincinnati have won five of their last eight meetings with D.C. (D1 L2), which includes a 2-1 home win on Wednesday.

Prior to that, D.C. were unbeaten in the seven all-time matches in the fixture (W4 D3).

D.C. are playing a home match for the first time since a 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls on October 14. They have not won consecutive home matches across all competitions since May 2025, while they are looking to win two straight home MLS matches in a single season for the first time since April-May 2022.

Following their midweek win, Cincinnati have now scored 62 goals this regular season while allowing 71. The 133 combined goals are the second most in a single regular season in MLS history, fewer than only Inter Miami's 136 (81 for, 55 against) last season.