FC Cincinnati remains unbeaten through 13 games across all competition after adding a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals last week and then playing Vancouver Whitecaps FC to a 1-1 draw on the road Saturday.

Now, the Orange and Blue are on a bit of a break, but there's still plenty to discuss on and off the field so this show will be a bit longer than usual.

In Episode 38, the wife and husband tandem of Laurel and Eric discuss the past two games, the Open Cup draw putting FCC as the host to Inter Miami and likely Lionel Messi in August and the news of the team signing its new DP forward, Aaron Boupendza. We also discuss Matt Miazga and Brandon Vazquez getting called into the U.S. men's national team for the Gold Cup, and a bit of news on another FCC player that could someday be eligible for consideration as well.

In following our new format, we also put the spotlight on Yerson Mosquera, who coach Pat Noonan confirmed will be staying for the full season thanks to the club's decision to exercise the option to extend his loan from Wolverhampton. And, Noonan provided the "Quote of the Week" with his realistic takeaway from dropped points at Vancouver.

Finally, we wrap up with a preview to this week's mailbag, which will post in written, extended form later in the week.

Thanks for tuning in!

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Margot Atelier (@margotatelier.us), Hoist (@DrinkHoist), Rhinehaus (@RhinehausOTR), The Richards Firm, Hangar937 (@Hangar937) on behalf of Mike Bowman, the Cincinnati Lions (@AVFC_Cincinnati), Ryan Sparks (@TouchedArtist), Adam Weigand, The Stumpf Family, Roger Hayner, Mike Hudson, Duke Thomas (#UpTheGarys), Matt (@FCCincinnatus), Bryan Weigel, Brad Weigel, Ryan De La Rosa, David McDaniel, the Rexroad Family and Tim Miller. Join the sponsorship tier (check your membership settings) to hayour name, organization or business recognized as well.

FC Cincinnati added another two wins last week, including an intense match at New York City FC and a late score for a 1-0 result against Chicago Fire. 

The wife/husband team of Laurel and Eric discuss those two matches, how significant Luciano Acosta's goal in the 83rd minute against Chicago was, what made the NYCFC game so chippy and more. Then, a lookahead to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals Tuesday against Pittsburgh and a game at Vancouverer Saturday before a break. Hear the quote of the week and a player spotlight on Alvas Powell and the "Olimpico" segment touching on a unique topic in MLS, this time the investigation into language used by NYCFC defender Tayvon Gray in that match against FCC.

The episode wraps up with a few mailbag questions, as usual.

Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to comment with your feedback on the new format!

Special thanks to Queen City Press founding sponsors:

Margot Atelier (@margotatelier.us), Hoist (@DrinkHoist), Rhinehaus (@RhinehausOTR), The Richards Firm, Hangar937 (@Hangar937) on behalf of Mike Bowman, the Cincinnati Lions (@AVFC_Cincinnati), Ryan Sparks (@TouchedArtist), Adam Weigand, The Stumpf Family, Roger Hayner, Mike Hudson, Duke Thomas (#UpTheGarys), Matt (@FCCincinnatus), Bryan Weigel, Brad Weigel, Ryan De La Rosa, David McDaniel, the Rexroad Family and Tim Miller. Join the sponsorship tier (check your membership settings) to hayour name, organization or business recognized as well.

FC Cincinnati flexed its muscles as the league leaders with a 3-2 win over the rival Columbus Crew in the first "Hell is Real" derby of the season, and it instantly joined the conversation as one of the best results in the club's MLS history.

Goals from Luciano Acosta (two) and Junior Moreno (the game-winner) put FCC on top, and Roman Celentano made a spectacular save in stoppage time to preserve the win. 

We discuss Acosta's performance, Celentano's save and more on the match in this week's episode, along with some recap of Wednesday's penalty shootout victory against New York Red Bulls in the U.S. Open Cup -- a game FCC probably shouldn't have advanced from to continue its tournament run into the quarterfinals.

Plus, we get into the news of Brenner's early exit, and hear clips from interviews with Pat Noonan, Celentano and Dom Badji. 

Thanks for tuning in!

Special thanks to Queen City Press founding sponsors:

Margot Atelier (@margotatelier.us), Hoist (@DrinkHoist), Rhinehaus (@RhinehausOTR), The Richards Firm, Hangar937 (@Hangar937) on behalf of Mike Bowman, the Cincinnati Lions (@AVFC_Cincinnati), Ryan Sparks (@TouchedArtist), Adam Weigand, The Stumpf Family, Roger Hayner, Mike Hudson, Duke Thomas (#UpTheGarys), Matt (@FCCincinnatus), Bryan Weigel, Brad Weigel, Ryan De La Rosa, David McDaniel, the Rexroad Family and Tim Miller. Join the sponsorship tier (check your membership settings) to hayour name, organization or business recognized as well.

FC Cincinnati put together arguably its most complete performance Wednesday in what some considered a "trap game" with the "Hell is Real" derby coming up Saturday against the Columbus Crew.

Even with two regular starters out or on the bench, FCC collected a 3-0 win over Montreal to prove there was no overlooking the midweek opponent. Now, it's a quick turnaround to Saturday, and the Orange and Blue are riding into a chance to earn their first big win over Columbus in the MLS era. 

In this episode of Queen City Press Podcast we discuss the win over Montreal, the forward situation with just two available this week and the salary data provided by the MLSPA on Tuesday. Plus, hear audio clips of interviews with Pat Noonan and Roman Celentano, and we answer a few mailbag questions before heading off to our daughter's preschool graduation.

Thanks for listening! 

Special thanks to Queen City Press founding sponsors:

Margot Atelier (@margotatelier.us), Hoist (@DrinkHoist), Rhinehaus (@RhinehausOTR), The Richards Firm, Hangar937 (@Hangar937) on behalf of Mike Bowman, the Cincinnati Lions (@AVFC_Cincinnati), Ryan Sparks (@TouchedArtist), Adam Weigand, The Stumpf Family, Roger Hayner, Mike Hudson, Duke Thomas (#UpTheGarys), Matt (@FCCincinnatus), Bryan Weigel, Brad Weigel, Ryan De La Rosa, David McDaniel, the Rexroad Family and Tim Miller. Join the sponsorship tier (check your membership settings) to have your name, organization or business recognized as well.

FC Cincinnati won two more games this past week, beating D.C. United, 2-1, on Saturday in league play and advancing in the U.S. Open Cup with a 1-0 win over New York City FC. The Orange and Blue now advance to the Round of 16 to play New York Red Bulls on the road either May 23 or May 24. 

The team has the weekend off, but advancing in the Open Cup means midweek games for each of the next three weeks on top of the return to Saturday games next weekend with "Hell is Real."

In this episode we talk about the two wins from the past week and why set pieces have become so important for this team, plus the latest on Brenner and audio clips of interviews with Brandon Vazquez and Pat Noonan. And, we wrap up with some mailbag questions, as usual (with a written version soon to come).

Special thanks to Queen City Press founding sponsors:

Margot Atelier (@margotatelier.us), Hoist (@DrinkHoist), Rhinehaus (@RhinehausOTR), The Richards Firm, Hangar937 (@Hangar937) on behalf of Mike Bowman, the Cincinnati Lions (@AVFC_Cincinnati), Ryan Sparks (@TouchedArtist), Adam Weigand, The Stumpf Family, Roger Hayner, Mike Hudson, Duke Thomas (#UpTheGarys), Matt (@FCCincinnatus), Bryan Weigel, Brad Weigel, Ryan De La Rosa, David McDaniel, the Rexroad Family and Tim Miller. Join the sponsorship tier (check your membership settings) to have your name, organization or business recognized as well.

FC Cincinnati finalized the summer transfer of Brenner to Udinese last week, but there seems to be some confusion over when his last game will be or whether he already has played his last game for the Orange and Blue. 

We try to provide some clarity on that topic in this episode, in which we also discuss the draw at New England and last week's U.S. Open Cup win against Louisville. Plus, a bit on this weekend's home match against D.C. United.

Hear audio clips from interviews with Pat Noonan and Quimi Ordonez, who is off with the U-20 Guatemalan squad for pre-World Cup training camp, and we wrap up with a couple mailbag questions. 

Special thanks to Queen City Press founding sponsors:

Margot Atelier (@margotatelier.us), Hoist (@DrinkHoist), Rhinehaus (@RhinehausOTR), The Richards Firm, Hangar937 (@Hangar937) on behalf of Mike Bowman, the Cincinnati Lions (@AVFC_Cincinnati), Ryan Sparks (@TouchedArtist), Adam Weigand, The Stumpf Family, Roger Hayner, Mike Hudson, Duke Thomas (#UpTheGarys), Matt (@FCCincinnatus), Bryan Weigel, Brad Weigel, Ryan De La Rosa, David McDaniel, the Rexroad Family and Tim Miller. Join the sponsorship tier (check your membership settings) to have your name, organization or business recognized as well.

FC Cincinnati is coming off another home win, this time with goals from Brandon Vazquez and Sergio Santos, and now faces its first midweek game of the 2023 season. 

The U.S. Open Cup third-round match Wednesday against Louisville City is a great chance to rotate and give some of the reserves a look.

We'll talk about the win against Portland, the depth of the roster and why it's so important to rest starters with a big Eastern Conference clash at first-place New England on Saturday.

Plus, hear clips from group interviews with Pat Noonan and Vazquez, plus a one-on-one (sort of) chat with Matt Miazga after he, Vazquez and Roman Celentano played off a quick turnaround from U.S. national team duty. 

We wrap up with a short mailbag as well -- be sure to send me your questions when you have them because I keep forgetting to post reminders!

Special thanks to Queen City Press founding sponsors:

Margot Atelier (@margotatelier.us), Hoist (@DrinkHoist), Rhinehaus (@RhinehausOTR), The Richards Firm, Hangar937 (@Hangar937) on behalf of Mike Bowman, the Cincinnati Lions (@AVFC_Cincinnati), Ryan Sparks (@TouchedArtist), Adam Weigand, The Stumpf Family, Roger Hayner, Mike Hudson, Duke Thomas (#UpTheGarys), Matt (@FCCincinnatus), Bryan Weigel, Brad Weigel, Ryan De La Rosa, David McDaniel, the Rexroad Family and Tim Miller. Join the sponsorship tier (check your membership settings) to have your name, organization or business recognized as well.

MLS insider Tom "Tommy Scoops" Bogert joined the Queen City Press Podcast to discuss Brenner's summer transfer to Udinese, how he sees FC Cincinnati potentially replacing him, why he doesn't see Brandon Vazquez leaving this summer and more.

Before he joins in for a 30-minute chat, we discuss the latest news on what Brenner's up to, progress for Luciano Acosta and if there are any concerns about Obinna Nwobodo's health after taking a knock in his return Saturday. We also discuss Pat Noonan's approach to the St. Louis game and where it went wrong, with a clip meshing together a few questions from his postgame press conference. And we wrap up with Gold Cup news and what to expect this weekend when Portland comes to TQL Stadium.

There's no mailbag this time around (I forgot to ask for questions and had a limited timeframe to record with Eric), but since last week was an extended mailbag and I'm doing a written one this week, hopefully that's OK. Send in your questions!

And, as always thanks for tuning in!

Special thanks to Queen City Press founding sponsors:

Margot Atelier (@margotatelier.us), Hoist (@DrinkHoist), Rhinehaus (@RhinehausOTR), The Richards Firm, Hangar937 (@Hangar937) on behalf of Mike Bowman, the Cincinnati Lions (@AVFC_Cincinnati), Ryan Sparks (@TouchedArtist), Adam Weigand, The Stumpf Family, Roger Hayner, Mike Hudson, Duke Thomas (#UpTheGarys), Matt (@FCCincinnatus), Bryan Weigel, Brad Weigel, Ryan De La Rosa, David McDaniel, the Rexroad Family and Tim Miller. Join the sponsorship tier (check your membership settings) to have your name, organization or business recognized as well.

With news that FC Cincinnati is finalizing a deal to transfer Brenner Souza da Silva to Italian Serie A club Udinese, we decided to do an emergency podcast to talk about what will be one of the league's biggest sales.

The deal isn't quite done yet, but Brenner would stay with FCC until July 1 when the transfer would be complete with the opening of the window in Italy.

As reported earlier today, FCC would be getting at least a $10 million transfer fee, and we'll tell you why that's nothing to scoff at -- even considering the club paid more to acquire him from Sao Paulo. 

Thanks for tuning in for this special episode.

Special thanks to Queen City Press founding sponsors:

Margot Atelier (@margotatelier.us), Hoist (@DrinkHoist), Rhinehaus (@RhinehausOTR), The Richards Firm, Hangar937 (@Hangar937) on behalf of Mike Bowman, the Cincinnati Lions (@AVFC_Cincinnati), Ryan Sparks (@TouchedArtist), Adam Weigand, The Stumpf Family, Roger Hayner, Mike Hudson, Duke Thomas (#UpTheGarys), Matt (@FCCincinnatus), Bryan Weigel, Brad Weigel, Ryan De La Rosa, David McDaniel, the Rexroad Family and Tim Miller. Join the sponsorship tier (check your membership settings) to have your name, organization or business recognized as well.

FC Cincinnati now leads the Supporters Shield standings after a 1-0 win over Philadelphia, but the team's fifth victory didn't come without cost. Luciano Acosta injured his shoulder on the play that earned him the penalty kick that counted as the game winner, and he's expected to miss at least one or two weeks.

In this episode, we discuss FCC's options for replacing him Saturday at St. Louis, plus the continued struggles for the attack, how Roman Celentano and the defense are lifting the team and more. We also talk about the U.S. Open Cup draw and TQL Stadium hosting Gold Cup games, and we wrap up with an extended mailbag because fans had lots of questions!

Thanks for tuning in!

Special thanks to Queen City Press founding sponsors:

Margot Atelier (@margotatelier.us), Hoist (@DrinkHoist), Rhinehaus (@RhinehausOTR), The Richards Firm, Hangar937 (@Hangar937) on behalf of Mike Bowman, the Cincinnati Lions (@AVFC_Cincinnati), Ryan Sparks (@TouchedArtist), Adam Weigand, The Stumpf Family, Roger Hayner, Mike Hudson, Duke Thomas (#UpTheGarys), Matt (@FCCincinnatus), Bryan Weigel, Brad Weigel, Ryan De La Rosa, David McDaniel, the Rexroad Family and Tim Miller. Join the sponsorship tier (check your membership settings) to have your name, organization or business recognized as well.