All posts in category Sports

USOC17: THE CUP RUN WILL CONTINUE!

FC CINCINNATI’S EPIC US OPEN CUP RUN WILL CONTINUE! 🏆

FC Cincinnati defeated Miami FC of the NASL 1-0 on the road in Miami with a goal by Djiby, his fourth of this incredibly magical US Open Cup run. And with that, FC|C has made it to the semi-finals of the 2017 US Open Cup!

20482324_1987888614828425_8039790818011119616_n.jpg

Per Orange & Blue Press, Djiby is the first player in the Modern Era to score four game-winning goals in the same US Open Cup tournament. At the end of the pitch, FC|C’s star goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt hasn’t allowed a goal in 469 minutes of US Open Cup play. Starting from the 11th minute of the 2016 USOC loss to Tampa Bay, Hildebrandt has not conceded a single goal, leaving him just 4 minutes shy of the modern-day record, held by Jon Conway. Conway had a 473 consecutive minutes streak for San Jose between 2000 and 2001. And if you string Mitch’s streak together with Dallas Jaye’s 120 minutes of clean-sheet play versus AFC Cleveland in the second round, FC Cincy hasn’t allowed a goal in a staggering 589 minutes of US Open Cup play, also a Modern Era record. Zero goals conceded in 589 minutes of play. WOW!

There are now just four teams left in the 2017 US Open Cup: San Jose Earthquakes, Sporting Kansas City, New York Red Bulls and our FC Cincinnati…

In the 2017 USOC semi-final, FC|C will face New York Red Bulls. AT NIPPERT STADIUM. 

FC|C will host the Red Bulls after wins against AFC Cleveland, Louisville City FC, Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire and now Miami FC. With their win over Miami, FC Cincinnati became the first non-MLS side to reach the US Open Cup semi-finals since Richmond Kickers in 2011. And while a USL team has not made the USOC semi-finals since 2011, a USL squad has not hosted a semi-final draw since 2008, back when Charleston hosted and beat the then-USL Seattle Sounders.

Regardless of what happens against Red Bulls, it’s been such an epic US Open Cup run. It’s been like the Energizer bunny, it just keeps going and going and going. Hopefully, they can keep it going again. We’ll see you at the 2017 US Open Cup semi-finals!
😀🏆⚽️❤️

Photos courtesy of FC Cincinnati’s Twitter & Instagram and US Open Cup’s Twitter. 

UPDATE: Djiby will miss the semi-final match for an accumulation of yellow cards. 😬

Leave a comment
by Thadd F. on August 2, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in #SUMMERinCINCY, FC Cincinnati, Odd & Ends, Sports
Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Thadd F. on August 2, 2017

https://tplusg.com/2017/08/02/usoc17-semi-finals-semi-finals/

USOC17: FC Cincinnati watch parties.

This evening FC Cincinnati played away to Miami FC in the quarter-finals of the 2017 US Open Cup. And there were numerous watch parties around the city and Northside was no exception. We headed down to Second Place to meet up with our friend JJ and one of her friends. We arrived about a half hour before the match and Second Place was already packed. There weren’t any open seats at the bar, in fact, there weren’t any open seats to be found in the whole place. It was standing room only…

And as the match got underway, it kept getting more and more crowded…

36373578575_b0969a8fb1_b

With the match still 0-0 at halftime, we decided to break camp and watch the second half just up the block at Higher Gravity. We made it just before it started pouring…

We managed to actually find a seat at Higher Gravity, and watch FC|C knock Miami FC out of the US Open Cup by the final score of 1-0…

Can you believe it? Our FC Cincinnati is moving on to the 2017 US Open Cup semi-finals! What an incredible night! 😀⚽️🏆❤️

Leave a comment
by Thadd F. on August 2, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in #SUMMERinCINCY, FC Cincinnati, Northside, Odd & Ends, Sports
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Thadd F. on August 2, 2017

https://tplusg.com/2017/08/02/usoc-fc-cincinnati-watch-parties/

FC Cincinnati versus Rochester Rhinos.

IT’S FC CINCINNATI MATCH DAY TWELVE! FC Cincinnati hosting Rochester Rhinos…

I was flying solo today. Genifer’s sister was getting thrown a surprise birthday party. I promised to leave at halftime. Or as soon as today’s match attendance was announced…

O say can you see…

And we’re underway…

In the twelfth minute, Rochester Rhinos took an early against the run of play.

GOAL FC CINCINNATI! Jimmy McLaughlin! Tie game 1-1!

And that’s where the wheels came off the wagon, and the rest of the match went all downhill. The ref for this evening’s match was one Guido Gonzales Jr. And he was the second worst referee I’ve seen in my entire life. The worst being Calin Radosav from FC|C’s match against Orlando City B back in May. Gonzales gave Djiby a second yellow after two seemingly innocuous soft fouls. The first was a supposed elbow that the referee didn’t even see or blow his whistle on until the linesman alerted Gonzales as to what he missed. Boom. Yellow card. No stern talking to. No warning. Straight yellow. And the second yellow was seventeen minutes later on a 50/50 ball. Djiby was challenging Rochester’s Wal Fall for a ball just outside Rochester’s penalty area. Djiby stretched his leg across Fall to block the clearance. The Rochester defender kicked the ball and then caught Djiby’s out-stretched foot on the follow through. Rochester’s Fall collapsed like he’d just broken his leg in three places. The way he was rolling around, you’d have thought he’d be lucky to ever walk again. And Djiby gets sent off…

A minute after coming back onto the pitch, Wal Fall goes down in a heap again after an extremely soft tackle. And he draws another yellow, this time on FC Cincinnati’s, Josu. It was really pretty ridiculous. And everytime Fall touched the ball for the rest of the game the entire stadium erupted in boos…

And at the half, it was 1-1.

You should have seen FC|C’s head coach, Alan Koch staring down Gonzales Jr…

And The Bailey expressed their opinion with a certain hand gesture…

SPRINKLES!

Rochester’s head coach looks like the real head coach got sick, and one of the player’s dads had to step in as head coach…

And we’re all set for the second half. It couldn’t possibly be as bad as the first, right?

With that, FC|C has become the first USL team to average over 20,000 fans per match. And according to Bailey Banter, FC Cincinnati has a better average attendance than 69 other professional sports teams. And that’s pretty darn cool.

 

As I was heading out, Rochester was awarded a penalty. Wal Fall was judged to have been fouled in the box. Not surprisingly, the replay showed he got away with taking yet another dive. Pretty sad really that the referee could see the forest through the trees. Fall made the penalty and gets booked for a prolonged celebration that mocked the FC|C supporters relentless boos…

After I left, Rochester was awarded ANOTHER penalty for what the Gonzales Jr called a handball. But you be the judge, was this a hand ball? Here’s another view. So Wal Fall coverts that one too. 3-1 Rochester. FC Cincy was awarded a penalty of their own near the end of the match but not before Gonzales Jr sends off two players from Cincinnati’s bench. Danni Konig converts the penalty for FC|C and that’s how the match would end, 3-2 Rochester.  Five yellow cards, 3 red cards and three penalty kicks. Ridiculous. Bailey Banter has a more in-depth account of the match. At least the sunset was pretty when I was walking back to our car…

Hopefully, FC Cincinnati will have better luck against Miami FC in the quarter-finals of the US Open Cup on Wednesday, and at home on Saturday against Orlando City B. And of course, we’ll see you at Nippert next Saturday. 😀⚽️❤️

Leave a comment
by Thadd F. on July 29, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in #SUMMERinCINCY, FC Cincinnati, Sports, Uptown
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Thadd F. on July 29, 2017

https://tplusg.com/2017/07/29/fc-cincinnati-versus-rochester-rhinos-2/

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY: FC Cincinnati versus Valencia CF.

IT’S INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY MATCH DAY! Tonight, FC Cincinnati was playing host to Valencia CF of Spain’s La Liga. Last season’s international friendly match against Crystal Palace was hands-down easily the biggest, most anticipated match of the season. To say that this season, I’m not so sure. We were definitely looking forward to this match. After the USOC win over Columbus Crew and the USOC win over Chicago Fire, both at Nippert, we had a feeling that this match was going to pale in comparison. Exposure to La Liga is pretty limited. La Liga matches are shown on BeIN Sports, only available through extra subscription sports packages with most televisions providers. And that makes it pretty hard to follow La Liga. Especially compared to the readily available, easily accessible English Premier League on NBCSports or Germany Bundesliga on FOXSports. I only know players on Barcelona and the two Madrid teams. And that’s because of the UEFA Champions League. To be honest, I couldn’t name one player on Valencia off the top of my head. But still, it’s always pretty exciting to get the opportunity to watch a big foreign side play in your backyard. I just wish I was more familiar with the side FC Cincinnati was welcoming into Nippert Stadium…

We got to Nippert soooo early…

Almost an hour before kickoff…

They played a really cool La Liga promotional video before the match…

I really wish I would have taken a video of it. Because I can’t find it anywhere. It was really cool, all the highlights and history will all the big name players of La Liga. Really cool. Also pretty cool? The march of the supporter’s groups to The Bailey…

The public address announcer told everyone to look up into the sky…

It was quite the dramatic entrance for the Stars & Stripes…

The teams made their way onto the pitch…

Valencia CF…

Pat McMahon got a rare start!

O say can you see…

Monday Night Futbol. That’s clever…

Valencia CF…

And I missed the FC Cincinnati team shot…

And we’re underway. La Liga in Cincinnati…

Dallas Jaye entered the match for FC|C no. 1 Mitch Hildebrant in the 32nd minute…

At the half, the match was still 0-0…

And that means it’s time for SPRINKLES!

At halftime, there was a ceremony to honor Omar Cummings for a fantastic career… 

Omar Cummings is a native of Jamaica who played soccer for both Cincinnati State and University of Cincinnati before getting drafted as the number 31 overall pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft by Colorado Rapids. He went on to become an MLS All-Star and earn 35 caps with the Jamaican National Team. Last season, he became one of the original eleven FC Cincinnati players…

Omar Cummings would kick off the second half…

And the second half is underway…

FC Cincinnati was about to make wholesale substitutions…

Omar Cummings got subbed off the pitch for the final time as a professional to a huge standing ovation from an appreciative Nippert Stadium…

And then… Goal! 1-0 Valencia!

The goal looked more than a little offside to me but it’s not very often they get offsides right at Nippert Stadium…

Three more minutes of La Liga in Cincinnati…

FC Cincinnati was awarded a corner in the dying moments of the match…

Note FC Cincinnati’s third string keeper making his way into the penalty box to try to get his head on the corner. He didn’t manage to do that. Valencia was able to clear the ball, jail broke out of the box and sprinted down the field for an empty net goal. And with that, it was 2-0…

On an interesting side note, it turns out the player who scored Valencia’s second goal was the Italian striker, Simone Zaza. In last summer’s European Championships, Zaza was inserted into the quarter-final match up against Germany just before for the penalty shoot-out. After a really bizarre run up to the ball, he had what is widely considered to be one of the worst misses from the penalty spot of all-time. Just saying. Zaza…

And at the full-time whistle, it was Valencia CF 2-0 over FC Cincinnati…

It was a very good match. FC Cincinnati has some pretty good chances but the technical abilities of the Valencia players were the real treat. The passing and the control were just leaps and bounds those of FC|C. It was very entertaining to watch.

Watch all 94 minutes of last night’s FC Cincinnati international friendly against Valencia CF.

Next up, FC Cincinnati returns to Nippert Stadium this Saturday as they take the seventh place Rochester Rhinos. And we’ll see you there! 😀⚽️🦇❤️

Leave a comment
by Thadd F. on July 24, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in #SUMMERinCINCY, FC Cincinnati, Sports, Uptown
Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Thadd F. on July 24, 2017

https://tplusg.com/2017/07/24/fc-cincinnati-versus-valencia-cf/

FC Cincinnati versus Harrisburg City Islanders.

IT’S FC CINCINNATI MATCH DAY ELEVEN! This evening FC Cincinnati was taking on the Harrisburg City Islanders at Nippert Stadium…

We met Cory and Amy at Mac’s Pizza Pub. We got to talking, didn’t realize the time and missed the kick-off which was fine because it was so hot and humid to day. Temperatures were well over 100º. When we got over to Nippert, we were happy to see we didn’t miss anything and the score was still 0-0…

As soon as we got over to our seats, the match went into a weather delay for approaching lightning in the area…

After an hour and nine-minute lightning delay, play was finally back under way. And it didn’t take very long for FC Cincinnati to take a 1-0 lead. Djiby tallied his 11th goal of the season…

The sky started to get pretty crazy looking…

At the end of the first half, it was still 1-0 to FC Cincinnati. SPRINKLES!

GOAL FC CINCINNATI! Danni Konig made it 2-0 FC|C! 

Uh-oh…

And there’s the second lightning delay of the match…

At this point, we called it a match and headed for home. As it turns out, the second lightning delay only lasted for thirty-five minutes. When play once again resumed, Jimmy McLaughlin made it 3-0 FC Cincinnati! And that’s how the match would end,
3-0 FC Cincinnati. The win is FC|C’s third straight in USL games and moves them into fourth place in the USL East!

We got home just in time to watch the second half of the Gold Cup semifinal match between USMNT v. Costa Rica. And the USA won 2-0 to advance to Wednesday’s Gold Cup final against Jamaica!

Monday is FC Cincinnati’s big international friendly against Valencia CF of Spain’s
La Liga. To say we’re a little excited, might just be the understatement of the season.
The match will also be on ESPN3/Watch ESPN. But we’ll see you there! 😀⚽️❤️

 

Leave a comment
by Thadd F. on July 22, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in #SUMMERinCINCY, FC Cincinnati, Sports, Uptown
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Thadd F. on July 22, 2017

https://tplusg.com/2017/07/22/fc-cincinnati-versus-harrisburg-city-islanders/

Super Sports Saturday.

There were a bunch of really good sports on this evening. We sat out on our back patio and watched the Reds lose to the Nats, the United States Men’s National Team thump Nicaragua 3-0 in their final group stage match of the Gold Cup and… we watched our FC Cincinnati down geographic rival Louisville City FC 3-2… in Louisville…

It was a bunch of sports. Maybe too much for some of us…

Thank goodness for having a bunch of devices. 😀⚾️⚽️⚽️❤️

Leave a comment
by Thadd F. on July 15, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in #SUMMERinCINCY, FC Cincinnati, Northside, Odd & Ends, Reds baseball, Sports
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Thadd F. on July 15, 2017

https://tplusg.com/2017/07/15/super-sports-saturday/

Gearing up for Valencia CF.

If you didn’t already know, FC Cincinnati has an international friendly just around the corner with Valencia CF of Spain’s La Liga. After work this evening, I walked down to the FC Cincinnati Team Store on Fourth Street…

They had the model of FC Cincinnati’s proposed new soccer-only stadium on display right when you walked in the door…

But I was there for the special FC|C Valencia dual logo t-shirt that was just released…

And I picked up a couple of the special FC|C Valencia limited edition scarves…

Only 500 scarves were created. We got scarves number 100 and 101…

We can’t wait for this season’s big international friendly! 😀⚽️❤️

Leave a comment
by Thadd F. on July 12, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in #SUMMERinCINCY, Central Business District, FC Cincinnati, Odd & Ends, Sports
Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Thadd F. on July 12, 2017

https://tplusg.com/2017/07/12/gearing-up-for-valencia-cf/

FC Cincinnati versus Richmond Kickers.

IT’S FC CINCINNATI MATCH DAY TEN! FC Cincinnati was hosting Richmond Kickers…

We ended up talking to a couple that always sits at the table next to us at Mac’s Pizza Pub before the matches and as a result, we missed the teams walking out onto the pitch. And we missed Djiby scoring the opening goal for FC Cincinnati just three minutes into the match…

And at the half, it was 1-0 FC|C. SPRINKLES!

They announced the attendance of 21,769 but they never put it on the scoreboard…

PENALTY TO FC|C!

Aodhan Quinn buried the penalty, but the referee called it back after an FC|C player encroached the penalty box before the kick. He’d have to retake the penalty. And he buried the penalty again! 

At the full-time whistle, it was 2-0 to FC Cincinnati…

Walking to get our Uber, we noticed these crazy gargolyes sitting at ninety-degree angles off of one of the UC buildings…

AND… it was announced on Thursday that the US Women’s National Team will be visiting Nippert Stadium this fall to play the second match of a two game set of international friendlies against New Zealand!

How exciting is that? 😀❤️⚽️

Leave a comment
by Thadd F. on July 9, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in #SUMMERinCINCY, FC Cincinnati, Sports, Uptown
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Thadd F. on July 9, 2017

https://tplusg.com/2017/07/09/fc-cincinnati-versus-richmond-kickers-2/

Reds baseball game #5.

I picked us up some tickets to this afternoon’s Reds versus Cubs game at GABP…

With the Reds playing the Cubs, it meant there were going to be a bunch of people at today’s game, more than a normal game…

We skipped the Crosley Terrace where we usually enter the ballpark because it was packed with people. As we approached the Terrace, Genifer thought they hadn’t opened the gates yet. They were open. It was just so many people that it didn’t look like they were moving at all…

We entered the ballpark through one of the lesser used gates down the first base line by Mr. Reds Smokehouse where there was no wait to get in…

It’s always amazing to be back at GABP…

It’s one of my very favorite places around…

Time Adelman was on the hill for the Reds this afternoon…

And Kris Bryant was back in the Cubs starting lineup after sitting the first two games of the series with an injury…

And the Cubs Anthony Rizzo was in the lineup too…

Jake Arrieta was on the mound of the Cubs…

Zack Cozart and Joey Votto both made this year’s National League All-Star team…

BARGE!

Hot dogs always taste better at baseball games…

Time for the live Reds mascot race…

And this one belongs to Mr. Red…

ARISMENDY ALCANTARA! One of the best names in all of baseball…

There were a lot of people at the game this afternoon…

Out.

The Cubs brought in Koji Uehara…

Cubs win. Cubs win. Holy cow. This one did not belong to the Reds. When the Reds took the first two games of the series, we knew that the Reds would more than likely not come out on the happy end of this game…

People must have been carrying those W flags around with them all weekend, just waiting and hoping that they would get a chance to unfurl them at some point…

It was great to be back at the ballpark. The only thing I miss about living downtown was being able to walk to Great American Ball Park to watch the Reds play baseball. 😀⚾️❤️

Leave a comment
by Thadd F. on July 2, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in #SUMMERinCINCY, Central Business District, Reds baseball, Sports
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Thadd F. on July 2, 2017

https://tplusg.com/2017/07/02/reds-baseball-game-5-2/

I rode the Streetcar.

This afternoon I rode the Streetcar Cincinnati Bell Connector…

I got my $1 two-hour CB Connector pass…

And made sure to get it validated…

After waiting for a few minutes, the Connector rolled up to the Aronoff Center Station…

Next stop, Cincinnati Cyclones Station in The Banks…

From there, I walked around the corner to Great Amercian Ball Park…

I got to check out the new Pete Rose statue out in front of GABP…

I got us two tickets to Sunday’s Reds versus Cubs game…

After getting us tickets, I walked down East Freedom Way to get lunch from Burgerfi…

I walked back to Cincinnati Cyclones Station in The Banks to wait for the Connector…

Seventeen minutes later…

And back to work…

Mmmmm, Burgerfi…

It was a fun little jaunt around downtown to break up the afternoon. But I’m pretty sure if I just walked down to The Banks and back, it would have been a WHOLE LOT faster. The CB Connector is neat and all, but if you’re trying to get someplace quickly or on a schedule, you should probably explore other options… or just walk. 😀

Leave a comment
by Thadd F. on June 30, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in #SUMMERinCINCY, Central Business District, Odd & Ends, Reds baseball
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Thadd F. on June 30, 2017

https://tplusg.com/2017/06/30/i-rode-the-streetcar/

« Older Posts
Newer Posts »

  • Thadd+Genifer

  • T+G Calendar of posts

    April 2026
    M T W T F S S
     12345
    6789101112
    13141516171819
    20212223242526
    27282930  

  • T+G by Category

  • T+G by Month

  • FOLLOW THADD

  • FOLLOW GENIFER

  • T+G Home

    A Tumblr of photos from our home.

  • Thadd+Friends

    Our old blog

  • Music stuck in my head

  • Dealspotr

  • Statcounter

  • Follow T+G on WordPress.com