D.C. United and FC Cincinnati fought to a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes on Thursday evening at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. This match was the first fixture played between the Black-and-Red and MLS newcomers, FC Cincinnati.
United got off to a fast start, in the second minute Luciano Acosta used his offensive intuition to dummy a pass to Paul Arriola. The USMNT midfielder who scored on Saturday for his country, collected the ball and rifled a shot on net which was saved by FCC.
Ulises Segura had a golden opportunity to take the lead early on. Segura made a brilliant run through the FC Cincinnati defense and found himself 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper who once again made a big stop.
D.C. United took the lead in the 21st minute of the match. Acosta found space just outside the FCC penalty box and slotted home his opportunity to take the early 1-0 lead.
After picking up a knock in the friendly against Bethlehem Steel FC, Wayne Rooney came off the bench in the 63rd minute. The captain was bright in possession and played parts of the match underneath the striker.
The second half saw 11 substitutions with with Donovan Pines, Jalen Robinson, Chris Durkin, Akeem Ward and Chris Seitz all coming on for the Black-and-Red. Goalkeeper Chris Seitz made a handful of big saves in the second half but FC Cincinnati found their equalizer in the 81st-minute with Nazmi Albadawi scoring the goal.
United return to Washington, D.C. tomorrow and will continue their preseason preparations before departing for Clearwater, Fla., for a second camp next week. The District's next preseason contest will take place at Al Lang Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the 2019 Suncoast Invitational. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 PM ET.
