Matt Miazga, FC Cincinnati take strong defense on road to Montreal

After snapping a four-match winless streak on June 14, FC Cincinnati head north of the border Wednesday night for another opportunity to earn three points when they face CF Montreal.

Cincinnati (10-5-3, 33 points) is in second place in the Eastern Conference, within striking distance of first-place Philadelphia.

Before three of their next four matches take place against top-six teams in the Eastern Conference, Wednesday night is a got-to-have-it three points for Cincinnati against last-place Montreal (2-11-5, 11 points).

Coming off a 1-0 win at New England Revolution, their sixth clean sheet of the season, FC Cincinnati are looking to further improve their defense heading into Wednesday night.

"Defensively, I think our structure was pretty good for the majority of the game," head coach Pat Noonan said after the match. "How we were able to defend deep, closer to our goal, I thought was solid."

Having 2023 MLS Defender of the Year Matt Miazga back is also a boost for Cincinnati's defense. Against New England, Miazga played all 90 minutes for the first time since his 2024 season was cut short due to a knee injury.

"That is a moment that I really wanted to do since my injury," Miazga said. "I'm feeling stronger, fitter, sharper every day and week."

On the other side, Montreal has struggled mightily all season with just two wins that both came on the road.

CF Montreal have already fired head coach Laurent Courtois. That occurred just five matches into the season, and they're now led by interim head coach Marco Donadel.

They're coming off a 3-1 road win, though, at the Houston Dynamo on June 14. Prince Owusu scored two of his team-leading six goals in that game.

"This is an incredible demonstration of character and personality because it is not easy to come (to Houston) with eight points and play in this environment and put on such a performance," Donadel said.

Wednesday night is the first of two matches between Cincinnati and Montreal this season. Their rematch will be in the regular-season finale Oct. 18 in Cincinnati.

--Field Level Media