If you ever needed proof that MLS chaos is alive, well, and thriving in Ohio, FC Cincinnati delivered a full-blown case study Saturday night. Down late in a win-or-go-home Hell Is Real decider, the Orange and Blue flipped the script in front of a sold-out, electrically unhinged TQL Stadium and stormed back to beat Columbus 2–1—punching their ticket to the Eastern Conference Semifinals and sending their rivals home with the kind of heartbreak that lingers into the offseason.
And the hero? Brenner, the prodigal son turned postseason menace, who dropped a second-half brace like he’s been waiting months to ruin Columbus’ night specifically.
This wasn’t just a playoff win. This was redemption, catharsis, and petty Ohio supremacy wrapped into 90 minutes of tension.
This Game 3 had the emotional energy of a heavyweight trilogy fight—exhaustion, familiarity, pettiness, and a prize worth bleeding for. For more than an hour, both sides traded half-chances and midfield wrestling matches. Columbus, as they do, hogged the ball (closing with 60.7% possession) and tried to drag the game into their preferred pace: slow, deliberate, and annoyingly beautiful.
Cincinnati? They looked like a team waiting for the right moment to hit the turbo button.
That moment finally came in the 63rd minute—but not in Cincinnati’s favor. Columbus struck first when Patrick Schulte launched a quarterback-style deep ball down the right flank. Andrés Herrera zipped into the box, squared a pass across traffic, and Jacen Russell-Rowe coolly smashed home the opener.
Silence fell. Crew fans in the corner erupted. And TQL Stadium—previously loud enough to register on seismic monitors—sucked in a collective breath.
Down 1–0. A season on the ropes. Energy dipping.
And then Cincinnati remembered who they were.
Four minutes later, TQL Stadium exploded like someone hit a defibrillator. Cincinnati earned a corner, Evander swung in a gorgeous outswinger, and Teenage Hadebe—who spent the entire night winning physical battles like they were personal vendettas—outmuscled his marker to redirect the ball into chaos.
Suddenly the ball fell to Brenner. One touch. One rocket. Back of the net.
1–1. The script flipped. The stadium came alive like a dormant volcano.
That goal did more than tie the match—it reminded everyone that Cincinnati thrives in chaos. They’ve built an identity around refusing to die quietly, and Brenner’s equalizer was a middle-finger to the idea that Columbus could come into their house and dictate terms.
But he wasn’t done.
As the match crept toward the final minutes, the energy felt cinematic. Every clearance, every tackle, every run felt like it was carrying playoff destiny on its back.
Then came the 86th minute: a play stitched together by three players who hadn’t been on the field all night until the second half.
Pavel Bucha spotted Ayoub Jabbari making a smart back-post run. Jabbari headed it into a dangerous area for Samuel Gidi, who shielded a defender like he was boxing out for a rebound. Instead of forcing a low-percentage shot, Gidi bumped the ball back to Brenner at the top of the scrum.
What followed was pure striker instinct.
One touch to settle. Second touch low and lethal.
Schulte froze. The net rippled. Chaos ensued.
2–1. Game flipped. TQL Stadium in orbit.
The celebration felt like a city emptying its lungs. Brenner—yellow card be damned—became the man of the night, delivering Cincinnati its biggest playoff moment since the Shield-winning days.
In a match where Columbus controlled possession by a wide margin, Cincinnati survived by embracing exactly who they are: a ruthlessly efficient counter-punching team that lives off moments, not volume.
They didn’t need 20 shots. They needed two. That’s the beauty of postseason soccer—quality beats quantity every time.
Key defensive moments defined the win:
And then there were the kids—Samuel Gidi and Ayoub Jabbari—who entered the match like unknown role players in a playoff movie and ended up providing the assist sequence that led to the series-winning goal.
Pat Noonan didn’t just coach a game. He orchestrated a masterpiece of substitutions.
Let’s keep the box score simple, because Cincinnati’s win wasn’t about analytics—it was about moments.
But maybe the wildest stat?
This was only the fourth time in club history FCC has won after conceding the first goal in the second half. They simply don’t do comebacks like this.
Until they did—on the biggest stage possible.
If the match had an emotional hinge, it was the 67th-minute equalizer. Before that, FCC looked stunned. After that, they looked possessed. Columbus, who relies heavily on controlling rhythm, suddenly had none. Cincinnati fed off the crowd, played faster, pressed sharper, and hunted down every 50/50 like the season depended on it—because it did.
Playoff soccer turns on tiny moments. This one turned on a corner kick, a lucky bounce, and a striker ready to rewrite the narrative.
The Orange and Blue are heading to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the third time in four seasons. But this one feels different. This wasn’t the veteran, Supporters’ Shield version of Cincinnati. This was a team that battled injuries, identity shifts, and a mid-season roster shuffle—and still found a way back to the league’s elite tier.
Beating Columbus isn’t just advancing. It’s a badge of honor. A psychological shift. Proof that Cincinnati’s window is still wide open, and their ceiling is higher than anyone expected four months ago.
Brenner’s revival is now the headline story of the playoffs. Hadebe looks like a foundational piece. Gidi and Jabbari proved FCC’s depth isn’t a rumor.
And starting November 22 or 23, the road to MLS Cup runs straight through TQL Stadium once again.
If you needed a tagline for this one, try this:
Hell Is Real, but so is Brenner.
Cincinnati didn’t just beat Columbus—they exorcised ghosts, reclaimed pride, and reignited a postseason run that suddenly feels very real.
Bring on the Semifinals.
A better brand, built by Vaughn & Co. ©
