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Atlanta United 2 fell to FC Cincinnati 2 with a score of 4-1 on Sunday at Fifth Third Stadium.
Cincinnati started off the scoring when Moises Tablante found the back of the net off of a pass from Gerardo Valenzuela in the 16th minute. In the 33rd minute, Peter Mangione made it 2-0 for Cincinnati when Jayden Hibbert saved a shot from Tablante, but he was unable to hold it and Mangione found the rebound.
Karim Tmimi was able to cut the lead in half for Atlanta when Javier Armas played a short corner to Erik Centeno. Centeno crossed to Tmimi, who made it 2-1 in the 42nd minute.
After halftime, Nicholas Benalcazar was able to find the back of the net in the 55th minute to make it 3-1. Cincinnati would find their fourth goal to put the match out of reach in the 67th minute when Benjamin Stitz found the ball in Atlanta's box.
"I'm bitterly disappointed, but the great news is that we play Wednesday night," said Head Coach Steve Cooke. "We are back at training tomorrow morning and we can get this behind us quickly because otherwise it can become a tough week, but we don't have time for that."
Atlanta United 2 has a quick turnaround and will face off against Chattanooga FC, who is currently top of the Southeast standings in MLS Next Pro on Wednesday at 7:30pm.
"There is no time to dwell, there is no time to look back on this game and feel sorry for ourselves," said Cooke. "The time is now to get ready to train and go again on Wednesday."
You can listen to the match at www.soccerdownhere.mixlr.com. Jon Nelson and Jarrett Smith will have the call, and the pregame show will start at 7:00pm led by Madison Crews.
(photos: Sofia Cupertino)