FC Cincinnati fans might very well be looking at their goalkeeping unit for the next handful of seasons. While Roman Celentano is only 26 years old and more than likely set to be the keeper of choice until the end of 2027, the club has nonetheless taken steps to secure the position's future beyond the end of his contract.
On Thursday, the club announced it had signed youth prospect Connor Dale to a contract that runs to the end of the 2028-29 season. That contract can be extended to encompass one or both of the following two seasons. Dale has spent time during the 2026 MLS Next Pro campaign in FC Cincinnati's system. He has also been involved with the United States' youth national teams, specifically the Under-16s.
Both Celentano and Dale will have come up through the club's development program
Similar to what Dale has experienced in recent times, Celentano came into FC Cincinnati's first team through the club's pipeline. After being taken second overall in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, Celentano was assigned to the club's second team, ultimately earning his debut with the senior team a few months later. From that point, he's appeared in almost 150 MLS matches for Cincinnati, winning them a Supporters' Shield in the process.
Once Dale reaches the senior team, the club will have two younger goalkeeper options in terms of age, giving them some stability at the position. At the same time, Celentano will have an opportunity to use his own experience, which again is not that different from Dale's, to help him adjust to MLS play and set him up for future success.
In other news
After having his contract bought out by FC Cincinnati, ex-USMNT defender Matt Miazga was signed by New York City FC. The former MLS Defender of the Year spent the past three years in the Queen City. Like Celentano, Miazga helped guide Cincinnati to a Supporters' Shield. That 2023 title was his third-career Supporters' Shield, with the previous two coming with Red Bull New York (2013 and 2015).
Miazga will join a New York City FC that, like Cincinnati, is right in the thick of a tightly contested Eastern Conference playoff race, one that sees seven teams separated by just five points and that could very well come down to Decision Day. They'll also have to play three of those teams (D.C. United, Red Bull New York, and Orlando City) before the end of the MLS campaign.
The same goes for Cincinnati; they'll have a home-and-home series with D.C. United in mid-October, before a home contest against the Philadelphia Union on the penultimate matchday of the MLS campaign. As it stands, New York City FC would host FC Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference Wild Card round, with the winner advancing to play first-place Nashville SC in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
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