CINCINNATI — FC Cincinnati's head coach has joined the growing list of officials and players on the team being honored by the MLS for their performance in the 2023 season.
Pat Noonan has been named the 2023 Sigi Schmid Major League Soccer Coach of the Year, the league announced on Tuesday. It's Noonan's second year as head coach, after he came to Cincinnati from the Philadelphia Union in 2022.
Under Noonan, the team tied for the fourth-most points in a single MLS season and became the ninth team in MLS history to win at least 20 games in a single season.
According to FC Cincinnati, Noonan's regular-season win percentage in his first two years as a MLS head coach is the second-best in league history at 63.2%.
The Orange and Blue took home the Supporters' Shield as winners of the MLS overall best record in the regular season for 2023. The team also held the most MLS All-Stars of any club in the 2023 season.
Noonan signed an extended contract with FC Cincinnati in October, but the details of that contract extension were not disclosed publicly, so it's unclear how long he is contracted to remain the team's head coach.
Three FC Cincinnati players have also earned recognition from Major League Soccer for plays made throughout the 2023 season: Luciano Acosta was awarded the 2023 AT&T 5G MLS Goal of the Year; Roman Celentano was awarded the 2023 MLS Save of the Year; Matt Miazga was awarded the 2023 MLS Defender of the Year title.
