What a week it was for FC Cincinnati watchers. FCC was uninspiring and listless in a loss to Toronto FC only to bounce back on Thursday with a one of the best wins in Orange and Blue history against Tigres UANL in CONCACAF Champions Cup play. Then yesterday, FCC went to New England and got blown out by a previously woeful New England Revolution team 6-1.

The lows were pretty low, but the highs? They were pretty high. So what can we take from a week of soccer with a rollercoaster of results (and vibes)?

The Highs

It's no exaggeration to say that Thursday night's win over Tigres is one of the best wins in FCC history - beating a continental giant, by a dominant scoreline, in a meaningful competition.

In the cold light of day, the Orange and Blue's victory wasn't as dominant as the scoreline indicated. FCC was certainly still a deserved winner but Tigres had chances and the ball didn't go in, either because of a miss or an intervention from Roman Celentano or a defender.

The Orange and Blue defended when needed and took its opportunities in transition. Kévin Denkey's early goal, coming immediately after a poor pass into FCC's press, put the team in position to play in its preferred style: on the counter. Tigres would have likely looked to dominate the ball, allowing the Orange and Blue to do that anyways but the 1-0 game state certainly made things easier for FCC.

Tigres' most dominant stretch of the game came after Tom Barlow's second half goal, chasing a two goal FCC lead. After Denkey made it 3-0, the Orange and Blue held on to preserve what might be a vital clean sheet for the return trip to Monterrey this week.

Still, going toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in North America is obviously a good sign. Even though the game was closer than the scoreline appeared matters but outplaying a team at the level of Tigres is a good indication of future success in MLS.

The Lows

Prioritizing CCC at this point in the season makes sense. Which, unfortunately, brings us to Sunday's game in Foxborough against New England. In contrast to FCC's busy opening schedule, the Revs hadn't played a game in more than two weeks, giving them plenty of preparation time to counter FCC's 3-5-2.

With four more games played in all competitions than New England, the Orange and Blue had to rotate to prioritize fitness and putting the best team available on the field in Monterrey next week.

Noonan opted for five major changes with Teenage Hadebe, Ender Echenique, Samuel Gidi, Pavel Bucha, and Denkey all starting on the bench. Taking their places were Andrei Chirila (making his first MLS start), Kyle Smith, Tah Brian Anunga, Obinna Nwobodo, and Ayoub Jabbari.

After the game, when asked about the rotated lineup, manager Pat Noonan said, "Doesn't matter how many changes, it shouldn't justify the way we played and the end result."

That's the sentiment we should expect to hear from the coach but the rotated lineup clearly put the team at a disadvantage. The Orange and Blue, already a little light on passing with its best eleven on the field, struggled to move the ball up the field on Sunday.

Playing direct passes to Jabbari and looking to win second balls with an active midfield isn't a bad place to start to build a game plan for a game like Sunday's. However, when in a position to try to build up in possession, FCC didn't have the quality on the ball at center back or in midfield.

Even as the Orange and Blue unsuccessfully pushed to get back in the game in the second half after some substitutions, the team was limited. In the sequence leading up to New England's fourth goal, Evander dropped in between two of FCC's center backs to pick up the ball and start a possession, which is not position you'd like to see your #10 on the ball. Evander made a difference on Sunday but he's not a regista.

That the Orange and Blue didn't necessarily deserve to concede six goals doesn't make things feel that much better but it's true. Sometimes the ball goes in for the other team, and sometimes it keeps happening.

Talking about the first three goals, before the game was truly out-of-hand, Noonan said, "Set piece defending let us down in the in the first 45, that was the first and the third (goals). Really just box defending crosses on all three of the goals, so that was poor." We haven't seen an indication that defending set pieces is a liability for the Orange and Blue before Sunday. Heavy lineup rotation doesn't help defending in those situations, either.

My biggest takeaway from Sunday is about the team's depth. Yes, there were circumstances that forced the absence of some of the team's most impactful players. But, if there are injuries at certain positions like wingback or in midfield, FCC's preferred game model doesn't seem like it's going to cut it. There just isn't enough depth on the roster to play the same way and expect the same results. That's a problem for nearly every MLS team, by the way, but to survive multiple competitions (or an injury crisis), Noonan will need a better Plan B.

It's easy to make excuses for Sunday's performance, but, at some point, we're going to run out of reasons to write results off. That's not today and might not be for a few weeks if the Orange and Blue can advance in CCC on Thursday. But it's coming at some point.