Worth the Wait, Evander's Golazo Propels FC Cincinnati past Earthquakes.

CINCINNATI, OH - FC Cincinnati sent fans home happy, defeating San Jose Earthquakes 4-2 after a two hour, six minute weather delay.

Evander.

Obinna Nwobodo referred to Evander as the "best player in the league" after Saturday night's victory in the player mixed zones.

Evander became the fifth fastest player in MLS history (trails Lionel Messi (64), Sebastian Giovinco (95), Robbie Keane (96), Carlos Vela (98)) to 100 goal contributions on Saturday in his 104th MLS appearance, after recording his first assist of the night on Bryan Ramírez's goal in the 33rd minute of the match.

Additionally, his one goal three assist performance against San Jose on Saturday made him the fourth ever player in MLS history to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists in three consecutive seasons, alongside Preki (1996-98), Hany Mukhtar (2021-23), and former FC Cincinnati captain Luciano Acosta (2022-24), making it that FC Cincinnati have had five conseuctive seasons with a player recording double digit goals and assists for the club from 2022-2026, the same timeframe that Pat Noonan has been manager at the club.

The goal he scored was a notable one, recorded at a reported 37.5 yard shot from goal by Evander in the 82nd minute of the match. Obinna Nwobodo was credited with the assist and said he and his teammates were "making jokes about how it was difficult for me to find him in that pocket."

After two wins at home after the World Cup break, three including an international friendly against Burnley, FC Cincinnati open up the first of three matches in the Leagues Cup at TQL Stadium on Tuesday against Pachuca, before playing Pumas and Atlas on Friday and the following Tuesday.

LINEUPS

FC Cincinnati (3-4-1-2):

18 Roman Celentano; 24 Kyle Smith (15 Teenage Hadebe 70’), 12 Miles Robinson, 11 Samuel Gidi; 66 Ender Echenique (2 Alvas Powell 88’), 5 Obinna Nwobodo (27 Brian Anunga 88’), 20 Pavel Bucha, 29 Bryan Ramirez; Evander (C), 17 Kenji Mboma Dem (16 Tom Barlow 70’), 9 Kévin Denkey (99 Ayoub Jabbari 90’+3)

Head Coach: Pat Noonan

Unused Substitutes: 13 Evan Louro, 4 Nick Hagglund, 14 Kristian Fletcher, 88 Andrei Chirila

San Jose Earthquakes (4-3-3 (2)):

1 Angus Gunn, 28 Benji Kikanovic (17 Jack Jasinski 80’), 5 Daniel Munie, 18 Reid Roberts, 87 Vítor Costa (2 Jamar Ricketts 60'); 14 Ronaldo Vieira (C) (4 Dave Romney 81’), 20 Nick Fernandez (6 Ian Harkes 46’), 34 Beau Leroux; 7 Ousseni Bouda (16 Jack Skahan 73’), 19 Preston Judd, 11 Timo Werner

Head Coach: Bruce Arena

Unused Substitutes: 31 Francesco Montali, 3 Paul Marie, 9 Luka Jovanovic, 79 Darius Johnson

STATS (CIN/SJ)

Shots: 23/12

Shots on Goal: 11/2

Saves: 0/7

Corner Kicks: 9/6

Fouls: 12/6

Offside: 2/2

Possession: 60/40

Scoring Summary

26' Goal, San Jose - Daniel Munie (Assist: Timo Werner)

33' Goal, Cincinnati - Bryan Ramírez (Assist: Evander, Kenji Mboma Dem)

56' Goal, San Jose - Timo Werner (Assist: Preston Judd, Ousseni Bouda)

79' Goal, Cincinnati - Tom Barlow (Assist: Evander, Teenage Hadebe)

82' Goal, Cincinnati - Evander (Assist: Obinna Nwobodo, Ender Echenique)

90'+5' Goal, Cincinnati - Ayoub Jabbari (Assist: Tom Barlow, Evander)

Disciplinary Summary

20' Yellow Card - Kyle Smith (CIN)

87' Yellow Card - Evander (CIN)

89' Yellow Card - Miles Robinson (CIN)