FC Cincinnati defeated Pumas, 2-0, Friday evening at TQL Stadium in Leagues Cup 2026 Phase One action. The Orange and Blue have won their first two Leagues Cup matches to move into second place in the MLS Phase One standings with one match remaining.
With six points through two matches, the Orange and Blue will face Atlas FC on Tuesday at TQL Stadium. The top-four MLS clubs based on points earned throughout Phase One will advance to the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals, taking place in late August.
Pavel Bucha opened the scoring for Cincinnati in first-half stoppage time. His 45’+1 goal marked his fifth-career Leagues Cup goal, which levels him with Brandon Vazquez as FC Cincinnati’s all-time leader in goals in the competition.
Kenji Mboma Dem would close it out for the Orange and Blue in second-half stoppage time, scoring a late 90’+3 goal to secure the victory for FC Cincinnati. Evan Louro made four saves in the clean sheet win.
Friday’s win marked the 100th career win for Head Coach Pat Noonan with FC Cincinnati.
FC Cincinnati continue Leagues Cup 2026 Phase One competition on Tuesday, August 11 at 8 p.m. ET against Atlas FC. Tickets are available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK. The match airs globally on Apple TV and nationally on FS1 and UniMás and over the radio locally in English on iHeart Media ESPN 1530 and Spanish on La Mega 101.5 FM.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Pavel Bucha, GOAL – 45’+1 (1-0) – Evander received the ball at the top of the box and found Pavel Bucha inside. The Czech international cut inwards and took a touch before firing a left-footed shot on target, which Pumas keeper Keylor Navas was able to get a hand to but unable to keep out of the back of the net.
CIN: Kenji Mboma Dem, GOAL – 90’+3 (2-0) – With Pumas pushing numbers forward, Ender Echenique started a counter, pushing the ball ahead towards Kenji Mboma Dem down the right side. Mboma Dem beat his defender, taking a pair of touches before drilling home a left-footed shot for his second goal in as many matches.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan earned his 100th career win for FC Cincinnati.
- FC Cincinnati improved to 6-2-4 all-time in Leagues Cup and 7-5-3 against Liga MX clubs in all competitions.
- Pavel Bucha scored his fifth-career Leagues Cup goal, equaling Brandon Vazquez’s club record for goals in the competition.
- Bucha scored his 19th career goal for FC Cincinnati, equaling Álvaro Barreal and Yuya Kubo for eighth-most in club history.
- Evander’s six career Leagues Cup assists rank second-most in the competition’s history.
- FC Cincinnati improved to 24-12-11 in matches on two-days rest under Head Coach Pat Noonan.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Pumas
Date: August 7, 2026
Competition: Leagues Cup 2026 Phase One
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 20,767
Kickoff: 8:27 p.m. ET (17 minute delay prior to kickoff)
Weather: 79 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-1-2
PUM: 0-0-0
CIN – Pavel Bucha (Evander) 45’+1, Kenji Mboma Dem (Echenique) 90’+3
PUM – None
LINEUPS
CIN: Evan Louro, Ender Echenique, Andrei Chirila (Samuel Gidi 63’), Miles Robinson, Kyle Smith, Pavel Bucha (Bryan Ramirez 63’), Obinna Nwobodo, Gerardo Valenzuela (Tah Brian Anunga 81’), Evander (C) (Ayoub Jabbari 88’), Kenji Mboma Dem, Kévin Denkey (Tom Barlow 63’)
Substitutes not used: Roman Celentano, Fabian Mrozek, Alvas Powell, Nick Hagglund, Kristian Fletcher, Teenage Hadebe, Matt Miazga
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
PUM: Keylor Navas (C), Nathanael Ananias da Silva, Rodrigo López (Alan Medina 77’), Adalberto Carrasquilla, Luciano Herrera, Victor Arteaga, Juninho, Tony Leone, Ángel Azuaje (Cristian Calderón 85’), Pedro Vite (Sebastián Córdova 65’, Guillermo Martínez 85’), Alvaro Angulo (Uriel Antuna 65’)
Substitutes not used: Pablo Lara, Kevin Cuneo, Pablo Bennevendo, Rubén Duarte, Santiago Trigos, Robert Morales, Kléber Carranza
Head Coach: Esteban Solari
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/PUM
Shots: 14 / 16
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 4 / 1
Corner Kicks: 4 / 6
Fouls: 5 / 11
Offside: 1 / 2
Possession: 49.7 / 50.3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 42’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Oliver Vergara
Ast. Referees: Andrés Vargas, Carlos Fernández
Fourth Official: Alyssa Pennington
VAR: Erick Gallndo
AVAR: David Araya
