FC Cincinnati defeated CF Monterrey, 3-2, Thursday night at TQL Stadium in both side’s Leagues Cup 2025 Phase One opener. Through the first Leagues Cup matchday, Cincinnati sit in the top-4 in the MLS Phase One standings with two matches to go.
The Orange and Blue won their opening Leagues Cup match for the third consecutive year and improved to 6-2 all-time in Leagues Cup.
Cincinnati defeated Monterrey for the first time after falling to Rayados in last season’s Concacaf Champions Cup.
Evander opened the scoring for FC Cincinnati in the 31st minute, sending the Orange and Blue ahead until Sergio Canales equalized in the 45th minute for Rayados.
Evander then assisted on both second half goals, recording his 10th multi-goal contribution game of the season, first assisting Luca Orellano’s go-ahead goal in the 53rd minute. The Brazilian then provided for Pavel Bucha who put the game out of reach in the 90th minute despite Germán Berterame’s stoppage-time goal for Monterrey four minutes later.
The Orange and Blue are back in action Sunday, August 3 against FC Juárez. Kickoff from TQL Stadium is set for 5:30 p.m. airs on Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Radio will be carried on iHeart Media ESPN 1530 in English and in Spanish locally on La Mega 101.5 FM.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Evander, GOAL – 31’ (1-0) – Luca Orellano and Gerardo Valenzuela navigated through a congested pack of Monterrey defenders following a Cincinnati throw in with Valenzuela emerging with possession inside the box. Valenzuela poked a pass to Evander at the top of the box and the crafty attacking midfielder moved around a recovering defender with a slight shot feint before hammering one into the Monterrey goal.
MTY: Sergio Canales, GOAL – 45’ (1-1) – A fortunate double deflection allowed Monterrey back into the match seconds before first-half stoppage time. Sergio Canales’ shot from the top of the box was partially blocked by Tah Brian Anunga before redirecting off Matt Miazga and clipping the inside of the post for the visitors.
CIN: Luca Orellano, GOAL – 53’ (2-1) – Evander and Orellano exchanged a series of short passes to unlock the Monterrey defense and restore Cincinnati’s goal advantage. The move ended with a surgical pass in from Evander which put Orellano one-on-one with goalkeeper Luis Cárdenas. Orellano danced around Cárdenas with quick feet and tapped the ball home into an empty net.
CIN: Pavel Bucha, GOAL – 90’ (3-1) – Evander once again provided an assist, taking control in a duel at the top of Monterrey’s box and with the outside of his boot flicking on to Pavel Bucha in behind the Monterrey defense. The Czech midfielder allowed the ball to settle and fired a shot past the Rayados goalkeeper to send Monterrey ahead.
MTY: Germán Berterame, GOAL – 90’+4 (3-2) – Rayados pulled one back late as substitute Joaquin Moxica sent in an inch-perfect cross to Germán Berterame to head home.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati defeated CF Monterrey for the first time in three matches are improve to 4-3-2 in all competitions against Liga MX opponents.
- Evander scored his 18th goal in all competitions this season, moving into a tie with Brenner’s 2022 season for third in club history for goals in a season (Luciano Acosta: 21 in 2023; Brandon Vazquez: 20 in 2022).
- Gerardo Valenzuela recorded his third career Leagues Cup assist, moving into a tie for the most in club history in the competition (Luciano Acosta).
- Luca Orellano scored his 15th goal in all competitions for FC Cincinnati, his second career in Leagues Cup (August 9, 2024 vs Santos Laguna, Round of 32).
- With his two second-half assists, Evander recorded his 10th game this season with multiple goal contributions and his second match with three goal contributions (June 25 at MTL).
- Evan Louro made his third career start in net for FC Cincinnati, his first since February 26, 2025 vs FC Motagua in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
- FC Cincinnati finished their July slate with a 4-1-1 record.
- FC Cincinnati are now 8-2-4 in all competitions at TQL Stadium this season.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs CF Monterrey
Date: July 31, 2025
Competition: Leagues Cup Phase One
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 24,860
Kickoff: 7:10 p.m. ET
Weather: 75 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-2-3
MTY: 1-1-2
CIN – Evander (Valenzuela) 31’, Luca Orellano (Evander) 53’, Pavel Bucha (Evander) 90’
MTY – Sergio Canales 45’, Germán Berterame (Moxica) 90’+4
LINEUPS
CIN: Evan Louro, Luca Orellano (Brad Smith 85’), Lukas Engel, Matt Miazga (C), Miles Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin (Alvas Powell 90'+4), Tah Brian Anunga, Pavel Bucha, Evander, Gerardo Valenzuela (Teenage Hadebe 76’), Sergio Santos (Kei Kamara 46’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Nate Crockford, Nick Hagglund, Corey Baird, Stiven Jimenez, Kenji Mboma Dem, Gilberto Flores
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
MTY: Luis Cárdenas, Gerardo Arteaga, Sergio Ramos (C), VÃctor Guzmán, Stefan Medina (Lucas Ocampos 67’), Óliver Torres, Fidel AmbrÃz (Jorge RodrÃguez 74’), Érick Aguirre, Sergio Canales, Germán Berterame, Jesús Corona (Joaquin Moxica 88’)
Substitutes not used: Ricardo Chávez, Jose Alvarado, Héctor Moreno, Luis Sánchez, Jordi Corizo, Luis Reyes, Iker Fimbres, Santiago Mele, Santiago Pérez
Head Coach: Domènec Torrent
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/MTY
Shots: 13 / 11
Shots on Goal: 6 / 5
Saves: 3 / 3
Corner Kicks: 3 / 2
Fouls: 7 / 11
Offside: 3 / 0
Possession: 42.9 / 57.1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
MTY – Gerardo Arteaga (Yellow Card) 33’
CIN – Matt Miazga (Yellow Card) 79’
MTY – Lucas Ocampos (Yellow Card) 87’
OFFICIALS 
Referee: Katia Itzel GarcÃa
Ast. Referees: Sandra RamÃrez, Karen DÃaz
Fourth Official: Karen Hernández Andrade
