FC Cincinnati forward Aaron Boupendza has been named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 32, the league announced Monday.
The Gabonese forward returned from abroad with his national team to enter as a second-half substitute and spark a comeback for the Orange and Blue Saturday at Philadelphia Union. With FC Cincinnati down 2-0 at the break, Boupendza scored within three minutes of the second half to cut the deficit in half.
The striker then provided a second vital moment of the final 45 minutes, delivering an inch-perfect pass past the Philadelphia defense into the box for Brandon Vazquez, who netted the game-equalizing goal in the 76th minute.
Boupendza’s naming to the Team of the Matchday is his first league honor since joining the Orange and Blue as a Designated Player in the summer.
Boupendza’s spot on the MLS Team of the Matchday marks the 36th recognition of an FC Cincinnati player or coach on the weekly team this season. A full list of 2023 FC Cincinnati matchday honors:
2023 FC Cincinnati MLS Team of the Matchday Player Recognitions
- Obinna Nwobodo (Matchday 1, 3, 13-Bench, 25)
- Brenner (3-Bench)
- Junior Moreno (4)
- Matt Miazga (5-Bench, 7, 15-Bench)
- Brandon Vazquez (5-Bench)
- Yerson Mosquera (6, 10)
- Álvaro Barreal (6-Bench, 9, 11-Bench, 16, 24-Bench, 29)
- Sergio Santos (9-Bench)
- Luciano Acosta (11-Bench, 13, 14, 16-Bench, 17-Bench, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29)
- Roman Celentano (14-Bench, 20, 28-Bench)
- Dominique Badji (22)
- Santiago Arias (26-Bench)
- Aaron Boupendza (32)
2023 FC Cincinnati MLS Coach of the Matchday Recognitions
- Pat Noonan (29)
The full team for Matchday 32 is listed below.
2023 MLS Team of the Matchday presented by Audi (Matchday 32)
F: Aaron Boupendza (CIN), Ramiro Enrique (ORL), Felipe Mora (POR)
M: Dénis Bouanga (LAFC), Ryan Gauld (VAN), Gadi Kinda (SKC), Martín Ojeda (ORL)
D: Reed Baker-Whiting (SEA), Rodrigues (SJ), Brooks Lennon (ATL)
GK: Chris Brady (CHI)
Coach: Gonzalo Pineda (ATL)
Bench: Kristijan Kahlina (CLT), Donovan Pines (DC), Ryan Hollingshead (LAFC), Tristan Muyumba (ATL), Cole Bassett (COL), Cristian Espinoza (SJ), João Klauss (STL), Leonardo Campana (MIA), Cucho Hernández (CLB)
