FC Cincinnati defeated CF Montréal, 3-0, to close the MLS Regular Season Saturday night on Decision Day in front of a sold-out crowd of 25,513 at TQL Stadium.
FC Cincinnati (20-9-5, 62 points) finish the MLS Regular Season as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and earned 20 MLS wins for the second time in three seasons (2023). Montréal finished their season at 6-18-10 (28 points).
No. 2 Cincinnati will take on No. 7 Columbus Crew in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 series. The full Round One schedule will be announced Sunday and tickets for Game 1 at TQL Stadium are available now at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK. For more information on the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, visit FCCincinnati.com/Playoffs.
Nick Hagglund put FC Cincinnati in front 1-0 in the 33rd minute when he headed home a corner kick, put into the box from Evander. Hagglund’s goal, his 10th career MLS goal, was his first goal since August 26, 2023 against New York City FC.
The defender then returned the favor, assisting on Evander’s 56th minute goal to double Cincinnati’s lead. Evander’s goal marked his 22nd in all competitions this season, setting a new club record for goals in a season.
In the 88th minute, Brenner put the game out of reach, scoring his fourth goal in his sixth game since returning to Cincinnati on loan.
Roman Celentano, making his first start since late August, earned his 10th clean sheet of the season in the 3-0 win.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Nick Hagglund, GOAL – 33’ (1-0) – The defender headed home the opening goal of the game from an Evander corner kick. Hagglund made a run across the box and jumped to redirect Evander’s cross up and over the outstretched arms of Montréal goalie Thomas Gillier.
MTL: Prince Owusu, MISSED PENALTY KICK – 45’+6 (1-0) – Prince Owusu hit the right post on a penalty kick, failing to convert on a chance from the spot for Montréal.
CIN: Evander, GOAL – 56’ (2-0) – The MLS MVP candidate dribbled the ball right to left along the perimeter of the penalty box before firing a left-footed shot through traffic, slipping between the legs of a Montréal defender, that ended up just inside the near post.
CIN: Brenner, GOAL – 88’ (3-0) – Substitute Gerardo Valenzuela played a ball past the center spot for Brenner, who took one touch around a crashing defender and turned a corner up field with an attacking mindset. He forced Gillier to step up in the box to challenge, but Brenner’s shot was bound for the bottom left corner.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati claimed all six points against CF Montréal this season, sweeping Montréal for the first time since 2019.
- FC Cincinnati have won three straight home matches against Montréal, outscoring them 10-1 over that span.
- With the win, FC Cincinnati secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference for the upcoming Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs
- FC Cincinnati secured 20 MLS wins for the second time in club history (2023).
- With his 22nd goal scored in all competitions, Evander now holds the single-season club record for goals scored in all competitions. His 18 MLS Regular Season goals matches the club record for MLS goals in a season (Brandon Vazquez and Brenner, 2022).
- With a goal and assist, Evander marked his 15th game of multiple goal contributions this season (a new single-season club record) and matched Luciano Acosta’s club record for goal contributions in a single MLS season (33: 18 G, 15 A).
- Nick Hagglund marked his first career MLS game with a goal and assist. His goal was his first since August 26, 2023 vs NYCFC; his assist was his first since Decision Day 2022 (October 9, 2022 at DC).
- For the second consecutive season, Pavel Bucha paced the team in minutes played (2,884), just shy of his 2024 club record of 2,920.
- Roman Celentano earned his 10th clean sheet of 2025.
- Saturday marked the ninth sellout of TQL Stadium in 2025.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs CF Montréal
Date: October 18, 2025
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 6:12 p.m. ET
Weather: 77 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-2-3
MTL: 0-0-0
CIN – Nick Hagglund (Evander) 33’, Evander (Hagglund) 56’, Brenner (Valenzuela) 88’
MTL – None
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Dominik Marczuk (Yuya Kubo 46’), Teenage Hadebe (Gilberto Flores 46’), Miles Robinson (C), Nick Hagglund (Tah Brian Anunga 77’), Alvas Powell, Pavel Bucha, Obinna Nwobodo (Samuel Gidi 46’), Evander, Brenner, Kei Kamara (Gerardo Valenzuela 88’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Alec Kann, Ender Echenique
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
MTL: Thomas Gillier, Luca Petrasso, Jalen Neal (Fernando Álvarez 46’), Brandan Craig, Bode Hidalgo, Matty Longstaff, Hennadii Synchuk (Bryce Duke 81’), Victor Loturi, Fabian Herbers (Iván Jaime 58’, Kwadwo Opoku 78’), Dante Sealy (Olger Escobar 58’), Prince Owusu (C) (Giacomo Vrioni 73’)
Substitutes not used: Jonathan Sirois, Owen Graham-Roache, Aleksandr Gubogio
Interim Head Coach: Marco Donadel
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/MTL
Shots: 12 / 10
Shots on Goal: 7 / 3
Saves: 3 / 4
Corner Kicks: 5 / 12
Fouls: 10 / 9
Offside: 0 / 1
Possession: 47.9 / 52.1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
MTL – Victor Loturi (Yellow Card) 29’
MTL – Dante Sealy (Yellow Card) 42’
CIN – Nick Hagglund (Yellow Card) 45’+5
CIN – Samuel Gidi (Yellow Card) 61’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Tim Ford
Ast. Referees: Andrew Bigelow, Kevin Klinger
Fourth Official: Sergii Demianchuk
VAR: Younes Marrakchi
AVAR: Claudiu Badea
