FC Cincinnati were dominant in a 3-0 win over Inter Miami CF Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 25,513 at TQL Stadium.
With the victory, FC Cincinnati improved to 14-6-3 (45 points) and remain in second place in the congested Eastern Conference. Miami fell to 11-4-5 (38 points) as their five-match league winning streak was snapped.
Gerardo ‘Dado’ Valenzuela opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a superb first-time left-footed strike off a Luca Orellano assist. Valenzuela scored his fifth of the season.
Evander’s red-hot form continued with his fifth brace of the season, as the All-Star scored in the 50th and 70th minutes. Evander scored in his fifth-straight match, becoming the first player in club history to score in five-consecutive games.
FC Cincinnati held Miami scoreless for the first time since mid-May and recorded the club’s seventh clean sheet of 2025.
The Orange and Blue are back in action Saturday, July 19 at Real Salt Lake. Kickoff from Utah is set for 9:30 p.m. ET and the match airs on 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: Gerardo Valenzuela, GOAL – 16’ (1-0) – Luca Orellano received possession out on the left wing before cutting inside and past Marcelo Weigandt. The move left Tomas Aviles with a decision to step to Orellano or track Gerardo Valenzuela making a run in towards goal. Aviles was caught and Orellano slipped a pass into Valenzuela who struck first time with his left scoring at the far post.
CIN: Evander, GOAL – 50’ (2-0) – Pavel Bucha brought the Cincinnati attack in towards the Miami goal with the midfielder moving unimpeded through the half. Bucha picked out Evander near the top of the area with a powerful pass into a tight window. Evander did well to control a bobbling ball while holding off the Miami defense bearing down on goal and rifled off a shot and beating a sliding challenge.
CIN: Evander, GOAL – 70’ (3-0) – Bucha once again brought play towards goal. Bucha played Orellano out on the right wing. Orellano again forced the issue, applying pressure inside the Miami box and forcing a save from Rocco RÃos Novo. Novo wasn’t able to control the attempt and Evander was onto the rebound for an easy tap in.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati defeated Inter Miami CF for the fourth straight season at home in MLS play.
- Evander became the first player in club history to score in five-straight MLS matches.
- Evander’s 17 goals in all competitions, 15 in MLS play, near the single-season club records of 23 goals in all competitions (Luciano Acosta, 2023) and 18 goals in MLS play (Brenner & Brandon Vazquez, 2022).
- Evander became the second player in club history to record five multi-goal games in a season (Brenner, 5 in 2022).
- Gerardo Valenzuela scored his fifth goal of the season on Luca Orellano’s sixth assist of the season. Valenzuela’s goal was his second career against Inter Miami (July 6, 2024).
- Roman Celentano recorded his seventh clean sheet of 2025, his third career against Inter Miami. Miami were shutout in league play for the first time since mid-May.
- FC Cincinnati improved 18-5-7 in matches on Wednesday under Head Coach Pat Noonan.
- Wednesday marked the sixth sellout of TQL Stadium this season.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami CF
Date: July 16, 2025
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 84 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-2-3
MIA: 0-0-0
CIN – Gerardo Valenzuela (Orellano) 16’, Evander 50’, Evander 70’
MIA – None
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Luca Orellano (Corey Baird 77’), Lukas Engel (Brad Smith 85’), Matt Miazga (C), Miles Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin (Alvas Powell 85’), Tah Brian Anunga, Pavel Bucha, Evander, Gerardo Valenzuela (Sergio Santos 77’), Kei Kamara (Teenage Hadebe 62’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Gilberto Flores, Nick Hagglund, Kenji Mboma Dem
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
MIA: Oscar Ustari (Rocco RÃos-Novo 26’), Jordi Alba, Tomás Avilés, Maximiliano Falcón (Gonzalo Luján 72’), Marcelo Weigandt (Yannick Bright 86’), Sergio Busquets, Benjamin Cremaschi, Telasco Segovia, Tadeo Allende (Fafa Picault 72’), Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi (C)
Substitutes not used: William Yarbrough, Ryan Sailor, Leo Afonso, David RuÃz, Santiago Morales
Head Coach: Javier Mascherano
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/MIA
Shots: 11 / 10
Shots on Goal: 7 / 2
Saves: 2 / 4
Corner Kicks: 1 / 4
Fouls: 6 / 9
Offside: 0 / 2
Possession: 45.9 / 54.1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Teenage Hadebe (Yellow Card) 81’
OFFICIALS 
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
Ast. Referees: Nick Uranga, Tyler Wyrostek
Fourth Official: Jon Freemon
VAR: David Barrie
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson
