FC Cincinnati rallied from behind to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes, 4-2, following a delayed start on a rainy Saturday night at TQL Stadium.
The Orange and Blue (7-6-5, 26 points) picked up a third consecutive home win at TQL Stadium. San Jose fell to 10-5-3 (33 points) in just their second road loss of the year.
After conceding a headed goal from Daniel Munie off a San Jose corner kick in the 26th minute, the Orange and Blue responded quickly with a 33rd minute equalizer. Evander and Kenji Mboma Dem assisted Bryan Ramirez on his maiden FCC goal to level the score.
The Earthquakes went ahead in the 56th minute, against the run of play, with Timo Werner sending the visitors ahead. But the Orange and Blue responded once again, scoring three goals from the 79th minute on. Substitute Tom Barlow leveled the score in the 79th minute, getting in behind the San Jose defense on a sublime assist from Evander.
Three minutes later, Evander scored a spectacular strike from distance, sending FC Cincinnati ahead in the 82nd minute. The goal marked his sixth from outside the box this season, which leads MLS.
Substitute Ayoub Jabbari’s stoppage-time strike sealed the win for FC Cincinnati, as he scored in the 90’+5, assisted by Tom Barlow and Evander.
FC Cincinnati begin Leagues Cup 2026 Phase One competition on Tuesday, August 4 at 7:45 p.m. ET against Mexican side CF Pachuca. Tickets are available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK. The match airs globally on Apple TV and over the radio locally in English on iHeart Media ESPN 1530 and Spanish on La Mega 101.5 FM.
AS IT HAPPENED
SJ: Daniel Munie, GOAL – 26’ (0-1) – The visitors grabbed the opening goal on a corner kick set piece from Timo Werner, who connected with Daniel Munie for a clean header inside the box.
CIN: Bryan Ramirez, GOAL – 33’ (1-1) – Evander drew all the attention of the Earthquakes defense entering the attacking third, where he made one quick cut toward the net before rolling a short pass to his left into the penalty box. Ramírez caught up to it, took one touch and ripped a shot toward the far post for his first-career MLS goal.
SJ: Timo Werner, GOAL – 56’ (1-2) – Three nifty passes created a quick scoring chance for San Jose on a counterattack, with Werner burying the one-timer inside the box to regain the one-goal lead.
CIN: Tom Barlow, GOAL – 79’ (2-2) – Within ten minutes of coming off the bench as a sub, Tom Barlow broke loose and made his mark on the match. Evander dealt with two San Jose defenders around midfield with his back to the goal before flicking a pass up the left side for Barlow, who took two patient dribbles and ripped the equalizer into the net off the near post.
CIN: Evander, GOAL – 82’ (3-2) – In the blink of an eye, Evander gave the Orange and Blue a second goal in quick succession for their first lead of the night with a world-class finish. Cincinnati’s All-Star was left with too much space to operate and launched a missile from 37 yards out to beat the San Jose keeper for the go-ahead goal.
CIN: Ayoub Jabbari, GOAL – 90’+5 (4-2) – A clutch defensive clearance from Samuel Gidi led to a transition opportunity and scoring chance for FCC. Barlow initiated another give-and-go exchange with Evander to enter the attacking third, then passed it back across the top of the box toward Jabbari for the finish and a decisive fourth goal.
GAME NOTES
- The Orange and Blue have won three consecutive matches at TQL Stadium, improving to 6-2-1 at home in MLS play this season.
- With a goal and three assists on the night, Evander leads MLS with 22 goal contributions.
- With an assist on Bryan Ramirez’s goal, Evander became the first player in FC Cincinnati history to register an assist in five consecutive MLS matches.
- After chipping in on all four goals tonight, Evander now has 103 career goal contributions and is the fifth-fastest player (104 matches) to reach the 100-goal contribution mark in league history (only behind Lionel Messi, Sebastian Giovinco, Robbie Keane, Carlos Vela).
- FC Cincinnati are 19-5-6 against Western Conference opponents in MLS play under Head Coach Pat Noonan.
- 19 of FC Cincinnati’s 26 points this season have come in matches in which the Orange and Blue trailed at some point during the match. Tonight marked the third time this season FC Cincinnati won when trailing multiple times during the match (March 22 vs MTL; May 2 at CHI).
- FC Cincinnati’s 15 points earned this season when conceding the first goal are the most in MLS.
- FC Cincinnati won for the second time this season when trailing at the 75th minute (March 22 vs MTL). It marked the sixth time in club history FCC won when trailing at the 75th, which includes the last win over San Jose Earthquakes on June 15, 2024 – also by a 4-2 scoreline.
- Tom Barlow scored his fifth substitute goal of the season, one shy of the club record (6, Yuya Kubo and Sergio Santos). Barlow’s six goals are third-most for FCC.
- Bryan Ramirez converted his first goal for the Orange and Blue in his debut season with the club. He’s FCC’s 12th unique goalscorer in league play this year.
- FC Cincinnati matched season highs in shots (24 – April 18 vs CHI) and shots on goal (11 – May 23 vs ORL).
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs San Jose Earthquakes
Date: August 1, 2026
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 9:46 p.m. ET (2 hour, 6 minute delay prior to kickoff)
Weather: 72 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-3-4
SJ: 1-1-2
CIN – Bryan Ramirez (Evander, Mboma Dem) 33’, Tom Barlow (Evander, Hadebe) 79’, Evander (Nwobodo, Echenique) 82’, Ayoub Jabbari (Barlow, Evander) 90’+5
SJ – Daniel Munie (Werner) 26’, Timo Werner (Judd, Bouda) 56’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Bryan Ramirez, Samuel Gidi, Miles Robinson, Kyle Smith (Teenage Hadebe 70’), Ender Echenique (Alvas Powell 88’), Obinna Nwobodo (Tah Brian Anunga 88’), Pavel Bucha, Evander (C), Kenji Mboma Dem (Tom Barlow 70’), Kévin Denkey (Ayoub Jabbari 90’+3)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Nick Hagglund, Kristian Fletcher, Andrei Chirila
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
SJ: Angus Gunn, Vítor Costa, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benji Kikanovic (Jack Jasinski 80’), Ronaldo Vieira (Dave Romney 81’), Beau Leroux, Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez (Ian Harkes 46’), Ousseni Bouda (Jack Skahan 73’), Preston Judd
Substitutes not used: Francesco Montali, Jamar Ricketts, Paul Marie, Luka Jovanovic, Darius Johnson
Head Coach: Bruce Arena
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/SJ
Shots: 24 / 12
Shots on Goal: 11 / 6
Saves: 1 / 7
Corner Kicks: 9 / 6
Fouls: 12 / 6
Offside: 2 / 2
Possession: 59.6 / 40.4
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Kyle Smith (Yellow Card) 20’
CIN – Evander (Yellow Card) 87’
CIN – Miles Robinson (Yellow Card) 89’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Victor Rivas
Ast. Referees: Ian McKay, Brian Dunn
Fourth Official: Sergii Demianchuk
VAR: Ismir Pekmic
AVAR: Johnathan Johnson
