FC Cincinnati came from behind to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes, 4-2, in a second half scoring frenzy at PayPal Park Saturday night. The Orange and Blue (11-3-3, 36 points) picked up their fifth-straight road win, extending their longest road streak in club history, as they defeated the Earthquakes (3-12-2, 11 points) for the first time in San Jose.
Pavel Bucha opened the scoring in the 53rd minute with his first career goal for the Orange and Blue. San Jose responded quickly as Hernán López scored four minutes later following a slew of shots by the Earthquakes. Cristian Espinoza broke the tie in the 72nd minute to put the Quakes ahead, 2-1.
Yuya Kubo played hero for FC Cincinnati as a second half substitute, coming on in the 64th minute and notching his first MLS hat trick. It took Kubo just nine minutes to find the net three times with Luciano Acosta assisting on two of Kubo’s goals. Kubo scored his first in the 78th minute and followed up with a goal in the 80th and 87th minutes.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Pavel Bucha, GOAL – 53’ (0-1) – Cincinnati capitalized on a defensive blunder by San Jose at the beginning of the second half to break the scoreless deadlock. Pavel Bucha collected a lost dribble from a San Jose defender and found the back of the net.
SJ: Hernán López, GOAL – 57’ (1-1) – San Jose answered quickly with a hard-fought equalizer. Roman Celentano made an initial save on VÃtor Costa, but the rebound was picked up by López who finished past a recovering Celentano from a tight angle.
SJ: Cristian Espinoza, GOAL 72’ (2-1) – VÃtor Costa found a break in the Cincinnati defense as he sent a long pass down the right side of the field. Espinoza controlled the pass and created enough room in the box to curl one to the far post for the second goal of the match for the Earthquakes.
CIN: Yuya Kubo, GOAL 78’ (2-2) – Cincinnati would not give up as Gerardo Valenzuela and Luciano Acosta exchanged passes to break open the attack for the Orange and Blue. A brilliant ball from Acosta found Kubo with one man to beat, and Kubo did enough to lose his marker and score his first of the match.
CIN: Yuya Kubo, GOAL 80’ (3-2) – Acosta and Valenzuela combined once more, this time inside the San Jose box with a quick give and go. Acosta danced through defenders before dropping possession at the feet of Kubo who quickly snapped one past William Yarbrough.
CIN: Yuya Kubo, GOAL 87’ (4-2) – Kubo completed his first career hat trick in the 87th minute. Acosta once again played a part in the goal finding Kubo in behind the San Jose defense. Yarbrough came to challenge Kubo near the top of the box, but Kubo slipped a shot through the keepers legs for FCC’s fourth goal of the match.
FC Cincinnati return home to TQL Stadium for two matches next week beginning on Wednesday, June 19 against Philadelphia Union. Tickets are still available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (513) 977-5425 (KICK). Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. and the match will air nationally on Fox Sports 1, for free on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and fans can also listen to the match on ESPN 1530 in Cincinnati and iHeart.
GAME NOTES
-Pavel Bucha netted his first career goal as he became the ninth first-time goal scorer for the club this season.
- Cincinnati’s seven road wins are the most in the MLS this season.
- FC Cincinnati won their fifth-straight road game this season, the longest streak in the MLS since 2022.
- Cincinnati moved to 3-0-0 on the season against Western Conference opponents.
- The Orange and Blue secured their first win in the Pacific Time Zone in club history (1-3-2).
- Yuya Kubo’s nine-minute hat trick is the first of his career and…
Tied for the fourth fastest in MLS history
The eighth by a sub in MLS history
And the fifth hat trick by an FCC player all-time.
-With three assists tonight, Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta had just the third three-assist game in FCC history and now has 91 assists which ties him for tenth all-time in MLS history in assists
-Lucho’s assist in the 80th minute proved to be the game winning assist which extends his MLS game-winning goal contribution lead to 10.
- FC Cincinnati’s four goals match their regular season high, matching the four goals scored against Toronto FC.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at San Jose Earthquakes
Date: June 15, 2024
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: PayPal Park
Kickoff: 10:40 p.m. ET/7:40 p.m. PT
Weather: 69 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
SJ: 0-2-2
CIN: 0-4-4
SJ – Hernán López 57’, Cristian Espinoza (Costa) 72’
CIN – Pavel Bucha 53’, Yuya Kubo (Acosta, Valenzuela) 78’, Yuya Kubo (Acosta, Valenzuela) 80’, Yuya Kubo (Acosta, Nwobodo) 87’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Ian Murphy, Matt Miazga (Kipp Keller 64’), Nick Hagglund (Gerardo Valenzuela 75’), Luca Orellano (Bret Halsey 84’), Pavel Bucha, Obinna Nwobodo, DeAndre Yedlin, Kevin Kelsy (Yamil Asad 75’), Sergio Santos (Yuya Kubo 64’), Luciano Acosta (C)
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Alvas Powell, Malik Pinto, London Aghedo
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
SJ: William Yarbrough, VÃtor Costa, Daniel Munie, Tanner Beason, Carlos Akapo (Paul Marie 75’), Niko Tsakiris (Alfredo Morales 84’), Hernán López, Jackson Yueill (C) (Preston Judd 84’), Amahl Pellegrino (Jack Skahan 75’), Jeremy Ebobisse (Benjamin Kikanović 90’+3), Cristian Espinoza
Substitutes not used: Jacob Jackson, Tommy Thompson, Casey Walls, Michael Baldisimo
Head Coach: Luchi Gonzalez
STATS SUMMARY: SJ/CIN
Shots: 20 / 20
Shots on Goal: 8 / 7
Saves: 2 / 5
Corner Kicks: 10 / 3
Fouls: 5 / 11
Offside: 0 / 0
Possession: 44.7 / 55.3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Kevin Kelsy (Yellow Card) 66’
SJ - Hernán López (Yellow Card) 90’+4
OFFICIALS 
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
Ast. Referees: Chris Wattam, Mike Nickerson
Fourth Official: Tim Ford
VAR: Younes Marrakchi
AVAR: TJ Zablocki
