Luciano Acosta and Brandon Vazquez each scored a goal and FC Cincinnati continued its home dominance with a 3-0 victory over visiting CF Montreal on Wednesday night.
FC Cincinnati also tallied on a Montreal own goal while improving to 7-0-0 at home. The Orange and Blue have yet to trail at home this season.
Cincinnati (8-1-3, 27 points) moved into sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference.
Roman Celetano made five saves while notching his sixth shutout of the season.
CF Montreal (5-7-0, 15 points) had a four-match winning streak halted. Joel Waterman was responsible for the own goal as the club fell to 1-6-0 on the road.
Jonathan Sirois, who had posted four straight shutouts, made three saves for Montreal.
Cincinnati had a 15-10 edge in shots while both teams put five on target.
Disaster struck for Montreal in the second minute as Cincinnati’s Alvaro Barreal took a free kick and sent a long left-footed kick toward the net. Players from both teams made runs and the sliding Waterman got his foot on the ball and directed it into his own net.
The tally ended Montreal’s scoreless streak in MLS play at 405 consecutive minutes, just 15 shy of the franchise mark set in 2018.
Cincinnati increased the lead to 2-0 in the 26th minute as Acosta dribbled straight ahead, maneuvered the ball between two Montreal defenders and then sent a right-footed shot past Sirois. The goal was Acosta’s third of the season.
Cincinnati’s Dominique Badji had two stellar chances late in the first half but Sirois stymied him both times. The first attempt was in the 43rd minute and the second was in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.
Montreal’s Mathieu Choiniere and Sunusi Ibrahim each had strong chances early in the second half.
Choiniere booted a right-footed shot from outside the box that Celentano stopped with a driving save in the 54th minute. Three minutes later, Ibrahim sent a close-range header just over the top of the net.
Cincinnati all but put the match away in the 65th minute when a Montreal miscue in its own end led to an opportunity for Vazquez. He capitalized by sending a right-footed blast to the left of Sirois.
The goal was the third of the season for Vazquez, who had 18 tallies last season.
–Field Level Media