Evander, Gerardo Valenzuela help Cincinnati beat Austin 2-1

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CINCINNATI (AP) — Evander Da Silva Ferreira — known simply as “Evander” — had a goal and an assist, Gerardo Valenzuela scored the go-ahead goal in the 76th minute and FC Cincinnati beat Austin FC 2-1 on Saturday night.

Cincinnati (8-3-1) had its string of five consecutive wins, and six straight games without a loss, snapped with a 1-0 loss at New York City FC last time out.

Valenzuela put away a one-touch finish — off a perfectly-placed feed that Evander chipped from the left side of the area and slipped over the head a defender to find Valenzuela at the back post — to cap the scoring.

Austin FC (5-6-1) has lost three consecutive games by a combined score of 7-1 and has scored just three goals since a 1-0 win over St. Louis on March 30.

Austin beat Cincinnati 5-0 to open the 2022 season in the only other regular-season matchup between the teams.

Evander opened the scoring in the 12th minute with his seventh goal of the season. Lukas Engel played a one-touch pass from the left side to Evander for a finish from the edge of the area that slipped inside the post.

Brandon Vázquez converted from the penalty spot in the 48th minute to make it 1-1.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer