Evander! FC Cincinnati star celebrates All-Star nod with brace | OneFootball

By Harrison Hamm

Fresh off his second straight selection to the MLS All-Star team, Evander put in another virtuoso performance for FC Cincinnati.

WATCH: Hey now, you're an All-Star! Evander nets brilliant brace

Evander

Midfielder · FC Cincinnati

The star midfielder gave his team the lead late in the first half of their Wednesday night match against CF Montréal, bringing down a bouncing cross from DeAndre Yedlin with a lovely touch before potting a left-footed volley past Jonathan Sirois.

"Tonight, we got him in good spots, whether it was advancing with the ball or being a playmaker, said head coach Pat Noonan. "I mean, how he arrives on the first goal from DeAndre getting in behind and being aggressive, getting into the box, and changing his speed to be hungry to score a goal."

The Brazilian also had a hand in Cincy's second goal of the night, setting up Luca Orellano with a sublime assist to send Cincy well on their way to three points. He later completed the brace for good measure, converting a clinical 83rd-minute strike to extend it to a three-goal advantage.

"On Luca's goal, you see, just his vision weight of the past to get Luca in behind, playing on one touch," continued Noonan. "That's a high-level play there. And obviously, the last goal, Lukas does a great job of advancing with the ball, and he's aggressive, running in the box."

The 2g/1a performance gives Evander nine goals on the campaign to go along with seven assists. His 16 goal contributions are tied for third in the league and that production helped him get voted in as an MLS representative against the best of LIGA MX in the MLS All-Star Game at Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium on July 23. Evander also made the All-Star team last year as a member of the Portland Timbers.

FC Cincinnati are second in the Eastern Conference behind Philadelphia Union heading into a showdown with Orlando City SC Saturday (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+)

WATCH: Evander shows All-Star class to lead Cincy over Montréal