FC Cincinnati Midfielder Evander Named MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 21 

The recently-named MLS All-Star bagged his second brace in as many games on Saturday to lead Cincinnati to a 2-1 victory against Orlando City SC, bringing the club within one point of Supporters’ Shield leader Philadelphia Union (Watch MLS Wrap-Up Discuss Evander’s Performance Here). With his pair of tallies, the Brazilian became the first player in MLS to register 25 goals and 25 assists since the start of the 2024 season. He’s one of two players with 50 goal contributions in that span, joining Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi.

After making the move to Cincinnati from Portland this offseason, Evander has delivered with 11 goals and seven assists on the year so far, good for third in the league in goal contributions. Saturday’s brace followed another two-goal performance at CF Montréal on Wednesday, marking the first back-to-back braces of his MLS career.

With three straight victories, Cincinnati is in the thick of the Supporter’s Shield race. Sitting at 39 points (12-5-3), the club is currently one point behind Philadelphia in both the league and Eastern Conference standings. The Orange and Blue have their sights set on their second Shield in three years after finishing with the league’s best regular season record in 2023.

Evander opened Saturday’s scoring with a stellar free kick from approximately 40 yards out. In the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time, he launched a looping ball to the near right post and diving Orlando City SC goalkeeper Pedro Gallese couldn’t get to it as the Brazilian sent Cincinnati into the half up 1-0 (Watch Here). The All-Star midfielder’s second came off a fast break in the 74th minute. Racing down the field with numbers, forward Kévin Denkey laid it off for Evander streaking down the middle. He collected it near the 18, made a move around one defender and then slotted his shot between a pair of Orlando City players and past Gallese for his second of the night (Watch Here).

It’s Evander’s third-straight season winning Player of the Matchday, taking home the weekly honors once a year since joining the league in 2023. Last season, the Brazilian won for Matchday 33 after a two-goal, one assist performance against Western Conference leader LA Galaxy. In 2023, he was honored for Matchday 12 following his first career MLS brace, including the game-winning goal against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Evander is Cincinnati’s first Player of the Matchday winner since Matchday 30 of 2024, when midfielder Luca Orellano bagged his first MLS brace in a win against Toronto FC.

The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.