Luca Orellano scored his first MLS brace to help FC Cincinnati secure a last minute 4-3 victory at Toronto FC, earning him the Player of the Matchday honors for Matchday 16.
Orellano, who evened the match in the 53rd minute and put the guests in front 3-2, now has a record of three goals and three assists in his last seven games. That coincides with Cincinnati’s seven-match winning streak. They are the fourth team in league history to achieve this feat in a single season (excluding the shootout era).
FC Cincinnati, who set a club record with a fourth road win in a row, are now 10W-2L-3D on the term, one point behind Inter Miami CF in the Supporters’ Shield race.
Orellano is the first Cincinnati player to win MLS Player of the Matchday honors since Luciano Acosta did so on Matchday 34 in 2023. Of all the first 15 Player of the Matchday awards in 2024, nine of them have been awarded to players from South America. Luca is also the youngest player to be named Player of the Matchday this campaign.
Luca and Cincinnati will strive to become the second club since 2000 to win up to eight consecutive matches in the same term when they play Nashville SC on Wednesday (7:30 pm | MLS Season Pass) at TQL Stadium.
The MLS Player of the Matcday is chosen each matchday of the regular season through media and fan voting in a process MLS Communications conducts. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an X (Twitter) fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR is made up of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
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