Luciano Acosta scored on a penalty kick to tie the match in second-half stoppage time and then converted the first of FC Cincinnati’s four straight successful penalty kicks in their Leagues Cup victory over visiting Sporting Kansas City on Monday night.
The teams were tied 3-3 at the end of the second half, forcing penalty kicks.
Brandon Vazquez also scored in regulation, assisted by Acosta, and duplicated the latter’s success during PKs in the Leagues Cup Central 3 matchup.
Yuya Kubo and Matt Miazga added penalty-kick goals for FC Cincinnati, who were helped by an own goal from SKC goalkeeper John Pulskamp to cut into a 2-0 first-half deficit.
The scoring opened on an own goal by Cincinnati’s Nick Hagglund in the ninth minute, and Dany Rosero made it 2-0 in the 12th on an assist from Gadi Kinda.
Erik Thommy and Khiry Shelton converted penalty kicks for SKC, but Remi Walter and Andreu Fontas failed on their attempts, giving FC Cincinnati the win.
Cincinnati dominated possession (58.1 percent to 41.9 percent), total shots (21-11) and shots on goal (8-4). Pulskamp made six saves, and Alec Kann made two at the other end.
Atlas 1, New York City FC 0
Aldo Rocha scored in the seventh minute and Atlas kept host New York off the board throughout to win the Leagues Cup East 3 match.
Luis Reyes set up the goal with a cross following a corner kick, and Rocha found the bottom right corner of the goal. Despite dominating possession (66.6 percent to 33.4 percent), NYCFC wasn’t able to score.
Both teams finished with 10 shots, but while Atlas put five on goal, New York City only had two. Atlas’ goalkeeper Camilo Vargas made one save, while NYCFC counterpart Luis Barraza made four.
Nashville SC 2, Rapids 1
MLS goals leader Hany Mukhtar scored in the first half, Jacob Shaffelburg tallied in the second and host Nashville held on to defeat Colorado in their Central 4 battle.
Andrew Gutman got the Rapids on the board at the 80-minute mark, but Colorado was unable to score the tying goal.
The stats belied the closeness of the match, with Nashville barely leading in possession (50.9 percent to 49.1 percent), shots (20-17) and shots on goal (6-4). William Yarbrough made four saves in goal for Colorado, and Joe Willis had three for Nashville.
Minnesota United 4, Puebla 0
Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Emanuel Reynoso each recorded a brace as Minnesota crushed Puebla in a Central 2 match in St. Paul, Minn.
Hlongwane scored in the 24th and 51st minutes, while Reynoso struck in the 59th before adding his second goal six minutes later. Michael Boxall got hit with a red card in the 30th minute, forcing Minnesota United to go the rest of the way short-handed, making the victory all the more impressive.
Jesus Rodriguez made three saves for Puebla, who came up empty despite recording 14 shots, four of which were on target.
Crew 2, St. Louis City 0
Host Columbus forged a two-goal lead before the 30th minute and held on the rest of the way to down St. Louis in a Central 1 match.
Lucas Zelarayan opened the scoring in the 11th minute, blasting a right-footed shot past St. Louis City goalkeeper Benjamin Lundt. Cucho Hernandez then doubled the Crew’s lead in the 29th minute when he converted a penalty kick.
St. Louis, which sits atop MLS’ Western Conference with 41 points at 13-8-2, pulled within 2-1 in the 85th minute thanks to an own goal from Jacen Russell-Rowe. The visitors had a chance to draw even five minutes later, but Indiana Vassilev’s left-footed shot was saved.
–Field Level Media
