Evander's First MLS Hat Trick Lifts 10-Man FC Cincinnati Past Chicago Fire 3-2

Chicago Fire FC had 33 shots, a man advantage for more than half an hour and a stoppage-time penalty from a striker who had just scored twice. FC Cincinnati had Roman Celentano and Evander. Somehow, that was enough.

Celentano saved Hugo Cuypers' penalty in the 91st minute, Evander converted one of his own in the 97th to complete his first MLS hat trick, and 10-man Cincinnati won 3-2 at Soldier Field on Saturday night. It was the kind of result that makes coaches stare at the stat sheet and shrug.

"Sometimes, this stuff doesn't make sense," Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said.

A First-Half Duel Between Two Strikers

The first 31 minutes played like a heavyweight bout where both fighters forgot to defend. Cuypers struck first in the 16th minute. Per the Fire, the move began with Jonathan Dean, and a deflected Philip Zinckernagel cross sat up for Cuypers, who half-volleyed into the bottom right corner.

Evander answered in the 24th. Kévin Denkey's shot was blocked after an Evander through ball, and Evander pounced on the rebound from very close range. Four minutes later, Chicago led again. This time Anton Salétros found Zinckernagel with a lofted pass, Zinckernagel beat his man to the byline, and Cuypers needed one touch to finish into the top right corner.

Evander did not wait long. In the 31st minute, Kenji Mboma Dem teed him up outside the box, and the Brazilian beat Chris Brady with a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner for 2-2. Cincinnati said it was Mboma Dem's first MLS assist. Celentano then kept it level before halftime with saves on Cuypers in the 34th and Zinckernagel in the 44th.

Red Card, Then a Siege

Noonan sent Nick Hagglund on for Tah Brian Anunga at halftime, and Cincinnati said both Hagglund and later Matt Miazga were back from injury absences. Chicago kept pushing. Jack Elliott headed over off a corner in the 49th, and Celentano saved from Zinckernagel in the 55th.

Then the game tilted. In the 56th minute, Kyle Smith was shown a red card after what the Fire described as a hard foul on Robin Lod, who was replaced by Jonathan Bamba three minutes later because of an injury. From there, Chicago had the ball and the numbers, and Cincinnati had a goalkeeper having a career night. Celentano denied Maren Haile-Selassie in the 70th, Cuypers' header in the 78th, Zinckernagel in the 84th and Haile-Selassie again in the 87th. Cuypers also headed a late corner wide.

"Sitting here with that group, somehow winning the game… the red card changes the game," Noonan said. "And credit to the guys for the way they figured things out."

The Turning Point: Two Penalties in Six Minutes

In the 90th minute, substitute Ayoub Lajhar, on for only two minutes, fouled Zinckernagel in the box and was booked. Cuypers stepped up in the first minute of stoppage time with a chance to win it, and Celentano saved his right-footed effort in the bottom left corner.

Two minutes later, the script flipped. Djé D'Avilla fouled Pavel Bucha in the Chicago box, and after a delay for Bucha's injury, Evander buried the penalty into the bottom right corner in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Bucha, fittingly, was making his 100th appearance for Cincinnati across all competitions, according to the club. Chicago still had chances, with Zinckernagel and substitute Jason Shokalook both just missing in the 100th minute, but Cincinnati held on.

Star Watch

Evander finished with three goals on three shots on target, from six attempts. MLS said he is now at 5g/1a on the season with five goals in his last four matches, and Cincinnati said it was his sixth multi-goal performance since joining the club in 2025.

"All I can say is that God gave me the hat trick at the right moment," he said.

Celentano made eight saves, including the penalty stop, which Cincinnati said was a career high for him in a single match. Without him, this is a comfortable Chicago win.

Cuypers deserves his flowers too. He took nine shots, put five on target and scored twice. Chicago said he became the fastest player in Fire history to reach 10 goals in a season, doing it in his seventh game, four games faster than Nemanja Nikolić's previous club record of 11 games in 2017. MLS added that he scored in his seventh straight game, a new club record, and that his two goals moved him level with FC Dallas' Petar Musa atop the Golden Boot race. Zinckernagel also took nine shots and, per the Fire, extended his streak of matches with a goal contribution to five, a career high with Chicago.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Chicago 33, Cincinnati 10. On target, Chicago led 10 to four.
• Saves: Celentano eight, Brady one.
• Corners: Chicago 10, Cincinnati one.
• Clearances: Cincinnati made 35 clearances to Chicago's 13.
• Possession: Chicago 55.5 percent, Cincinnati 44.5 percent.

What It Means

Cincinnati improves to 4-3-4 with 15 points and is unbeaten in five league matches, with back-to-back wins after three straight draws. MLS said the result lifted Cincinnati to fifth in the Eastern Conference. The club added that it was only the second time in its history it has won a match after going down a man while tied or trailing, the first coming against CF Montréal on March 22. Cincinnati heads to Charlotte FC on Saturday, May 9.

"What I can say is that, right now, things are turning our way, and we are beginning to get all the luck that we did not have at the beginning of the season," Evander said.

Chicago falls to 5-2-3 with 17 points, and the loss ends a five-match league unbeaten run that began with a win at Philadelphia on March 21. The Fire also drew 3-3 in Cincinnati on April 18, so this rivalry is producing goals in bulk. Chicago wraps its homestand against Red Bull New York on Saturday, May 9.

Closing Take

Sports movies love the underdog who survives the onslaught and lands one punch at the end. Cincinnati spent more than 40 minutes a man down, got outshot 33-10 and still left Soldier Field with all three points, thanks to a goalkeeper who would not break and a playmaker who picked the perfect night for his first MLS hat trick. Noonan was right. It did not make sense. It counted anyway.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by MLSsoccer.com, with match notes from FC Cincinnati (fccincinnati.com) and Chicago Fire FC (chicagofirefc.com).