Pavel Bucha Brace Leads FC Cincinnati Past West-Leading Vancouver Whitecaps 4-3

If MLS wanted a statement game to welcome itself back from the World Cup break, it got one at TQL Stadium. Seven goals, five of them in the first 36 minutes, a captain's comeback brace and a home side that simply refused to stop scoring.

FC Cincinnati beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 4-3 on Wednesday night, with Pavel Bucha scoring twice and Evander and Kévin Denkey adding one apiece. Ryan Gauld's brace, per MLSsoccer.com, made him the first player in the club's MLS history to record 100 goal contributions, but Vancouver, who arrived on top of the Western Conference, left with nothing. According to Cincinnati, it was the club's first win over the Whitecaps in four meetings.

The Wildest First Half of the Night

A sellout crowd of 25,513, the eighth sellout at TQL Stadium this season per the club, barely had time to sit down. Bucha set the tone in the ninth minute. Samuel Gidi carried the ball up the left and played it across, Kenji Mboma Dem let it run past him as a dummy, and Bucha took a touch and ripped a right-footed shot into the top right corner.

Vancouver needed three minutes to answer. Bruno Caicedo crossed, and Jeevan Badwal finished low into the bottom right corner from the middle of the box. Then, in the 24th minute, Oliver Larraz set up Gauld, who finished with his left foot into the bottom right corner to make it 2-1 Whitecaps.

Cincinnati hit back four minutes later. Ender Echenique beat his man down the left and delivered the ball across the goalmouth, and Denkey headed in from point-blank range. In the 36th minute, Evander collected a Gerardo Valenzuela pass, turned and hit a right-footed shot from outside the box that found the bottom left corner. Per Cincinnati, it clipped the post on the way in.

That made it 3-2 at halftime, which the club said was the highest-scoring first half of any FCC game this season. Vancouver also lost Caicedo to an injury just before the break.

Trading Blows After the Break

Cincinnati extended the lead in the 56th minute. Evander's shot was blocked, the ball came back to him, and he floated a pass to the far post where Bucha was waiting. The midfielder buried it from the right side of the six-yard box for his second of the night.

Two minutes later, Gauld answered again, finding space in the middle of the box and slotting a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner. 4-3 with half an hour to play, and everyone in the building was expecting more.

It never came, partly thanks to Roman Celentano. The Cincinnati keeper saved from Cheikh Sabaly in the 68th minute and then made two saves in the 76th, from Larraz and J.C. Ngando. Mathías Laborda smashed a header off the crossbar from a corner in stoppage time, and that was as close as Vancouver got.

The Stars

Pavel Bucha scored twice from two shots. According to Cincinnati, it was the third brace of his career with the club and moved him alone into 10th place on the club's all-time scoring list with 17 goals.

Evander scored and assisted. Per the club, he now has a goal contribution in six straight games, his longest such run with FC Cincinnati, and his 59 career goal contributions sit one shy of Brandon Vazquez for second-most in club history. "I'm pretty happy with the performance tonight. Not just me, but the team," he said.

Kévin Denkey scored his 10th goal of the season, which MLSsoccer.com said made it eight goals in his last eight MLS appearances. Pat Noonan was happy with his front pair: "Their production has been strong for a few months now, dating back before the break."

Ryan Gauld scored twice for Vancouver in what MLSsoccer.com described as his first league start in 501 days after a long-term knee injury. Jesper Sørensen made it clear the result did not take the shine off. "He played brilliantly, scored a couple of goals, and it was amazing to have him back," the Vancouver coach said.

Jeevan Badwal scored and assisted Gauld's second goal before coming off in the 62nd minute.

Turning Point: Evander From Distance

The game was level at 2-2 and swinging wildly from end to end. Evander's 36th-minute strike put Cincinnati back in front, and they never trailed again. It was the moment the game stopped being a coin flip, and the moment Vancouver started chasing.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Vancouver held 62.6 percent and completed 566 passes to Cincinnati's 330.
• Shots: Vancouver led 19 to 10, but both teams put six on target.
• Crosses: Vancouver attempted 29. Cincinnati attempted one.
• Clearances: Cincinnati cleared the ball 41 times to Vancouver's 12.
• Cards: Vancouver were booked five times. Cincinnati, once.

What It Means

Cincinnati move to 6-5-5 (wins, draws, losses) with 23 points, and MLSsoccer.com said the win lifted them to fifth place, one spot outside a playoff host seed. The club also noted they have now scored multiple goals in nine consecutive games, which Elias Sports says ties the fourth-longest such streak in MLS history. Comebacks are becoming a habit, too: the club said this was their fourth win of the season after trailing at any point, and 16 of their 23 points have come in games in which they trailed. There is no rest. Cincinnati visit Columbus on Saturday for the Hell is Real derby.

Vancouver fall to 10-2-3 with 32 points. A loss is a loss, but getting Gauld back to this level is a big boost for a team with trophy ambitions.

Bucha said the squad set its targets before the season and keeps checking in on them. "We set our goals right before the season started, and we just stick to them still," he said.

The Closing Take

This was a game that played like a summer blockbuster: plot twists every few minutes, a returning hero in Gauld and a final act that left everyone exhausted. Cincinnati got the happy ending. Vancouver got the sequel setup.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and club notes as reported by FCCincinnati.com and MLSsoccer.com.