Cincinnati beats Montreal 3-0 to take second place in the Eastern Conference

CINCINNATI (AP) — Defender Nick Haglund, Evander da Silva Ferreira and Brenner Souza all scored goals, and Roman Celentano was untouchable, as FC Cincinnati took second place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-0 Decision Day victory over CF Montreal on Saturday.

Haglund found the back of the net for the first time this season to give Cincinnati (20-9-5) a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute. It was his 10th goal in 231 games.

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Evander, who had his 15th assist against Haglund, set a career-high with his 18th goal in his first season with the Crew for a 2-0 lead in the 56th minute. Haglund had his first assist of the season in the score.

Brenner used a pass from Gerardo Valenzuela to round off the scoring in the 88th minute. This was the fourth goal in six games this season for Brenner. Valenzuela’s assist was his first of the season and fourth in 55 games.

Celentano finished with three saves for his 10th clean sheet in 30 games this season with Cincinnati. This was Celentano’s 35th match in 157 appearances, all with his current club.

Rookie Thomas Guiller, 21, made four saves for Montreal (6-18-10) in his eighth career start.

Cincinnati beat Montreal 3-1 on the road earlier this season.

Cincinnati had its second 20-win season. The club finished 20-5-9 in 2023.

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AP Football: https://apnews.com/soccer