FC Cincinnati forward Brenner and midfielder Luciano Acosta have been named to the MLS Team of the Week for Week 30. All six goals in FC Cincinnati’s 6-0 dismantling of the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday were scored or assisted by either Brenner or Acosta.
Brenner earns a spot in the league’s weekly Best XI for the second time this season and for the third time in his career. The Brazilian forward scored his second career hat trick, and second this season, accounting for half of FCC’s six goals against the Earthquakes. Brenner’s first hat trick for FC Cincinnati came earlier this season on June 29 against New York City FC at TQL Stadium. Brenner’s two performances were the first hat tricks in the club’s MLS history.
With his assist of Yuya Kubo’s 77th minute goal, Brenner became the first player in club history to have a hand in four goal contributions in a single game.
Brenner has scored 12 goals this season, joining Brandon Vazquez (16 goals this season) as the first two players in club history to score double-digit goals in a season.
Acosta earns a spot in the league’s weekly Best XI for the fourth time this season, and he earns the honor in consecutive weeks for the second time this season (Weeks 9 and 10). Against San Jose, for the third time this season, Acosta provided three goal contributions for the Orange and Blue.
Acosta picked out goalscorer Álvaro Barreal to provide the assist on FC Cincinnati’s opening goal right before halftime, what proved to be his fifth game-winning assist of the season. He followed that up with an assist on Brenner’s 47th minute goal and then scored his eighth goal of the season from the penalty spot in the 71st minute.
The Argentine playmaker leads MLS in assists (18), assists at home (13), and assists from open play (11). He has totaled 12 assists in his last nine home games.
FC Cincinnati have earned 22 spots on the league’s weekly Team of the Week this season, which extends the most representations for the club in a single season (previous high: 2019, 16). The duo’s recognition is the 58th and 59th selection for the club on the MLS Team of the Week since FC Cincinnati joined the league in 2019.
A full list of 2022 FC Cincinnati weekly honors:
2022 MLS Team of the Week Player Recognitions
- Brandon Vazquez (Week 3, 4, 23-Bench)
- Ronald Matarrita (4-Bench)
- Alec Kann (7-Bench)
- Roman Celentano (8-Bench, 10)
- Luciano Acosta (9, 10, 11-Bench, 17-Bench, 29, 30)
- Obinna Nwobodo (15)
- Brenner (17, 20-Bench, 30)
- Álvaro Barreal (24)
- Matt Miazga (26)
- Nick Hagglund (29-Bench)
2022 MLS Team of the Week Coach Recognitions
- Pat Noonan (Week 3, 10)
The full team for Week 30 is listed below.
2022 MLS Team of the Week presented by Audi (Week 30)
F: Brenner (CIN), Raul Ruidiaz (SEA), Jesus Ferreira (DAL)
M: Riqui Puig (LA), Victor Wanyama (MTL), Luciano Acosta (CIN), Thiago Almada (ATL)
D: Jack Elliott (PHI), Juan Jose Purata (ATL), Yeimar Gomez Andrade (SEA)
GK: Aljaz Ivacic (POR)
Coach: Jim Curtin (PHI)
Bench: David Ochoa (DC), Adilson Malanda (CLT), Kai Wagner (PHI), Danny Leyva (SEA), Cristian Casseres Jr. (RBNY), Jhon Duran (CHI), Gyasi Zardes (COL)
FC Cincinnati head west to take on Real Salt Lake next Saturday, Sept. 17. for Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. ET from America First Field and the game can be watched on Star64, streamed in-market at fccincinnati.com, out of market on ESPN+ and listened to on the radio on ESPN 1530.
2023 FC Cincinnati Season Ticket Memberships are now available. Season Ticket Members are guaranteed the best seats at the best prices for every match at TQL Stadium in 2023, in addition to access to exclusive events, discounts on merchandise and more!
2023 Season Tickets are on sale now at fccincinnati.com/tickets. Fans looking for more information can contact a dedicated FC Cincinnati representative at (513) 977-5435 or e-mail tickets@fccincinnati.com.
Single match tickets to any of FC Cincinnati’s remaining home games are also available now, head to fccincinnati.com/tickets or call 513-977-KICK, to learn more.
FC Cincinnati are playing their fourth season of MLS competition in 2022, and their second playing at TQL Stadium. For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team’s official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.
