Luca Orellano voted MLS Player of the Matchday for Matchday 16

FC Cincinnati’s Luca Orellano was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday for Matchday 16, the league announced Monday.

Orellano earns the sixth MLS Player of the Week/Matchday honor in FC Cincinnati history and becomes the third different player to earn the award (Luciano Acosta, Brenner).

Additionally, Orellano and Head Coach Pat Noonan were named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 16 earlier today. Noonan earned his second honor of the season as FC Cincinnati set a club record with a seventh-consecutive win on Saturday at Toronto, becoming the fourth team in MLS history to do so in a single season (excluding the shootout era). Cincinnati also notched a club-record fourth-straight road victory, extending FCC’s total to six road wins this season (most in MLS).

Orellano recorded his first career MLS brace in FCC’s 4-3 road comeback victory over Toronto FC on Saturday night. The Argentine netted the first brace of the 2024 season for FC Cincinnati, the 15th multi-goal game in the club’s regular season history.

After FC Cincinnati went into the halftime break down 1-0 to Toronto, Orellano equalized for the Orange and Blue in the 53rd minute. Two minutes later, he capitalized on a Toronto turnover and got in behind the TFC defense. While his initial shot was blocked, the forced save rebounded directly to teammate Kevin Kelsy for a 55th minute goal. Orellano then netted his second goal of the night in the 79th minute on another superb finish in tight space.

Orellano is the first Cincinnati player to earn MLS Player of the Matchday honors since Luciano Acosta did so on Matchday 34 in 2023. Of the first 15 Player of the Matchday awards in 2024, nine of them have been won by players from South America. The 24-year-old is also the youngest player to be named Player of the Matchday this season.

The MLS Player of the Matchday is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an X (formerly known as Twitter) fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.

Orellano and Noonan’s weekly Team of the Matchday honor is the 18th and 19th recognitions for an FC Cincinnati player or coach on the weekly team this season. A full list of 2024 FC Cincinnati matchday honors:

2024 FC Cincinnati MLS Team of the Matchday Player Recognitions
- Luciano Acosta (3, 5, 6-Bench, 10, 11, 12-Bench, 13, 14-Bench, 15)
- Miles Robinson (3, 5-Bench, 14)
- Matt Miazga (6)
- DeAndre Yedlin (7-Bench)
- Corey Baird (11-Bench)
- Kevin Kelsy (14-Bench)
- Luca Orellano (16)

2024 FC Cincinnati MLS Team of the Matchday Coach Recognitions
- Pat Noonan (13, 16)

The full team for Matchday 16 is listed below.

2024 MLS Team of the Matchday presented by Audi (Matchday 16)

F: Lorenzo Insigne (TOR), Diego Rossi (CLB), Sang Bin Jeong (MIN)
M: Robert Taylor (MIA), Riqui Puig (LA), Evander (POR), Anderson Julio (RSL)
D: Luca Orellano (CIN), Joel Waterman (MTL), Miki Yamane (LA)
GK: Matt Freese (NYC)

Coach: Pat Noonan (CIN)

Bench: Kristijan Kahlina (CLT), Brendan Hines-Ike (ATX), Aidan Morris (CLB), Keaton Parks (NYC), Patrickson Delgado (DAL), Albert Rusnák (SEA), Mateusz Bogusz (LAFC), Kévin Cabral (COL), Felipe Mora (POR)

FC Cincinnati host Nashville SC at TQL Stadium this Wednesday, May 29 in the last home match before the upcoming June FIFA International Break. Tickets are still available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (513) 977-5425 (KICK) and the match will air on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and fans can also listen to the match on ESPN 1530.