In a category all his own.
Just when it looked as though FC Cincinnati were going to fall short in a wild Wednesday night matchup vs. New York City FC, Brazilian superstar Evander came up clutch to make history at Yankee Stadium.
The Cincy No. 10's 95th-minute penalty, which secured an incredible 4-4 draw, was the 44th tally of his MLS career, giving him the record for most goals scored by a Brazilian-born player in league history.
"It was a nice moment for Evander," head coach Pat Noonan remarked postgame. "I'm sure whether he's aware of that or not, I imagine he is, we don't speak too much on the individual achievements until maybe after the fact.
"So in this moment, it's something I know when he's aware of it, he's going to be proud of the fact that he's the leader, as far as Brazilian-born players.
"...I know he takes a lot of pride in where he comes from and what he represents. So that's special, so hopefully it's one of many moving forward."
- 44 - Evander
- 43 - Welton
- 41 - Luciano Emilio
- 41 - Benny Feilhaber
- 39 - Camilo Sanvezzo
Turnaround time
The goal capped a spectacular FCC comeback highlighted by an earlier Kévin Denkey brace. It was also Evander's second in as many games, after the two-time MLS Best XI honoree opened the 2026 season without a goal in nine straight matches across all competitions.
"He's certainly confident in himself and what he's capable of," said Noonan. "And production-wise, didn't start the season the way I'm sure he would have liked, or maybe what we would have expected. But we needed him to step up and Kévin to step up on a night where you need your biggest players to carry the team.
The skid has coincided with a drop in Cincinnati's form. The Lions, who typically sit near the top of the Eastern Conference, currently find themselves 10th in the East, on the outside looking in of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs picture.
Although Cincy were unable to take all three points in either of the matches in which Evander found the back of the net, they are unbeaten in three straight. And the offense looks to be picking up steam, with seven goals scored in their last two matches.
"He's very important to this team, which we've seen since he arrived, and everybody goes through difficult stretches," Noonan added.
"But I'm happy for him and seeing how he's managed it, and how he's continued to push forward, and he's being rewarded with some production now. But yeah, it's like I said, hopefully the start of a good stretch for him and for our team to be better and continue to see him produce for our group."
