By Mariana Smithfield

NEW YORK (Monday, May 27, 2024) – FC Cincinnati midfielder Luca Orellano was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday for Matchday 16 of the 2024 MLS season.

Orellano recorded his first career MLS brace in Cincinnati’s 4-3 comeback victory on the road over Toronto FC on Saturday night. The Argentine became the first Cincinnati player to score two goals for the club in a regular season match this season and he now has three goals and three assists in his last seven matches. Orellano’s brace helped the Orange and Blue earn their seventh straight victory, 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 consecutive road victory, extending their overall total to an MLS-high six on the season. After Matchday 16, the club sits on 33 points (10-2-3) and second in the Supporters’ Shield standings with a game in hand behind Inter Miami CF.

Afte falling behind 1-0 in the first half, Orellano equalized for Cincinnati in the 53rd minute when the ball fell to him at the top of the box, and he slotted his effort into the bottom corner of the net (Watch Here). The back-and-forth game saw the match tied 2-2 in the 79th minute, but the Argentine gave the Orange and Blue the lead again as Sergio Santos dribbled through the box and found Orellano who placed his shot past the Toronto goalkeeper for a 3-2 lead (Watch Here ).

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.

Orellano and Cincinnati will aim to become the second team since 2000 to win at least eight straight games in the same season when they host Nashville SC on Wednesday, May 29 at TQL Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

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.

COURTESY MLS COMMUNICATIONS