Evander scored two goals and assisted on three others, including Kenji Mboma Dem’s eventual match-winner in the 52nd minute, sending FC Cincinnati into the World Cup break with a 6-2 rout of visiting Orlando City on Saturday evening.

Despite allowing a brace to Orlando’s Martin Ojeda, Cincinnati (5-5-5, 20 points) snapped a 0-1-2 slump in resounding fashion, winning for the first time since May 2.

Orlando (4-9-2, 14 points) saw its three-match unbeaten streak across all competitions (2-0-1) come to an end.

Cincinnati, which entered Saturday with the most goals scored in MLS (30), dominated an Orlando defense that had conceded a league-worst 38 times.

With the match tied at 2-2, Mboma Dem put Cincinnati ahead for good in the 52nd minute with his second goal of the night and fourth of the season. He rushed into the box and struck Evander’s pass first-time into the net to put Cincinnati ahead 3-2.

In the 58th minute, Evander completed his own double with his ninth goal of the season, confidently striding to the top of the box and lacing a low, driven effort past Orlando goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau to make it 4-2.

Kevin Denkey made it 5-2 in the 77th minute, bringing his season total to nine goals thanks to Evander’s third assist of the evening.

Tom Barlow capped the scoring in the first minute of second-half stoppage time with his fifth goal of the season.

After Ojeda opened the scoring for Orlando in the 16th minute, Cincinnati pulled ahead with two goals late in the period. Mboma Dem’s header past Crepeau off Evander’s corner kick tied the match at 1-1 in the 42nd minute. Evander then put Cincinnati ahead 2-1 in the third minute of first-half stoppage time off an assist from Pavel Bucha.

Cincinnati’s six goals were its most in an MLS regular-season match since a 6-1 win over Inter Miami on July 6, 2024. Orlando allowed six goals in a match for the second time this season, most recently in a 6-0 loss at Los Angeles FC on April 4.

Evander now has seven goals and five assists in his last five matches.

–Field Level Media

Guilherme Santos scored the tying goal in the 41st minute and Jonathan Bond recorded five saves as the visiting Houston Dynamo earned a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy on Saturday in a Western Conference dustup in Carson, Calif.

It was the final game for both teams before MLS’s two-month World Cup break. The draw was the first this season for the Dynamo (7-6-1, 22 points), who head to the break two points clear of the Galaxy (5-5-5, 20 points) in the West standings.

Houston has earned points in four of its past five league matches (3-1-1). Los Angeles is 3-1-2 in its past six MLS contests.

The Galaxy were the aggressor in the early minutes of the match, as Erik Thommy and then Joseph Paintsil tested Bond with shots on target in the 14th and 17th minute, respectively.

Paintsil broke through in the 30th minute, making short work of a scoring play that started when Edwin Cerrillo passed to the right side of the box to Miki Yamane. Yamane worked hard to center the ball but it bounced through traffic in front of the goal before Paintsil ripped a right-footed shot past Bond and into the top-left corner of the net for a 1-0 Los Angeles lead.

Guilherme had an excellent chance to produce the equalizer for the Dynamo five minutes later but missed over the crossbar from short range.

Guilherme made the most of his next opportunity, taking a pass from Jack McGlynn outside the top of the box and hitting a curving shot past Galaxy keeper JT Marcinkowski (three saves) into the bottom-right corner. Antonio Carlos was credited with a secondary assist on that tying tally.

The second half was full of unrealized scoring chances.

Marcinkowski kept the match knotted with a stop on a low-percentage shot by McGlynn in the 56th minute. He then stopped shots from Mateusz Bogusz in the 70th minute and Jose Artur in the 73rd to quell Houston scoring chances.

Cerrillo, Matheus Nascimento and Gabriel Pec had shots on target in the final 15 minutes for the Galaxy, but Bond rose to the task to save each of them and allow the Dynamo to split the points.

–Field Level Media

Ketel Marte went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night at Phoenix.

Nolan Arenado had a two-run double and Geraldo Perdomo contributed two hits and an RBI for the Diamondbacks, who won for the sixth time in seven games. Ryan Waldschmidt had two hits and scored once as Arizona improved to 2-1 in the four-game set that concludes Sunday.

TJ Rumfield went 3-for-4 with a homer for the Rockies, who lost for the 10th time in 14 games. Troy Johnston had two hits and an RBI and Hunter Goodman also had two hits for Colorado.

Arizona’s Paul Sewald recorded two outs on fly balls in the ninth before striking out Goodman for his 12th save in 13 opportunities.

Arizona’s Zac Gallen (3-4) gave up three runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.

Colorado’s Michael Lorenzen (2-7) was touched up for five runs and eight hits over five innings. He fanned five and issued one walk.

The Rockies pulled within 5-4 when Rumfield smacked a 2-0 sinker from Brandon Pfaadt over the wall in left-center field leading off the eighth.

Tyler Freeman followed with a single and Pfaadt was replaced by Kevin Ginkel. Johnston walked but Colorado’s threat took a big hit when Ezequiel Tovar’s sacrifice bunt attempt was fielded by Ildemaro Vargas and the first baseman’s throw forced Freeman at third.

Sterlin Thompson grounded out to move the runners to second and third before Ginkel retired Chad Stevens on a fly to center.

Arizona jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI single by Perdomo and the two-run double by Arenado.

The Rockies loaded the bases with none out in the fourth. Johnson’s single plated one run and Tovar’s fielder’s choice drove in another.

In the bottom of the fourth, Tim Tawa was on first with two out when Marte slammed a first-pitch fastball 424 feet over the fence in right to give the Diamondbacks a 5-2 lead.

Colorado pushed across a run in the sixth as Johnston singled, stole second, moved to third on Tovar’s grounder and scored on Thompson’s grounder.

–Field Level Media