Brenner Souza scored in each half and Evander Da Silva Ferreira notched three assists to lead Cincinnati to a 3-2 victory over the Galaxy on Saturday night at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Cincinnati (18-9-4) closed within two points of the first-place Philadelphia Union in the Eastern Conference with three matches remaining. The Galaxy were eliminated from playoff contention when FC Dallas defeated Colorado on Saturday.
Evander set up Ender Echenique in the 12th minute and the 21-year-old forward scored for the first time in his fourth start.
Evander collected another assist and Kévin Denkey notched his second of the season on Brenner’s goal for a 2-0 lead in the 22nd minute. Brenner scored his third goal this season — for a 3-1 lead in the 88th minute.
Joseph Paintsil scored for the sixth time this season to get the Galaxy within 2-1 in the 39th minute. Defender Mauricio Cuevas scored in the first minute of stoppage time for the final margin. It was his second netter of the campaign and his third in 46 career appearances. Paintsil’s helper was his third.
The Galaxy were forced to play a man down after Isaiah Parente was tagged with a red card in the 53rd minute.
Evan Louro totaled six saves in his second start for Cincinnati after starting once last season.
Novak Micovic saved seven shots for the Galaxy.
The Galaxy will host Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.
