Boupendza, Acosta spark Cincinnati to 3-0 victory over NYCFC
CINCINNATI (AP) — Aaron Boupendza scored early, Luciano Acosta had two assists and Eastern Conference-leading FC Cincinnati breezed to a 3-0 victory over New York City FC on Saturday night.
Cincinnati (16-3-6) ties the 2002 San Jose Earthquakes’ record with the victory, totaling 37 points through the club’s first 13 home matches. Cincinnati earned its third straight victory over NYCFC (5-10-11) after losing the first six meetings before playing to a pair of draws last season.
NYCFC falls to 1-8-8 in its last 17 regular-season matches.
Boupendza gave Cincinnati the lead for good, scoring unassisted in the sixth minute. Boupendza has two goals in two starts and three appearances for the club this season.
Junior Moreno pushed the lead to 2-0 when he took a pass from Acosta in the 52nd minute and scored his fourth goal of the campaign. Acosta notched another assist seven minutes later on a goal by defender Nick Hagglund, his first of the season, for a three-score lead.
Roman Celentano turned away four shots to earn his 10th clean sheet of the season for Cincinnati, one behind league leader Stefan Frei of the Seattle Sounders. Luis Barraza saved three shots for NYCFC.
Cincinnati was coming off a 3-0 loss to the Columbus Crew. The club has allowed 11 goals in its three losses and just 17 in its other 22 matches.
NYCFC returns home to host CF Montreal on Wednesday. Cincinnati travels to play Atlanta United on Wednesday.
____
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sport