Brenner scores 2 goals, Cincinnati beats Crew 2-1 to advance to East semifinals

CINCINNATI (AP) — Brenner Souza — known simply as “Brenner” — scored goals in the 67th and 86th minutes to help FC Cincinnati beat the Columbus Crew 2-1 on Saturday night and win the best-of-three series 2-1 in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

Cincinnati plays No. 3 seed Miami or sixth-seeded Nashville in the one-game Eastern Conference semifinals.

Brenner’s second goal gave Cincinnati its first lead of the game. Samuel Gidi, on the counter-attack, tapped a short pass from near the penalty spot to the top of the 18-yard box, where Brenner took a step to his right and slipped a low shot inside the left post.

Andrés Herrera ran onto a long ball-ahead played by goalkeeper Patrick Schulte and bounced a first-touch cross to a charging Jacen Russell-Rowe for a half-volley finish from just outside the 6-yard box that gave the seventh-seeded Crew a 1-0 lead in the 63rd minute.

Brenner answered four minutes later for No. 2 seed Cincinnati with a first-touch goal, after a soft header by Teenage Hadebe off a corner kick.

Roman Celantano had four saves.

The game marked the end of Darlington Nagbe’s career. The 35-year-old midfielder who won four MLS Cup titles — two (2020, ’23) with the Crew — across 15 seasons, announced in October that this season, his 15th in Major League Soccer, would be his last.

Cincinnati opened the series with a 1-0 win before the Crew evened the series with a 4-0 victory in Game 2 with each team winning on its home field.

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