FENTON, Mo. – A goal and assist by Omar Cummings lead FC Cincinnati to a 2-1 victory against Saint Louis FC on Saturday night at World Wide Technology Soccer Park. Cincinnati took an early lead as it took advantage a turnover by the hosts, as Sean Okoli played Cummings in behind the defense for a shot into the right side of the net. Cincinnati had the better of the first half, but Saint Louis rebounded strongly after the break to start creating some chances of its own. Cincinnati also threatened in what was an entertaining contest overall, with Corben Bone forcing a good save from goalkeeper Ryan Thompson with a free kick to the left corner, but with 12 minutes to go the visitors doubled their lead as Cummings’ shot from 20 yards was parried by Thompson, and Eric Stevenson reacted first to put home the rebound. Saint Louis pulled a goal back with five minutes to go when Schillo Tschuma scored from close range off a cross by Jordan Roberts, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Saint Louis’ 10-game home undefeated streak from coming to an end.

Scoring
8’ – CIN – Omar Cummings (Sean Okoli)
78’ – CIN – Eric Stevenson (Omar Cummings)
85’ – STL – Schillo Tschuma (Jordan Roberts)

Three Things That Matter:

• 1. Cincinnati rebounded strongly from its defeat on Wednesday night as it was aggressive from the off on the road against a good Saint Louis side. The pressure resulted in an early goal from Omar Cummings, who made his second start of the season, and allowed the visitors to dictate a good amount of the game in the first half to carry the lead to the break.

• 2. Saint Louis picked things up collectively in the second half, as the attention Irvin Herrera drew from the Cincinnati defense left some other openings for players like halftime substitute Schillo Tschuma. When those chances came about, however, Saint Louis wasn’t nearly composed enough to find the target as efforts failed to find the target consistently enough. Tschuma’s late finish after a good delivery by Jordan Roberts was a late consolation, but Saint Louis’ finishing will need to be sharper moving forward.

• 3. With the likes of Sean Okoli and Andrew Wiedeman leading the line for Cincinnati for much of this season, veteran Omar Cummings has been used sparingly so far this season, but on Saturday night he put in a strong all-around performance to finish with a goal and assist. Cummings might not be in the starting lineup again when Cincinnati next takes the field in league action in a massive game against the New York Red Bulls II, but Coach John Harkes has a strong component he can call on to come up big when needed in the Jamaican.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match

Omar Cummings, FC Cincinnati – Cummings recorded a goal and assist to lead Cincinnati to a big road win that allowed it to gain ground on Louisville in the Eastern Conference standings after City’s 1-1 draw with Charleston earlier in the evening.

Upcoming Games:

Saint Louis FC at Tulsa Roughnecks FC – July 15, 8:30 p.m. ET, ONEOK Field

FC Cincinnati vs. New York Red Bulls II – July 20, 7 p.m. ET, Nippert Stadium