Playing in his first official eMLS Tournament for Philadelphia Union, CisseSZN’s strong performances over the four-night online qualifiers saw him secure a berth into the eMLS League Series One Knockout Round presented by Coca-Cola.
Cisse concluded the qualifiers with a 9-2-3 record in the first 14 contests of the eMLS calendar to advance to the Knockout Round for the first time in his eMLS career. Those 30 points were good enough for the No. 4 seed in the Knockout Round which sets up a win-or-go-home match against No. 5 seed Didychrislito of New York City FC.
Cisse’s path to the Knockout Round started off with a victories 3-1 showdown against eMLS newcomers St. Louis CITY SC’s HASIB. A tight defensive matchup ensued between the two friends with Cisse making the most of a missed STL chance for the opening half’s only goal. After STL clank a shot off the far post, the Union roared down the other end of the pitch with Orlando City SC forward Nani notching the 1-0 lead.
Second half saw Cisse extend his lead with back-to-back goals from Cristiano Ronaldo in the 63rd and 75th minute. The beginning of the brace capped off a lengthy spell of possession for the Union as they took the opening kick off and wore down the STL defense with skill moves until the scoring chance was created. Moments later a strong run by outside back Juan Cuadrado into the box was executed with a volley finish from the Portuguese striker.
Needing just a draw to lock up his spot for the live stream, Cisse battled back from a 1-0 deficit against Houston Dynamo’s JordyReyes with a resounding 4-1 victory. After falling behind from Dyanmo goal in the opening minutes, Cisse battled back with a tying goal from Ronaldo once more. After the initial shot was stopped by the Dyanamo keeper, the forward chased down the rebound for the put back goal. The final 45 minutes was all the Union gamer with the clinching goal coming in the 61st minute by Nani. Cisse’s favorite goalscorer for the tournament bagged a brace in the late stages of the match as Pele scored twice for the final scoreline.
Saturday’s match will be streamed online starting at 3pm ET on the official MLS Twitch and Twitter pages, as well as MLSsoccer.com and the free MLS app. Fans can also find updated results and standings on MLSsoccer.com.
| Date/Result | Opponent | |
|---|---|---|
| W, 3-0 | Cisse vs. JKO (New England) | |
| W, 2-1 | Cisse vs. RCTIDThiago (Portland) | |
| W, 9-1 | Cisse vs. Crew96Skamzz (Columbus) | |
| L, 2-0 | Cisse vs. AlanAvi (FC Dallas) | |
| W, 6-1 | Cisse vs. XBLEU (Austin FC) | |
| L, 3-1 | Cisse vs. NYCChris (New York City FC) | |
| W, 6-3 | Cisse vs. Benr (San Jose) | |
| D, 2-2 | Cisse vs. GSGXSFC (Seattle) | |
| D, 3-3 | Cisse vs. Alekzandur (Sporting Kansas City) | |
| W, 3-1 | Cisse vs. FCC Fiddle (FC Cincinnati) | |
| D, 2-2 | Cisse vs. Maloney (Orlando City SC) | |
| W, 4-3 | Cisse vs. Mehdibob (Montreal) | |
| W, 3-1 | Cisse vs. STL City SC Hasib (St. Louis) | |
| W, 4-1 | Cisse vs. JordyReyes (Houston) |
