FC Cincinnati Midfielder Luciano Acosta Named MLS Player of the Month for May 2024

Acosta becomes the fifth player in MLS history to win at least five MLS Player of the Month honors

NEW YORK (Friday, May 31, 2024) – FC Cincinnati midfielder Luciano Acosta was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Month for May 2024.

Acosta led MLS with eight goal contributions (three goals, five assists) during the month of May and his five assists were tied for the most among all players. Cincinnati was the only team in MLS to win five games in the month and held a seven-game winning streak from April 20 to May 25, tying for the second-longest single-season streak in league history. Within May, Acosta became the first player in club history to record a goal contribution in nine consecutive matches and the eighth player in MLS history to reach at least 10 assists in four straight seasons. On Matchday 15, Acosta scored in the first half against St. Louis CITY SC, which marked his 150th career goal contribution, joining Kei Kamara as the only active players to accomplish the feat.

The 2023 Landon Donovan MLS MVP also proved clutch in the month, providing either the game-winning goal or game-winning assist in all five of Cincinnati’s victories in May. This season, Acosta is tied for second in MLS in assists (10), tied for first in game-winning assists (four), and has produced the most game-winning goals of any player (five). Cincinnati currently sits on 33 points (10-3-3 record), just one behind Inter Miami CF in the Supporters’ Shield standings with a game in-hand. The Orange and Blue are on a four-game road winning streak and can become the fifth club in MLS history to win five straight road games (excluding the shootout era).

Dating back to 2023, Acosta has now won three of the last seven Player of the Month honors, and this is now the fifth time he has won the award in his career. Acosta joins Landon Donovan (six), Josef Martínez (six), Carlos Ruiz (six), and Chris Wondolowski (seven) as the only players to earn at least five Player of the Month honors in his career. He is also the first player to win four Player of the Month awards in a three-year span since Martínez did so from 2018-19 with Atlanta United. For the first time in MLS history, three players from South America have won each of the first three Player of the Month honors in a season.

Acosta and Cincinnati will return to MLS action after the FIFA International Window when they travel to face the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, June 15 at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

MLS Player of the Month is voted upon by a panel of select national media members in a process conducted by MLS Communications.