Kévin Denkey scores early, rookie Evan Louro earns 1st clean sheet as Cincinnati tops Red Bulls 1-0

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HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Kévin Denkey scored from long distance early in the first half and Evan Louro made it stand up for his first clean sheet as FC Cincinnati defeated the New York Red Bulls 1-0 on Saturday night.

Denkey took a pass from Brenner Souza in the 12th minute and found the net for the 15th time in his first season in the league. Brenner's assist was his first of the season in his fifth appearance.

Louro totaled two saves to earn his first shutout in his fourth start of the season for Cincinnati (19-9-5) and the fifth of his career.

Carlos Coronel did not have a save for the Red Bulls (12-14-7), who won't be playing in the postseason after 15 straight appearances. The Red Bulls were eliminated last week after a 3-2 loss to New York City FC.

Cincinnati is currently second in the Eastern Conference, three points in front of Inter Miami, which has a match in hand.

NYCFC and Charlotte are tied with 56 points in the battle for fourth place in the East and home-field advantage in the best-of-three first round.

The Red Bulls fall to 10-4-3 at home, while Cincinnati improves to 11-4-2 on the road. Cincinnati and expansion side San Diego FC are the only clubs with 10-plus wins on the road this season.

Cincinnati closes out the regular season at home against CF Montreal on Oct. 18, while the Red Bulls travel to play the Columbus Crew.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer