FC Cincinnati scored two timely goals in stoppage time and put on some clutch defense for a big win in the Leagues Cup.Cincinnati shut out Pumas UNAM 2-0 in their second group-stage game of the Leagues Cup Aug. 7 in front of 20,767 fans at TQL Stadium. Pavel Bucha and Kenji Mboma Dem scored in stoppage time in each half to give the team an important two-goal win.The Orange and Blue are now 2-0 in the tournament and plus-4 in goal differential (5-1). Cincinnati hosts Altas FC (0-2) in the final group-stage game 8 p.m. Aug. 11.Certainlya good result on a warm night, said FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan. I think wewere just a little bit off in certainly some attacking areas.Lookedlike there was some fatigue there, even with some fresh bodies.Gotreallyhumid andmaybe didn'tfeel that way for everybody, but I think the guys at somepointwere feeling it a little bit.Here are some takeaways from the win.How is FC Cincinnati faring in the Leagues Cup? Charlotte and Columbus also improved to 2-0 on Aug. 7. There are 15 remaining games in Round 2 of the group phase, 13 of them Aug. 8-9, so its impossible to say where Cincinnati stands. However, the two wins give them a chance to control their own destiny against Atlas.In the first round of the group stage, 10 of 18 MLS teams won in regulation. Seven of them, including Cincinnati, won by two goals, and two of them won by three goals. Charlotte was one of those and is currently plus-5.If round two turns out similarly, there could be a major scrum for the four spots in round three, which will be Aug. 11-13. Noonan acknowledged postgame that 9 points might not be enough.FC Cincinnati gets first clean sheet in 10 gamesEvan Louro had four saves and played well in chaotic situations in the goal box.I think we were just all on the same page and communicated reallywell, Louro said. People were sliding for blocks and stuff like that. I thinkwe justall werereally good.Pumas generated a decent amount of chances and had an expected-goal number of 2.1 to only 1.2 for Cincinnati. But the visitors could never quite the right touch on the ball or the accuracy on a shot attempt they needed as they were shut out for the second time in the tournament.Cincinnati posted its first shutout in 10 games since April 25, when they won 2-0 over Red Bull New York at TQL Stadium. Cincy now has six clean sheets, four of them in international competition.It'snice tohave kepta clean sheet, Noonan said. We relied on a couple big moments in saves from Evan and then they missed a couple.Soitdidn'tfeel like we were in complete control all game long because there are games where youdon'tkeep a clean sheet and you have better defensive performances than that. SoI'mpleased that we kept a clean sheet, but I do know that there was a lot that could have been improved to prevent some of those dangerous looks that they had.But still nice to see a zero as far as goals conceded.It'sbeen a while.Miles Robinson started in the middle of the back line with Andrei Chirila and Kyle Smith on the sides.I thought Miles and Kyle were outstanding today, Noonan said. Ender (Echenique) made really key plays for us there as well.Not just that final action, he was one of our threats to stretch the field, made some really key plays on the back post defensively.Pumas just missed high on a header in the 29th minute that would have given them the lead.Pumas missed a golden opportunity to tie it in the 72nd minute. A Cincy turnover at midfield put Pumas in transition. Louro blocked a close-in shot. Francisco Cordova had open space on the rebound but shot over the crossbar.Pumas had 16 shots, four on target to 14 and 4 for Cincinnati.I think between this game and the last game, even the San Jose game,I think thoseare threereally goodteams andthey'redangerous, Louro said. Obviously ithasn'tbeen where we wanted it to be, defensively speaking, but I think the stuff that we worked on, it'scoming to fruition. Andwe'regetting our guys back in consistent minutes and stuff like that.We'vegot a lot of injuries, honestly a lot of unlucky bounces and stuff like that. But at the end of the day,it'sall going to sort itself out.Louros opposite number was Keylor Navas, a 39-year old who starred for European powers Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.I grewupa Madrid fan my whole life, Louro said. My dad's a Madrid fan.So obviously it was really cool between this year playing Kaylor Navas and last year playing Sergio Ramos (with Monterrey).It'sobviously a full circle moment for me.Sofor how cool it is,I'mjust gladwe got the win.How FC Cincinnati scored its goalsPavel Bucha scored in first-half stoppage time. He dribbled into space in the middle of the 18 and fired a rocket that Pumas keeper Keilor Navas probably should have saved but the ball bounced off him a couple of times.It was Buchas second goal in the tournament and sixth of the season. It is his 19th in a Cincinnati uniform, tying Alvaro Barreal and Yuya Kubo for eighth in club history. Danni Konig and Emmanuel Ledesma are tied for sixth with 22. It is also Buchas fifth career goal in the Leagues Cup, tying Brandon Vazquezs club record.Evander notched his 13th assist and 32nd with Cincy, second in club history.Buchas goal narrowly prevented Cincinnatis first 0-0 first half in a game since April 11 at Toronto. Both games against Toronto this season were scoreless at the break, as was Cincys early 1-0 loss at Minnesota.Cincy put it away in second-half stoppage time. Right after clearing a cross in their 18, Cincinnati ran in transition. Ender Echenique fought to control the ball at midfield and got it to Kenji Mboma Dem, who fired a rocket inside the left post from 20 yards. That was Mboma Dems eighth goal of the season.Noonan praised Echeniques toughness and speed to set up that goal as well as his defense in the goal box.I think a lot of creditgoes to the coaches and to Coach Noonan for howthey'vetaught me, Echenique said through an interpreter. I thinkthey'vedone a lot to teach me a lot of different things on the defensive side of the ball. And I thinkI'mbeginning to be much more comfortable on both sides of the field.Noonan earns 100th career win with FC CincinnatiNoonan picked up his 100th career win as FC Cincinnati head coach. Hired for his first head coaching role in 2022, his overall record is 100-52-47. His teams are now 24-12-11 on two days rest.It'snot something I search out, butit'sa testament to the body of workfrom us together, Noonan said. Its all of us working together to try to achieve our goals and Idon'twant to diminish it.I'mvery appreciative, butI'mappreciative because of how you get there with the people that you work with and staff members, players. This is areally goodgroupand I appreciate those relationships and that always brings out the best inthe individuals I appreciate thatit'sdone in front of our fans who give us incredible support.Sowhile Idon'ttake it lightly,it'snot the end goal. We know what the end goal is andthat'ssharing in the team moments with trophies, andthat will always be No. 1 on our priority list.Said Evan Louro: A hundred wins kind ofspeaksfor itself. I think we all really believe in Pat. I think we all really trust Pat. He's given us all the messages and all the game plans along with the staff, and I thinkthat'sparamount to this club's success."This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati improves to 2-0 in Leagues Cup with win over Pumas