Philadelphia Union esports competitor CisseSZN concluded the first week of online qualifiers of eMLS League Series One presented by Coca-Cola with three more positive results that has him in the hunt for advancing to the knockout rounds.
The 23-year-old turned to the beautiful game’s all-time leading goalscorer with Brazilian Icon Pele to pick up seven points on Wednesday night as he bagged nine of the 15 goals scored. Cisse finds himself in sixth place and only five points out from the top of the table with six matches left in League Series One qualifiers and leads the league with 29 goals scored.
Cisse started night two with an early clash against the day one leader xbLeU and jumped out to an early lead thanks to a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo for a 2-0 lead. Austin FC, Major League Soccer’s newest addition, could have gained momentum with a 38th minute goal to make it 2-1 but Cisse answered before the halftime break as Kylian Mbappe showed off his pace by running down the endline and cutting it back to Pele for a 3-1 lead.
With just two-goal lead, it was back and forth action as both competitors fought for the next goal that came via Pele in the 71st minute to lock up the three points for Cisse and hand ATX their first loss in eMLS via a 6-1 margin.
After suffering a 3-1 setback to NYCFC’s Didychrislito, Cisse faced adversity with a 2-0 deficit just 10 minutes into his contest against San Jose’s BENR. Cisse battled back with strikes from Ronaldo and Pele to tie things up in the 37th minute. With halftime looming, SJ regained momentum it seemed with a 43rd minute goal but Cisse took control on the final first-half possession as Patrick Vieira hit Pele in stride to make it 3-3 at the break.
Cisse turned on the offense in the final 45 minutes with Ronaldo getting yet another brace as he outran NYRB defender Aaron Long to make it 4-3 with less than 30 minutes left. LAFC forward Carlos Vela came off the bench and bagged the insurance goal while Pele completed his second hat trick of the night with a long-range chipper to wrap up the 6-3 win.
The final match of the night came had all the fireworks as Cisse overcame a pair of one-goal deficits to draw Seattle’s Adrian, 2-2. The Sounders jumped out the early lead in the 20th minute but once again Pele found the back of the net for Cisse to make it 1-1. Seattle took momentum into the break however with a 40th minute goal from Brazi’s other legendary forward Ronaldo. With minutes left in the final half, Cisse delivered the biggest goal of the night from who else but Pele. Mbappe began the tying goal with a threaded pass to outside back Chris Lima to open the counter attack and as the defense raced in, he riffled a cross that was smashed home by Cisse.
Cisse looks to secure a berth into the knockout round when play resumes on Tuesday, January 12th when he faces Sporting Kansas City, FC Cincinnati, Orlando City and Montreal.
| 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) | |
| Jan. 12 (8:30pm) | Cisse vs. Alekzandur (Sporting Kansas City) | |
| Jan. 12 (9:00pm) | Cisse vs. FCC Fiddle (FC Cincinnati) | |
| Jan. 12 (9:30pm) | Cisse vs. Maloney (Orlando City SC) | |
| Jan. 12 (10:00pm) | Cisse vs. Mehdibob (Montreal) | |
| Jan. 13 (8:30pm) | Cisse vs. STL City SC Hasib (St. Louis) | |
| Jan. 13 (9:30pm) | Cisse vs. JordyReyes (Houston) |
