Kevin Denkey mighta scored the 2025 MLS Goal of the Year for FC Cincinnati | OneFootball

If you're unfamiliar with FC Cincinnati's newest starting center forward, well, you won't be for long if his latest acrobatics are a sign of things to come.

Kevin Denkey scored his fifth and sixth goals for Cincy in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City Saturday. The latter was a stunning bicycle kick that may be the early leader in the clubhouse in the 2025 MLS Goal of the Year competition.

Bicycle kicks almost always look spectacular because of the very nature of putting one's foot over one's head. However, the actual degree of difficulty can vary significantly based on how fast and in what direction the ball is traveling, what kind of sight the bicycle kicker has before taking the shot, and what kind of placement he needs to beat the goalkeeper.

Denkey may have had a clear view of the ball coming in from the right flank, but Luca Orellano's cross was driven at a considerable pace and height, and in a direction that it was coming across Denkey's body. And Denkey's finish required him to find a relatively narrow window to beat the reaction of goalkeeper John Pulskamp.

Just watch, maybe with a hand beneath your jaw to keep it from hitting the floor:

Return to the bike shop

A YouTube review shows this isn't the only bike the Togolese player has scored in his well-traveled career.

Before Denkey became a regular fixture for Cercle Brugge in Belgium's Juliper League, he came up in the Nimes academy, where he scored on an overhead kick in a 2019-2020 Ligue 1 fixture against Stade Brestois.

Meanwhile, there have already been a few other bikes of note this year. D.C. United easily has the most dramatic, Jacob Murrell's stoppage-time leveler in a 2-2 draw at the Chicago Fire back on March 1 (and an honorable mention 44th-minute contribution from Joao Peglow that stood as the winner in a 2-1 victory at the New York Red Bulls last Saturday.)

While Denkey's goal at the time was not as dramatic, it eventually proved the winner after Sporting KC's late consolation tally. And in terms of technical elements, it was in a class alone in 2025 so far.