Toronto FC II ended their two-game road trip with a tough loss at the hands of the Charlotte Independence on Saturday night.

The home side opened the scoring on a penalty kick as ‘keeper Gianluca Catalano was called for a foul in the 18-year box. Veteran Jorge Herrera converted the spot kick to give the Jacks the lead. Neither side had any noteworthy scoring chances for the remainder of the first half.

However, just a few minutes into the second half Charlotte doubled their lead as Eamon Zayed got his head to a cross and did well to directed it past Catalano.

Laurent Guyot made a 56th-minute double substitution bringing on youngsters Luca Petrasso and Jordan Faria. The move paid almost instant dividends as Petrasso played Kyle Bjornethun down the wing, who then swung in a great cross for Faria to direct home for his first career USL goal.

The Young Reds showed great fight to stay in the match and had a few looks at an equalizer. Unfortunately, their efforts went unrewarded and the full-time whistle blew with Charlotte taking the final 2-1.

Toronto FC II return to action in a week when they host the Tampa Bay Rowdies in an afternoon affair at BMO Field. Kickoff is set for 2:00 PM.