The U-17 Kia Toronto FC Academy dropped their first match of the 2016 Generation adidas Cup on Friday, falling 2-1 to the U-17 Mexican national team.

Midfielder Josh Moreira had the lone goal for the Young Reds in the first half.

The Kia TFC Academy got off to a great start and nearly scored in the early stages of the match.

Malik Smith met Marko Mandekic’s cross in the box but his header struck the post.

Moreira put the team ahead not too long after.

Shaan Hundal made an excellent run past a few defenders on the edge of the goal line before finding Moreira in the box who calmly side-footed the ball into the back of the net.

Riley Ferrazzo had a great opportunity to add to the lead, but the Mexican keeper got a strong hand on his right-footed volley and knocked it out for a corner.

The opposition came close to tying it up in the dying stages of the first half but their shot hit the wrong side of the post. It did appear that Catalano got his fingertips on the shot.

The second half saw a momentum shift in favour of the Mexicans and they were able to grab the equalizer.

A cross that was hit towards the back post was knocked back into the penalty spot, where the Mexican striker headed it past Catalano.

Captain Klaidi Cela later made a clearance off the goal line – following a scramble from a corner – to keep the score level.

Unfortunately for the Reds, Mexico found the game winner towards the end of the second half.

A Mexican forward latched onto a pass that was knocked over the back line and struck a side-footed shot that Catalano got a piece of, but not enough to keep out.

Shortly after, Malik Smith received his second yellow of the match for obstructing an opposing player, thus putting the Reds down a man.

The ref would blow the whistle a few minutes later to end the match.

“I thought we put in a good performance today, especially in the first half. I thought we really controlled the game [in the first half] but the second half we became a bit disconnected and we allowed the opposition to get the better of us,” said Cela following the team’s loss.

“We’ll learn from our mistakes and move onto the next two games. We just have to make sure we stick to our game plan moving forward,” he added.

The squad will be back at it on Sunday, March 20, as they take on FC Dallas at 4PM ET. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @TFCAcademy for live updates from the tournament.