Toronto FC II (5W-5L-2T, 17 points) defeated Inter Miami CF II (5W-6L-3T, 18 points) by a 2-1 scoreline to record their first come-from-behind victory of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season, courtesy of a pair of second-half goals at York Lions Stadium on Wednesday evening.
TFC II Head Coach Gianni Cimini made seven changes from the side that started against New York City FC II a fortnight ago with Adam Pearlman, Lazar Stefanovic, Theo Rigopoulos, Markus Cimermancic, Andrei Dumitru, Julian Altobelli and Charlie Sharp making way for Marko Stojadinovic, Ythallo, Mark Fisher, Lucas Olguin, Hassan Ayari, Matthew Catavolo and Dékwon Barrow.
Inter Miami CF II opened the scoring early through Ryan Carmichael with their first shot of the match in the 11th minute.
Mark Fisher, wearing the captain’s armband for the first time this season, almost drew TFC II level when his glancing header from Hassan Ayari’s free-kick crashed off the crossbar in the 38th minute, leaving his side trailing by one heading into the break.
The Young Reds flew out of the traps coming out of the half-time interval, responding with two quick-fire goals in the space of the three second-half minutes.
TFC II first found their equalizer when Miami’s Israel Boatwright nodded into his own net from Hassan Ayari’s corner delivery in the 49th minute.
Three minutes later, Lucas Olguin picked up Nathaniel Edwards’ well-timed run with a perfectly weighed through ball and the Brampton, Ontario native made no mistake with his finish to give his side their first lead of the night. The 52nd minute effort marked Edwards’ first goal for the Young Reds and Olguin’s first assist of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign.
Toronto’s defensive resolve was put to the test soon after but goalkeeper Adisa De Rosario was on hand to make a fantastic diving save to deny Ryan Carmichael’s goal-bound header in the 57th minute.
Despite the visitors’ best efforts to find an equalizer in the final 30 minutes, the Young Reds closed out the match in an efficient manner and nearly added a third through Mark Fisher in stoppage time, en route to securing the 2-1 victory and all three points at York Lions Stadium. With the performance, TFC II recorded their first come-from-behind victory of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season and the club’s first since beating New York Red Bulls II by a score of 2-1 at MSU Soccer Park on August 9, 2023.
Next up, the Young Reds return to host Philadelphia Union II in MLS NEXT Pro action on Sunday, June 30. Kick-off from York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ontario is set for 3:00 p.m. ET and will be available to watch on MLSNEXTPro.com and the MLS YouTube channel.
SCORING SUMMARY
MIA – Ryan Carmichael 11’ (Alejandro Flores De La Paz)
TOR – Israel Boatwright 49’ (own goal)
TOR – Nathaniel Edwards 52’ (Lucas Olguin)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
MIA – Israel Boatwright 29’ (caution)
TOR – Nathaniel Edwards 61’ (caution)
TOR – Charlie Staniland 79’ (caution)
TOR – Theo Rigopoulos 85’ (caution)
LINEUPS
TORONTO FC II – Adisa De Rosario; Marko Stojadinovic, Ythallo, Tristan Pusztahegyi (Markus Cimermancic 68’); Mark Fisher (C), Charlie Staniland, Lucas Olguin, Nathaniel Edwards; Hassan Ayari (Andrei Dumitru 90’), Matthew Catavolo (Theo Rigopoulos 77’), Dékwon Barrow (Luca Accettola 77’)
Substitutes Not Used: Abraham Rodriguez, Noah De Blasis, Richard Chukwu, Kristjan Fortier, Joses Chukwu
INTER MIAMI CF II – Owen Finnerty; Israel Boatwright (C) (Alejo Ristano Castro 69’), Tyler Hall, Santiago Garcia (Santiago Morales 74’), Samuel Basabe; Ricardo Montenegro, Tye Barton, Jose Casas de Abadal; Alejandro Flores De La Paz, Ryan Carmichael, Cohen Yuval (Bryan Destin 69’)
Substitutes Not Used: Brett Kaminski, Giovanni Ferraina Marchetti, Cesar Abadia-Reda, Joseph Convers, Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida
MEDIA NOTES
- Nathaniel Edwards scored his first goal for Toronto FC II, becoming the fourth different player to open his account for the Young Reds during the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season.
- Lucas Olguin recorded his first assist of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season for TFC II.
- Matthew Catavolo started his first match and Luca Accettola made his first appearance of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season for the Young Reds.
- Toronto FC II recorded their first come-from-behind victory of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season and the club’s first since beating New York Red Bulls II by a score of 2-1 at MSU Soccer Park on August 9, 2023.
- The result also marked TFC II’s first come-from-behind MLS NEXT Pro regular season home victory since the club beat Inter Miami CF II by a score of 6-1 at York Lions Stadium on July 21, 2023.
