A few weeks into the new MLS season, the second season is here.
Toronto FC II will kick off the fourth year of MLS NEXT Pro on Sunday when they travel to Northern Kentucky to face FC Cincinnati 2.
Head coach Gianni Cimini and his staff were able to keep a core group in place, but with a raft of players graduating to the first team or seeking pastures new, there will be a ton of new faces in the mix for the Young Reds this season.
International or local, TFC Academy graduates or MLS SuperDraft picks, it’s been a busy week of signings leading into the opener.
Some will be familiar: Brazilian defender Ythallo, on loan from Sao Paulo FC last season, is back; it will be a third campaign with II for 18-year-old Theo Rigopoulos, while fellow Academy defender Stefan Kapor, 15, made his debut last season.
Others will be taking their first steps in the league: 17-year-old TFC Academy forward Joshua Nugent; a pair of Canadian recruits in defender Micah Chisholm, 20, and midfielder Malik Henry, 22, and a trio of TFC draft picks from recent years in defender Reid Fisher, 20, and midfielders Mike Sullivan, 22, and Patrick McDonald, 21.
“We wanted our recruitment to reflect the identity and the ethos of the club moving forward,” outlined Cimini on Thursday. “We put an emphasis on athletic, dynamic, courageous players. When you look at the likes of Malik, Reid Fisher coming into the group, Josh is a young academy kid that has a good profile as a number nine, we're really excited about giving him the opportunities that he needs to develop at the MLS NEXT Pro platform.”
“We're in alignment in terms of what we say we want to be as a club and where we're at right now,” he added. “We're happy with that.”
Fans who watched the first team’s preseason match against Fredrikstad FK in Marbella, Spain would have caught a glimpse of Fisher and Sullivan, who spent much of preseason with the MLS side.
“It's been a long and bumpy road,” reflected Fisher. “Going to San Diego State, I didn't have the first year that I wanted in terms of injuries and stuff. Coming here has been a blessing, really grateful to Sean [Rubio] and Jason [Hernandez], all the people that helped me out along the way. Super excited for what's to come.”
Cimini was asked about Fisher and Sullivan midweek.
“In terms of leadership, Reid, from a defensive standpoint, has some real qualities,” said the TFC II coach. “He anticipates the game well, makes really good decisions, we're going to be much better in the back defensively as things go with him.”
“He's a very good compliment for the likes of Stefan and Ythallo, who are more ball-playing centre-backs – not to say that Reid can't play with his feet, he’s quite good with his feet as well, but his superpower is the defending aspect,” Cimini continued. “And Mikey is really a versatile midfielder that is an organizer, covers ground. His main benefits are off the ball, but we're improving his game on the ball, making him more confident to receive the ball in half spaces, play forward a little bit more.”
Fisher, by his own description, is a defender’s defender.
“I’m very gritty,” he smiled. “I love defense over everything. Love cleansheets, love getting in a hard tackle. I'm a pretty competitive guy when it comes to stuff like that.”
“Definitely a communicator,” the 20-year-old continued. “I love to lead my guys, make sure we're all moving as one, moving as a unit. And then, obviously, every once in a while, I love to get up on corners and smash a goal in.”
He has big aspirations for the year ahead.
“Winning games, developing as a player,” Fisher began. “I'd love to make my MLS debut, hopefully sign a first team contract before the end of the year, and just try and grow as much as I can and make a name for myself within the club and within the league.”
Every team sees turnover of some degree in the off-season. The conveyor belt along the player development pathway, from the academy to MLS NEXT Pro, doesn’t stop. Younger players will always be in need of those valuable development minutes.
Beyond the players signed to NEXT Pro contracts, expect several TFC Academy players to see regular action throughout the year.
“It's the challenges of a second team,” said Cimini of the rotating cast at his disposal. “This is for providing minutes to players. It’s a case of turn over the roster and see what we can get. It does make it difficult, but it's the nature of the second team.”
“This year has been particularly difficult because our draft picks [Fisher, Sullivan, McDonald] were with the first team and our young prospects were with Canada [at the Concacaf U-17 Men’s Qualifiers], so this is the second week we've trained together as a team,” outlined the coach. “I don't expect things to be flying off the bat.”
“Fourth year coaching in the second team environment, you learn to accept that this is the case,” balanced Cimini. “You know the environment is not going to change for you, you have to change for the environment.”
The side played four preseason matches – against League1 sides Simcoe County Rovers FC and CS Saint-Laurent and Syracuse University – as well as Detroit City FC of the USL Championship, led by former Red Danny Dichio.
“It was great to see him, the banter and just to reconnect,” smiled Cimini. “He has Jay Chapman playing as his holding midfielder. So it was nice to see [them both].”
Toronto will begin the year with four straight away matches – at Cincinnati and then away to Chicago Fire II (March 13), New England Revolution II (March 28), and Inter Miami CF II (April 10) before the home opener at York Lions Stadium on April 18 against Carolina Core FC.
“Really excited to see how things are going to unfold as the season presents itself,” said Cimini. “Really happy with the composition of the group. We've got some real leaders coming in from the college game and some good young talent coming up.”
Game on.
“It's nice to get in the swing of things and get to the in-season grind,” relished Fisher. “I'm really excited.”
