A new era of sorts opened on Saturday night in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as Michael Rabasca became the third coach in Toronto FC II history as his side took on Penn FC.
The new era started strong as Ayo Akinola scored just 13 minutes into the match after picking up a great pass from Mariano Mino and sliding home his second of the season.
Gianluca Catalano held strong in goal to see out the first half at 1-0. The young keeper came up with an impressive stop to deny a long-range effort from Aaron Dennis.
However, Penn FC came out early in the second half and dominated play for the first 15 minutes. The hosts scored twice off a pair of headers from Ken Tribbett to take a 2-1 lead.
TFC II showed good fight to pull back even as substitute Malik Johnson laid a ball off for Jordan Hamilton who sent home a sweet left footed shot past Penn FC keeper Romuald Peiser to even it a two.
Both teams traded chances in the final 15 minutes, but it was a controversial call with just seconds remaining that ultimately determined the match.
Robert Boskovic was called for a handball in the box, which on replay looked to strike the defender in the side of the shoulder. (Skip to 2:20 in the video below to see for yourself.) Never the less, Jerry Ortiz stepped up to the spot and beat Catalano to his right to steal the three points for the home side with the last kick of the match.
TFC II falls to 0-11-2 on the season. They return to action in a week when they play host to Indy Eleven in Rochester. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM at Marina Auto Stadium on Saturday.
