Toronto FC II (8W-9L-4T, 28 points) came up short in a 3-1 loss against Atlanta United 2 (4W-7L-8T, 22 points) at York Lions Stadium on Friday evening.
TFC II Head Coach Gianni Cimini made six changes from the side that defeated Chattanooga FC on the road last weekend. Shafique Wilson, Ythallo, Richard Chukwu, Antone Bossenberry, Patrick McDonald and Joshua Nugent all came into the starting eleven for Adisa De Rosario, Lazar Stefanovic, Stefan Kapor, Lucas Olguin, Michael Sullivan and Jahmarie Nolan.
Atlanta United 2 took an early lead when Patrick Weah ran onto Ronan Wynne’s long pass and lashed the ball into the roof of the net in the seventh minute.
The visitors doubled their advantage in the 20th minute when Ryan Carmichael rifled home from Gabriel Wessel’s clever through ball.
Atlanta added a third in the 61st minute when substitute Rodrigo Neri curled a direct free-kick into the bottom right corner to make it 3-0.
TFC II pulled one back shortly after when Markus Cimermancic’s well-timed run into the box was capped with a precise side-foot finish.
The 69th minute goal was the Kitchener, Ontario native’s second goal in as many matches, following last Saturday’s opener against Chattanooga FC.
The Young Reds pushed hard in search of a late comeback but their second-half strike proved only a consolation as Atlanta United 2 held on to the 3-1 scoreline and all three points from York Lions Stadium.
Toronto FC II will look to return to winning ways when they host FC Cincinnati 2 on Friday, August 15. Kick-off from York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ontario is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and and will be available to watch on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Scoring Summary:
ATL – Patrick Weah 7’ (Ronan Wynne)
ATL – Ryan Carmichael 20’ (Gabriel Wesseh)
ATL – Rodrigo Neri 61’
TOR – Markus Cimermancic 69’
Misconduct Summary:
ATL – DD Sibrian 45+2’ (caution)
ATL – Ronan Wynne 57’ (caution)
TOR – Micah Chisholm 64’ (caution)
ATL – Adyn Torres 90+5’ (caution)
Lineups:
TORONTO FC II – Shafique Wilson; Reid Fisher (Lucas Olguin 59’), Ythallo, Richard Chukwu (Tim Fortier 59’); Nathaniel Edwards, Marko Stojadinovic (C), Markus Cimermancic, Antone Bossenberry, Patrick McDonald (Micah Chisholm 46’); Hassan Ayari (Jahmarie Nolan 73’), Joshua Nugent (Michael Sullivan 78’)
Substitutes Not Used: Benjamin Lowry, Elijah Roche, Stefan Kapor, Costa Iliadis
ATLANTA UNITED 2 – Josh Cohen; Ronan Wynne, Toto Majub, Salvatore Mazzaferro (C); Ryan Carmichael, Adyn Torres, DD Sibrian, Dominik Chong Qui; Gabriel Wesseh, Santiago Pita, Patrick Weah (Rodrigo Neri 50’)
