A 5-0 defeat away to Philadelphia Union II at the start of July marked a low point for Toronto FC II.
The side responded well, taking a 2-0 lead against Eastern Conference leaders New York Red Bulls II in their next outing, only to concede twice in the second half after a red card and lose the shootout for the extra point at York Lions Stadium. One goal losses away to NYCFC II and at home against Chicago Fire II would follow.
At risk of falling out of the playoff race, Toronto battled to a pair of road wins, come-from-behind victories over both Columbus Crew 2 and Chattanooga FC before dropping a result at home against Atlanta United 2. They then found a way to win against FC Cincinnati 2 in a virtual six-pointer before returning to Philadelphia.
Antone Bossenberry gave the Young Reds an early lead in that second meeting; Philadelphia responded twice before the break through Kellan LeBlanc and Jordan Griffin before Michael Sullivan equalized early in the second half. Toronto would earn the extra point in the shootout following the 2-2 draw.
“The biggest thing looking at that gap between the first Philly game, where it wasn't a great result from us, wasn't a great showing, until going back there and getting a good result was how much everyone buckled down,” said Michael Sullivan at the end of August. “The way that we left Philly, the taste in your mouth, you're obviously not happy, but there's an even bigger sting when it's a loss like that.”
“The way that we came into practice the following Monday was, ‘Hey guys, listen, we've got a choice: we're either going to go and push for the playoffs this season or we're going to let the season slip away,’” he recalled. “One of the things Mark Fisher said in the locker room is you only get one chance – all of these guys are only going to be together once for a season, that's it. You never know which direction guys are going to go.”
“Guys really took hold of that and said, ‘Alright, we're going to make something happen,’” Sullivan added. “And the games after that started to show it.”
Learning to pick yourself up from a defeat and move on to the next one is part of learning to be a professional.
“One thing I really like about this group, and this club in general, is the players that we have here are very ambitious and very resilient,” said Adisa De Rosario. “They're able to work through ups and downs.”
“That first game against Philly was a moment for us to take a step back and figure out what we need to work on,” he continued. “Those small little gaps that we need to fill and I feel like we did that – we very much did that.”
Details decide games.
A red card and the inability to see out a lead against Red Bulls, chances not taken away to NYCFC, an indirect free kick and a penalty kick against Chicago, moments that turned otherwise solid performances into dropped points.
“Something that G [TFC II Head Coach Gianni Cimini] really preaches to us is: yeah, you can go and you can execute, you can control the game. You can control it with the ball, you can control it defensively, but if you're not having that micro focus in every single facet of the game, teams are going to be able to punish you,” recounted Sullivan. “If you leave them a chance to sneak one past you, even if it's against the flow of the game, then the game turns on its head. The ability for all 11 guys on the field and the guys on the bench to stay locked in and ready to go in every action is crucial.”
That is a message the group has heard all season long; it is drilled into them in training by the coaching staff, the leaders in the group echo that sentiment and help the younger players brace for that challenge.
“In training, the level is high, so it prepares young guys, older guys, doesn't matter, mentally and physically, for any type of fight,” said De Rosario. “The intensity in training is extremely high every single day.”
“Gianni is a phenomenal coach when it comes to driving the intensity, so he helps us out a lot, and then we have good leaders on the team that always support the young guys,” he continued. “We have a good chemistry within the locker room – it's like a family, honestly.”
“That's really healthy for the team and that helps with the young guys too,” De Rosario added. “Sometimes you get into teams and the young guys are excluded, but no, we do everything together. We play and train and everything as brothers. I feel like that correlates to our results and how we play on the field.”
That was evident away to Columbus and Chattanooga, where a stunning strike from range in the 59th minute against Crew 2 and a well-crafted team move moments before half-time from Chattanooga only lit a fire under TFC II.
Toronto responded five minutes later in Ohio and needed just four minutes of the second half to draw level in Tennessee and would go on to find a way to win – just like they did against Cincinnati where an own-goal proved the difference in a 1-0 win.
“Especially coming down the final stretch of the year, you’ve got to find ways to win,” underlined Sullivan. “With Cincinnati, the own goal, it's unlucky for them, but it doesn't happen if we don't execute: the ball from Marko [Stojadinovic] to push Nate [Edwards] behind.”
“We spoke at half-time, ‘Nate we want to get the early cross in,’ Nate executes on his part and it puts the ball in a dangerous area,” he continued. “Yes, it's luck, but it comes off of things that we've talked about for weeks and months beforehand and now it comes down to the execution piece. We execute it and we get the ball in the back of the net.”
“You're going to have times where it's not a pretty win, it's nothing to write home about,” Sullivan smiled. “But end of the day, if you get one in the win column, that's big for the guys.”
Said De Rosario: “All this starts in training and the way we approach the week and the games at the end of the week.”
“You’ve got to prepare for four or five days to even get to those 90 minutes, on the field for an hour, two hours, you’ve just got to grind it out,” he continued. “This team, they all have that dog in them, ready to come out at any time, ready to fight for the badge.”
The team needs their leaders to step up, to be an example during these crucial stretches. Both De Rosario and Sullivan have done so.
“A top player, a top leader,” said De Rosario of Sullivan. “He brings a different mentality coming from school – I find that the school boys, they have that fighting mentality because their season at school was quick and you’ve got to make every single moment count.”
“The level and the energy that he brought to the team, not just Mikey, all the new guys, was very positive and contagious, everybody picks up off it – that shows leadership – and that is very important for teams, having those core guys that are the voice in the locker room or the voice on the field, that the other guys are able to respect,” he underlined. “Mikey, Mark Fisher, when they speak, guys listen. And their on field work ethic earns more respect as well.”
Sullivan, in his first season with the club, has been a driving force for TFC II all year long. He made his First Team debut against the Portland Timbers on June 28.
“It was a surreal moment to get the chance to come on and to be a part of a game where we get the 3-0 result,” he said. “To be on the field when Derrick [Etienne Jr.] gets the third was fantastic.”
“It was a great feeling being in the locker room afterwards, seeing the guys – that's a big team in the Western Conference that just came in here and a 3-0 win is big – but the best part about it was my mom got to be there, got to see all of it, and I got to see her after the game,” continued Sullivan. “It's definitely something that when you take yourself out of the moment, you're looking back in five-ten years.... Yeah that's going to be something I tell my kids about and I was really happy she could be there for it.”
A first taste of the BMO Field roar.
“It’s sweet,” Sullivan beamed. “The run out after me and Matty [Longstaff] shook hands and I was going out on the field, it was loud.”
De Rosario has been a calming presence at the back, helping to orchestrate the defense and pulling off jaw dropping saves when his team needed him most.
“There hasn't been a game where he hasn’t made one or two incredible saves that either keeps us in the game, wins us the game, or gives us the chance to say, ‘Alright guys, we’ve got to fix something, then go and find that goal that pushes us over the top,’” said Sullivan of De Rosario. “He's been an incredible leader, a nice voice at the back that's commanding, but he knows where guys need to be.”
“He tells guys, ‘This is what I need. I've seen it’ – especially with him signing the First Team contract and being around them every day. He's learning from the best with SJ [Sean Johnson] in there,” he continued. “So he sees it, he gets to bring a little piece of that to us, and it's been awesome to have him between the pipes.”
The 20-year-old goalkeeper, in his third season in MLS NEXT Pro, continues to improve in all facets of the game – his seven clean sheets have him tied for the league lead.
“Right now I'm still in a point of development – well, I’ll always be in a point of development – but I'm just sharpening my tools, being patient for any moment, and when I get my moment trying to take advantage of it,” said De Rosario. “Mentality wise, I'm very happy with where I am. I'm in a good place, I’m pushing myself every day, and pushing the players around me. I train with two quality goalkeepers every day, so to be able to learn and pick up things from them and sharpen my game has been very, very helpful.”
“A lot more work to do,” he exhaled. “But I feel like I'm on track and pushing forward.”
He represented TFC II at the MLS All-Star Game, taking part in the 2025 edition of Goalie Wars.
“You just set it up exactly as you see on the TV, just two goals and you’ve got to score,” De Rosario said of his preparation for the unique competition. “Unfortunately, I didn't score enough, but it was a great experience, a great opportunity, and great to be recognized as one of the top goalkeepers in the league.”
No doubt both will be required to continue doing what they’ve done all season to help Toronto make the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
Four games remain in the 2025 regular season.
Toronto face New England Revolution II on Friday in Massachusetts before hosting Columbus and Philadelphia later this month. The season ends on October 5 where TFC will travel to New York for another clash with Michael Bradley’s Red Bulls II.
The experience they’ve gleaned from the nine-match stretch between games at Philadelphia will be invaluable going forward.
“The great thing about this league is you get tested week in and week out,” said Sullivan. “We had the opportunity of playing, I think it was one, three and five [in the Eastern Conference] with Philly, the Red Bulls, and Chattanooga on the table in that span. It was, ‘How are you going to stack up?’ because these are teams you're going to see come October and November.”
“And the way that the boys came out and performed – the Chattanooga one on the road was a great result to get,” he continued. “Whenever you get a chance to test yourself against the ‘big dogs’ of the Eastern Conference and you can go and put results together and put performances together, it's a great thing for the morale of the guys.”
Toronto fears no one.
“There's a lot of really good teams in the league,” levelled De Rosario. “Those are not teams that we fear or worry about, but most definitely are teams that we respect and we have to come in with the right mentality, knowing that they have quality and could be dangerous at times.”
“But on the team the mentality, as a collective, is top,” he said of his side. “Doesn't matter who we're playing against, we're always ready, up for the fight, and up for the challenge. We're not really worried about who we're playing because we have a solid foundation together.”
Having closed August with a 3-0 win over NYCFC in Cimini’s 100th game at the helm of TFC II, the club heads into the final month of action in seventh place in the Eastern Conference on 36 points. Chattanooga and Huntsville lie five and seven points ahead, respectively, while snapping at their heels are Orlando City B and Carolina Core FC (three points), NYCFC II (four points), Atlanta United 2 (five points), Crown Legacy FC and FC Cincinnati 2 (seven points).
Seven teams separated by seven points battling over the final two playoff spots in the East. It’s going to be an exciting month.
What’s on their minds heading into this final stretch?
“It doesn't matter how the wins look,” underlined Sullivan. “You’ve got to find a way to get three points.”
And Adisa?
“Win,” smiled De Rosario. “That's, honestly, the only thing that can be on your mind.”
“Win and you gotta go, you gotta go, you gotta go, and don't look back, don't question anything, go full throttle to the end of the season. You’ve just got to keep that mentality going,” he closed. “The fact that we’re in that position and we play with that mentality, I feel like we're going to have a good finish this season and a good playoff run.”
