August 30, 2015 USL Pro--Toronto FC II vs Charlotte Indepedence (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday August 30, 2015 USL game between Toronto FC II and Charlotte Independence played at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 3:00pm.

Toronto FC II (all red, white names and numbers)

.......................40 Quillan Roberts
32 Wesley Charpie...33 Skylar Thomas...38 Clement Simonin...44 Mark Anthony Kaye
48 Raheem Edwards...20 Chris Mannella (cpt)...45 Luca Uccello...14 Jay Chapman
..............61 Bubacarr Jobe...41 Molham Babouli

Subs:...30 Filippo Di bennardo (gk)...22 Jordan Hamilton (fwd)...31 Sal Bernal (fwd)...34 Manuel Aparicio (mid)
...42 Massimo Mirabelli (mid)...59 Emeka Onanye (def)...62 Reshon Phillip (fwd)
team officials:...head coach Jason Bent

Charlotte Independence (all white, blue names and numbers)

........................12 John Berner
25 Henry Kalungi...12 John Berner...2 Mechack Jerome...4 Patrick Slogic
36 Paolo Del Piccolo...6 Andrew Ribeira (cpt)...19 Enzo Martinez...57 Carols Alvarez
..............16 Daniel Jackson...20 Tomasz Zahorski

Subs:...17 Eric Ati (gk)...7 Jack Metcalf (mid)...8 Caleb Calvert (fwd)...9 Ryan Finley (fwd)...11 Jack Thompson (mid)
...14 Raphael Cox (def)
team officials:...head coach Mike Jeffries

Game officials:...referee Justin Tasev...referee's assistants Christian Palavicino and Isabelle Senecal...fourth official Hassane Rifai
...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...starts 3:13pm...TFC defend north end on this hot and humid afternoon with a hazy sun.
1 min...TFC Babouli cornerkick from right has defender head away on left side of box.
5 min...CI Jerome 45 yard freekick from right is caught by goalie.
5 min...TFC Chapman gets to chip and 18 yard shot deflects off goalie for cornerkick on left.
6 min...TFC Babouli low cornerkick from left is tapped back by TFC Chapman and Babouli's cross is cleared for fast break.
7 min...TFC Charpie rescues ball on CI right end line and cross is headed away on left side.
8 min...TFC Mannella 35 yard freekick is wide left of net.
11 min...CI Martinez pass forward and right to CI Jackson who shoots 20 yarder that deflects wide right of net.
11 min...CI Del Piccolo cornerkick from right has TFC Thomas head ball through box out left side.
13 min...TFC (Charlotte own goal) GOAL...TFC Molham Babouli rolls his quickly taken freekick from 25 yards in middle to TFC Skylar Thomas alone on the right and he crosses low from 15 yards and CI Patrick Slogic slides to prevent charging TFC Bubacarr Jobe from getting to it and redirects ball into right side of own net from 6 yards.
14 min...CI Martinez blasts 22 yard shot from right that goalie dives left to push it wide of post at 2 yards.
15 min...CI Patrick Slogic GOAL...CI Enzo Martinez cornerkick from left has charging Slogic head in 10 yarder down middle into left side of net.
15 min...CI Jackson cross from right has CI Zahorski flick header from 12 yards that goalie catches on left post.
16 min...CI Jackson pass to CI Zahorski and 7 yard shot from right is blocked.
17 min...CI Alvarez low 15 yard shot is stopped by diving goalie.
18 min...TFC Jobe rolls cross that defender clears.
18 min...TFC Babouli cornerkick from right has goalie swat through box.
20 min...TFC Babouli 30 yard low shot that's tipped wide left for cornerkick.
21 min...TFC Babouli cornerkick fromleft has CI Jerome as nearest defender head away. TFC Kaye cross from 15 yards has TFC Edwards unable to twist header at 5 yards on left post.
22 min...TFC Mannella rolls through ball pass from 35 yards to charging TFC Uccello who takes 22 yarder up middle that sprawling goalie stops at 10 yards then Uccello chips 12 yarder wide right of post.
25 min...CI Alvarez bends 30 yard freekick down middle around player wall and goalie catches low on right post.
25 min...TFC Uccello 25 yard shot from right is through legs of defender at 20 yards and goalie dives to left post to save.
30 min...CI Duckett pops up header from 12 yards wide left of TFC shot from 22 yards.
31 min...TFC Babouli cornerkick from left has defender pop up clearing header.
32 min...TFC Babouli can't shake CI Jerome to get away clear shot but wins cornerkick on deflection.
33 min...TFC Babouli cornerkick from right is into box but cleared.
33 min...TFC Edwards chips 15 yard cross from right that goalie drifts to left post to bat down and pick up on bounce.
36 min...CI Ribeiro and TFC Mannella are both injured within seconds (both captains) near the CI 40 yard line. Mannella needs the trainer. The other players sprint over for a water break.
39 min...TFC Charpie low cross from 18 yards on far right has defenders clear.
43 min...TFC Chapman 25 yard shot from slight left is well over net. CI Kalungi is injured and needs the trainer on the left edge of the box.
45 min...TFC Jobe low cross from 28 yards rolls after bounce for goalie to pick up.
45 min...TFC Simonin 40 yard shot up middle is over players and wide left of net.
46 min...CI sub...Thompson replaces injured Kalungi.
47 min...CI Slogic long throw-in from right has TFC Thomas head ball away in middle of box.
48 min...TFC Edwards on rush pushes ball too far forward on rush up left and goalie dives out to smother at 15 yards on left and ball is jarred loose when Edwards knocks into him which starts a player dust up as CI goalie recovers the ball.
49 min...half ends 4:02pm.

Halftime Entertainment: There's a mini-game of 6 v 7 mostly boys from the 'De Ro Foundation'.

An announcement is made that TFC II season tickets for 2016 are available for a 50% deposit to reserve. You get a pair of MLS tickets to the TFC vs Chicago Fire game next month. I wonder how many teams there will be? When will their games be held? The same time and day as TFC MLS games (like this year)? I'll wait for the schedule to come out.

2nd Half:...starts 4:20pm.
halftime subs:...TFC Ononye replaces Simonin.
................CI Cox replaces Alvarez.
46 min...TFC Babouli bends 30 yard freekick fromleft over player wall and TFC Thomas spins to knock ball with hip and goalie catches then Thomas knocks him over.
48 min...CI Slogic long throw-in from left has defender head away and CI Slogic recross is flagged for offside.
49 min...TFC Babouli feeds ball forward up right but TFC Jobe can't get away shot around defender.
50 min...TFC Babouli cornerkick from right has TFC player head ball back out of box. TFC Mannella passes to right and Babouli 15 yard shot has goalie slide and palm ball over net.
51 min...TFC Babouli cornerkick from left has CI Jerome head ball away.
52 min...TFC Babouli rolls pass forward for TFC Jobe on right to shoot sharp angle 15 yarder that goalie dives to save.
53 min...CI Duckett is injured on rush at TFC 30 yard line.
55 min...CI Martinez can't win freekick when knocked over at 30 yards by TFC Chapman so gets up and shoots 25 yarder up middle that goalie catches.
56 min...TFC Jay Chapman GOAL...TFC Molham Babouli at 25 yards rolls pass forward between defenders and Chapman rushing on left gets ball on edge of box and shoots 10 yarder to left side of net past goalie John Berner.
60 min...CI Jackson high cross from 28 yards on right is caught by goalie near left post.
61 min...CI Ribeiro freekick from 30 yards on left has CI Duckett twist 12 yard header over net.
62 min...CI sub...Finley replaces Zahorski.
.........TFC sub...Phillip replaces Jobe.
64 min...CI Jackson low cross from 25 yards on right has goalie pick up ball ahead of CI Martinez.
64 min...CI goalie charges out to clear ball before TFC Edwards can get to long pass.
65 min...TFC Uccello has ball is poked away blocked on edge of box and TFC Phillip shoots over net.
66 min...TFC Kaye has 15 yard shot is deflected by sliding CI Slogic for cornerkick on left. Kaye had taken too long after receiving TFC Mannella's long pass.
66 min...TFC Babouli cornerkick from left has TFC Thomas lepa to head 8 yarder on right wide right of net.
69 min...TFC Babouli dribble on left and 15 yard low shot has goalie fly right to catch.
70 min...CI Finley cross from 20 yards far left has CI Martinez have shot from 15 yards is blocked on right then deflected rebound wins cornerkick. CI Jackson is injured on the play.
72 min...CI sub...Calvert replaces Jackson.
72 min...CI Del Piccolo cornerkick from right has goalie catch in crowd of players.
72 min...TFC sub...Bernal replaces Edwards.
75 min...CI Martinez can't win Penalty kick call when TFC Chapman knocked into him waiting for cross into TFC box.
76 min...CI Martinez charges to shoot 22 yard roller up middle that goalie dives to right post to stop.
77 min...CI Jerome 30 yard freekick from right sideline is through box and cleared out left side.
78 min...TFC Ononye makes key header to clear cross sent in from left into TFC box for a waiting CI forward.
79 min...CI Martinez cross from right has CI Calvert header from 10 yards caught by goalie near left post.
79 min...TFC Phillip run and TFC Babouli whiffs on shot at 20 yards.
80 min...TFC Charpie makes a bad back pass but goalie is out to clear ahead of CI Finley at 22 yards on left.
81 min...CI Calvert 25 yard roller from left is blocked at 3 yards by defender.
82 min...CI sub...Metcalf replaces Slogic.
84 min...TFC Aparicio replaces Uccello.
84 min...TFC Babouli cornerkick from right is cleared.
86 min...TFC Emeka Ononye pushes over CI Enzo Martinez on left side of box. Referee Justin Tasev signals for a Penalty kick.
87 min...CI Ryan Finley GOAL...Finlay rolls Penalty kick to left corner of net as goalie Quillan Roberts dives to right.
88 min...TFC Babouli has 25 yard low shot up middle that goalie dives to save and defender kicks away big rebound at 8 yards.
89 min...TFC Babouli 28 yard freekick from left has defender head away.
89 min...TFC sub...Mirabelli replaces Babouli.
90 min...TFC Aparicio hits bar on 22 yard shot of loose ball.
92 min...TFC Bernal high cross from 25 yards has goalie catch on left post.
93 min...TFC Mirabelli cross from left has defenders clear.
93 min...game ends 5:08pm.

Final Score:.....Toronto FC II.......2........Charlotte Independence.........2......

Attendance was about 300 on this hot and humid afternoon under a partially overcast sky. The Inebriatti supporter group was not here today.

This game had many changes in flow with the game starting even until Toronto scored then Charlotte taking over for the next 8 minutes then TFC holding the edge until the end of the half. Second half had TFC dominate until their goal then the Indepedence took over for the rest of the game except for TFC's effective counterattacking.

Referee Justin Tasev gave out no Yellow cards today in a game that wasn't too rough but had a few players injured. CI goalie John Berner was wearing a mask to protect his face (probably a broken nose) and had to survive a few bumps after catching the ball and a knee to the face on a diving save. The Penalty kick shouldn't have happened because TFC Emeka Ononye didn't need to push over Enzo Martinez as he wasn't running towards the goal but chasing the ball. Ononye should have let him go as Martinez would have been lucky to keep the ball in play.

Best non-scoring chances were at 14 minutes when CI Enzo Martinez blasted a 22 yard shot from the right that goalie Quillan Roberts dove to the left to push the ball wide of the post at 2 yards although CI did score on the subsequent corner kick. One minute after that goal CI Tomasz Zahorski flicked a 12 yard header that the goalie caught on the left post. 22 minutes had TFC Chris Mannella roll a through ball pass from 35 yards to the charging TFC Luca Uccello who took a 22 yard shot up the middle that the sprawling goalie stopped at 10 yards then Uccello chipped the 12 yard rebound wide right of the post. 50 minutes had TFC Molham Babouli's cornerkick from the right had a TFC player head the ball back out of the box and TFC Chris Mannella passed to the right for Babouli to take a 15 yard shot that the goalie slid forward and palmed over the net. 76 minutes had CI Martinez charge and shoot a 22 yard roller up the middle that the goalie dove to the right post to stop. 90 minutes had TFC Manuel Aparicio receive a short pass and hit the bar on a 22 yard shot.

TFC forward Molham Babouli was the best player on the field. Freekicks, cornerkicks, best shots, best chances! He played until subbed off at 89 minutes to waste some time. Fellow forward Jordan Hamilton was on the subs bench but didn't get into the game. I'd say Babouli's comet as eclipsed Hamilton's trajectory.

Other TFC MLS contracted players (besides Hamilton) were midfielders Jay Chapman and Chris Mannella (the team captain) who both played strongly. Midfielder Manuel Aparicio came in at 84 minutes and did hit the bar.

Patrick Slogic of Charlotte did one of the best jobs ever of amending for an own goal by scoring an equalizer only two minutes later.

Today was turned into a celebration of this facility. The League 1 Ontario game between Toronto FC Academy and Master's FA Saints was moved from the KIA Training Centre to here with an 11:00 kickoff. TFCA won 5-0 over the only league team that hasn't won this year. TFC MLS player Justin Morrow was signing autographs before the game. A ceremony was held before this game to officially 'open' this facility. Hey it's already TFC II's twelfth game here! Ontario Soccer Association president Ron Smale, Vaughan mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, and Toronto FC GM Tim Bezzbatchenko traded praise about each other. Hmm. The YouTube video of this game cut off at 84 minutes so I wonder if there was only a limited amount of transmission time?

Halftime had the first announcement of renewing season tickets for 2016! They need a $50 down payment and you get a pair of tickets to next month's MLS game against Chicago Fire. Wow. No schedule will be announced by USL for many months. How many games will be the same day and even the same time as their MLS games? (although this game was shifted to Sunday to avoid a conflict. No wonder Charlotte was so accommodating as they had just played FC Montreal on Wednesday evening winning 1-0 and were probably glad for the extra recovery day). Will the stadium have permanent seats and something better than port-a-potties? I'll wait until next year's MLS and USL schedule is released before deciding. We were given a TFC II squeezable mini ball (about the size of a cue ball) on our way out. For the season finale next Saturday afternoon, the first 1000 get a TFC II t-shirt. Smirk, with these crowds that would be everybody!

Charlotte Independence is a new team formed this year. They've taken over the market from Charlotte Eagles who were in USL Pro in previous years and whose history go back to A-League days when the odd time they'd play Toronto Lynx. The Eagles dropped down to the PDL league this year for financial reasons but can still get their Christian missionary message across. The Independence have an affiliation with the MLS Colorado Rapids. Four Rapids players are listed on their roster although only John Berner (goalie) and late sub-forward Caleb Calvert were here today. The team has three former Eagles on the roster with only starting defender Bilal Duckett on today's roster.

Toronto FC II's record improves to 5 wins, 14 losses, 4 ties for 19 points and remain in eleventh place out of the twelve teams in the Eastern Conference. Independence record improves to 8 wins, 6 losses, 9 ties for 33 points and they remain in eighth place just two points behind and one game in hand on sixth place Pittsburgh Riverhounds who hold the sixth and final playoff spot.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Toronto FC II starters