June 12, 2024...MLS NEXT Pro...Toronto FC II vs New York City FC II game report (by Rocket Robin)

.......................

Result and details of the Wednesday June 12, 2024 MLS NEXT Pro game between Toronto FC II and New York City FC II
played at York Lions Stadium in North York at 7:00pm.

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

...............................40 Adisa De Rosario
97 Tristan Pusztahegyi...51 Adam Pearlman...76 Lazar Stefanovic...95 Nate Edwards
92 Theo Rigopoulos...79 Andrei Dimitru...89 Charlie Staniland...71 Markus Cimermancic
...............38 Charlie Sharp...82 Julian Altobelli (cpt)

Subs:...80 Shafique Wilson (gk)...58 Ythallo (def)...96 Richard Chukwu (def)...75 Luca Accettola (mid)
...70 Matthew Catavolo (mid)...73 Jesus Batiz (fwd)...81 Hassan Ayari (mid)...91 Dekwon Barrow (fwd)
team officials:...head coach Gianni Cimini...assistant coach Marco Casalinuovo...goalkeeper coach David Monsalve

New York City FC II (all white uniforms, black names and numbers, light blue trim)

...............................75 Will Meyer
37 Stevo Bednarsky...31 Samuel Owusu...63 Matthew Leong...68 Christopher Tiao
20 Jacob Arroyave...70 Jake Rozhansky...42 Piero Elias...74 Ronald Arevalo
.................29 Maximo Carrizo...99 Taylor Calheira (cpt)

Subs:...50 Kofi Hope-Gund (gk)...47 Klevis Haxhan (def)...61 Alexander Hauschild (def)...64 Julien Lacher (fwd)
...67 Adam Basse (def)...83 Camil Azzam Ruiz (fwd)
team officials:...head coach Matt Pilkington...assistant coach Danny Cepero...analyst Marina Schachowskoj

Game officials:...referee Niko Jecanski...referee's assistants Twayne Anderson and Vasyl Dzikh
...fourth official Melvin Christopher...(all black uniforms)

First Half:...game starts 7:02pm...TFC defends north end on this mild evening with a bright sun in the north west.
Guests from McLaughlin College are here tonight.
4 min...TFC Edwards rolls centering pass along 5 yard line from left and goalie smothers.
5 min...NYCFC Arevalo rolls centering pass from left end line but defender on lelft post stops ball and clears.
6 min...TFC Edwards gets long pass from goalie at NYCFC 45 yard line and rolls pass to charging TFC Altobelli but his low
centering pass tips off retreating defender and goalie picks up ball.
9 min...NYCFC Calheira long run up middle but is bumped off ball at 22 yards for no shot.
12 min...NYCFC Arroyave cuts in from sideline and wins cornerkick on deflection.
13 min...NYCFC Arroyave high cornerkick from right is whistled down on right side of box.
13 min...TFC Edwards goal is called back for offside on roller from left on play worked up wing.
14 min...TFC goalie is out to 15 yards on left to catch bouncer.
18 min...NYCFC Owuso slides to prevent TFC Edwards getting away on pass up left giving up cornerkick.
19 min...TFC players work out short cornerkick from left but don't get away shot.
20 min...NYCFC Tiao centering rolling cross into box from left has TFC Pearlman clear.
21 min...NYCFC Elias rescues ball on left end line with behind him kick has goalie catch pop up.
23 min...TFC Altobelli recovers from fallen defender at 50 yards and tries chip but it bounces to goalie at 15 yards.
24 min...NYCFC Carrizo passes forward to NYCFC Arevalo on left but ball is over end line.
25 min...TFC Edwards on run down left to 35 yard line and short pass to TFC Altobelli whose low 30 yarder from left is smothered
by goalie diving forward.
28 min...NYCFC YELLOW card...Calheira earns it for dissent after complaining about offside call at TFC 20 yard line.
30 min...NYCFC Aarevalo cornerkick from left has defender clear. NYCFC Bednarsky blasts clearance at 30 yards in center
that's stopped by defender at 15 yard line.
31 min...TFC Edwards checks defender and rushes on left sending short pass to TFC Altobelli who centers ball but play is broken up.
32 min...TFC Sharp low open 22 yard shot from right is caught by goalie at 7 yards.
33 min...TFC Sharp wins cornerkick on bump trying to beat defender.
33 min...TFC Rigopoulos cornerkick from right has NYCFC defender head ball through box out left starting fast break out.
33 min...NYCFC Elias can't get away shot in TFC box over two fallen defenders in tangle of legs.
35 min...TFC YELLOW card...Altobelli earns it for delaying NYCFC freekick at TFC 40 yard line.
36 min...NYCFC Bednarsky 40 yarad pass from right is a step ahead of charging NYCFC Calheira at 12 yards.
39 min...NYCFC Arroyave rescues ball on right end line but goalie charges over and picks up ball.
41 min...TFC Stefanovic low 45 yard chip through crowd of players on left is caught by goalie.
42 min...NYCFC Taylor Calheira GOAL...Calheira in crowd of players on edge of TFC 18 yard box strips a player
of the ball who was trying to work ball out of box and steps around that player and fires 18 yarder into top left side
of net over flying goalie Adisa De Rosario.
44 min...TFC Staniland wins cornerkick on deflection off NYCFC Rozhansky on right.
45 min...TFC Rigopoulos cornerkick from right is whistled down in box.
47 min...TFC Julian Altobelli RED card...Altobelli picks up his second Yellow card within 12 minutes for either diving
in the Penalty box after running out room on the left end line and cutting back in the 6 yard box and contacting
a defender or something he said after not being awarded a Penalty kick).
47 min...half ends 7:49pm.

Halftime Entertainment: A McLachlan College group of maybe 30 are on the field in a 5v5v5 crossbar challenge with only
one person hitting the ball in those groups.

Second Half:...starts 8:07pm.
Halftime subs:...TFC Olguin replaces Staniland
....................TFC Ayari replaces Pusztahegyi.
....................TFC Batiz replaces Dimitru.
46 min...NYCFC Calheira nutmegs TFC Edwards near right end line but roller into box is cleared by defender.
49 min...NYCFC Taylor Calheira GOAL...NYCFC Ronald Arevalo receives nice pass to split defenders at 35 yard line
on run up the middle and chips short pass forward and left for charging Calheira where he eludes TFC defender
Adam Pearlman to get away a 17 yard shot into right corner of net.
51 min...NYCFC Tiao low 28 yard shot from left is smothered by goalie on near post.
54 min...TFC Ayari taps ball ahead to TFC Cimermancic to 8 yards on end line and low shot deflects off goalie wide left
for cornerkick.
54 min...TFC Rigopoulos cornerkick from left is headed out right side of box.
57 min...TFC Cimermancic 25 yard shot spins off defender at 20 yards and goalie catches on bounce.
61 min...TFC Edwards gets back to make sliding poke check on NYCFC Arroyave break-in up right giving up throw-in.
62 min...TFC Batiz rolls through ball at 25 yards on slight right but defender gets back to clear.
63 min...NYCFC Carrizo intercepts pass at TFC 35 yard line and sends pass for NYCFC Elias whose low 22 yard shot from left
is saved by sprawling goalie.
64 min...TFC Edwards gets back to pussh over NYCFC Arroyave over end line. Arroyave needs trainer but as he's off field,
the game is not stopped.
65 min...TFC Sharp chips ball across from right of box. TFC Ayari hesitates at 8 yards not getting away a good shot.
67 min...TFC YELLOW card...Stefanovic earns it for studs-up challenge at TFC 50 yard line.
67 min...TFC sub...Barrow replaces Rigopoulos.
...........NYCFC sub...Lacher replaces still injured Arroyave.
70 min...The ambulance in attendance takes away Arroyave.
70 min...TFC Barrow 25 yard roller between defenders just wide left of left corner of net.
71 min...TFC Batiz 30 yard freekick from left. NYCFC Bednarsky leaps and heads away. A rechip from the right is also headed away.
72 min...TFC Stefanovic chips 445 yarder that goalie catches on right at 7 yards ahead of TFC Sharp.
74 min...TFC Ayari 30 yard freekick from right has flying goalie on right post push ball off post for cornerkick.
75 min...TFC Batiz cornerkick from right has TFC Ayari heads 8 yarder in crowd of players that goalie catches under bar.
76 min...NYCFC Carrizo is injured at NYCFC 50 yard line near sideline.
............NYCFC sub...Ruiz replaces injured Carrizo.
78 min...TFC Pearlman chips 45 yarder from right. TFC Ayari heads 10 yarder down middle just over bar.
79 min...NYCFC Arevalo rush down right and cross through box is too far ahead of two NYCFC players.
79 min...TFC Barrow rush to right end line and cross over box but no one on left side of box.
86 min...TFC Sharp wins cornerkick on 20 yard chip.
86 min...TFC Batiz cornerkick from right is whistled down in box.
87 min...TFC sub...Catavolo replaces Sharp.
88 min...TFC Batiz cornerkick from right has NYCFC Owusu leap to head ball out left side of box.
89 min...TFC Ayari 45 yard shot deflected away by defender.
90 min...TFC Batiz chips 12 yarder from extreme left lands on top of net.
91 min...NYCFC Julien Lacher GOAL...NYCFC Piero Elias finds Lacher with a pass at the 35 yard line on left sideline
who then dekes past sliding TFC Nate Edwards and he runs to left end line and eludes TFC Adam Pearlman to get
away 8 yard rolling shot past sliding goalie and into right corner of net.
91 min...NYCFC sub...Basse replaces Elias.
........NYCFC Arroyave appears on the sidelines on crutches. We watched him taken away by ambulance just minutes earlier!
92 min...NYCFC sub...Haxhan replaces Calheira.
92 min...TFC (NYCFC Stevo Bednarsky own goal GOAL...A TFC player chips a cross from 40 yards on right sideline
and TFC Matthew Catavolo is running up the middle with two retreating defenders even with him. Bednarsky on left side
of the trio pops ball up off his shoulder and it is over the reach of goalie Will Meyer and drops into the top right corner of net.
93:43 min...game ends 8:55pm.

Final Score:...Toronto FC II.......1.......New York City FC II.......3.........

Attendance started off slow as people were still fighting through rush hour traffic but topped out at about 250 by halftime. An offer for just the last few games has had tickets offered for any York University student card holder for only $5.00 (rather than the normal $10.00...TFC MLS season ticket holders get in free). Today it was announced that students from McLaughlin College were special guests. There were about thirty of them taking part in a special 'Crossbar Challenge' contest at halftime.

TFC started all four of their players named to participate in Canada's U-20 training camp in a few weeks. Those players are defenders Adam Pearlman, Theo Rigopoulos, and Lazar Stefanovic and midfielder Andrei Dimitru. Their absence may cause quite a depth problem later this month.

Referee Niko Jecanski gave out four Yellow cards (three to TFC including the second to Altobelli). He kept a pretty tight control of the game with two first half cards, one to each team, for dissent to Taylor Calheira after a NYCFC offside call at 28 minutes and Altobelli at 35 for delaying a NYCFC freekick at the TFC 40 yard line. That and the relative open play kept the cards to a minimum.

The NYCFC passing was the best I've seen from a visiting team so far this season. They would escape the TFC press and were then away on a run down into the home team's end. After TFC went down a man, the success was just exagerated. Both team tried some backheel passes with limited success.

This game didn't go how I expected. TFC had a long streak of scoring first until their last game last weekend away against New York Red Bulls. When I saw the visitors only had listed five subsitutes including one goalie, I expected them to tire out in the second half. Later there was a sixth name added. NYCFC didn't make their first sub until 67 minutes. TFC swapped three guys at the start of the second half knowing they were down a man. They kept forward Charlie Sharp in the game until 87 minutes and Jesus Batiz (one of the halftime subs) also played up front to continue some offensive pressure and instructing Nate Edwards to stay more in the back holding off his upfield runs.

The loss keeps TFC in eleventh place. This was the only Eastern Conference game tonight and the first of the week so things are starting to look bad as the rest of the Conference is still to play over the weekend and two more teams can pass them. Their record falls to 4 wins, 2 ties, 5 losses, 0 bonus points for shoot out wins for a total of 14 points. A generous eight teams in each conference make the playoffs and right now the playoff line is 18 points.

NYCFC's record improves to 6 wins, 3 ties, 3 losses, 1 bonus point for 22 points putting them into a three way tie for third with FC Cincinnati 2 and Chicago Fire FC II (ah the team that beat TFC in their last home game).

TFC II's next game is two Wednesday's from now (June 26) here against Inter Miami CF II. Their co-tenants York United FC of the CPL play on the Wednesday in between with both team's avoiding weekend home games. I wonder if the university has scheduled any events? They definitely host the Canadian Open Tennis tournament at the beginning of August. Toronto hosts the Women's event this year (with the Men's in Montreal)...that is rotated every year. Meanwhile their MLS team this weekend starts a period of playing three games in seven days.

Rocket Robin
robin.glover.1958@gmail.com
X @RocketRobin01

Toronto FC II starters