July 6, 2016 Toronto FC II USL--Toronto FC II vs Bethlehem Steel FC (by Rocket Robin)

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Results and details of the Wednesday July 6, 2016 USL game between Toronto FC II and Bethlehem Steel FC played at The Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 7:30pm.

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

..................30 Phil Di Bennardo
32 Wesley Charpie...42 Mitchell Taintor...34 Skylar Thomas (cpt)...58 Anthony Osorio
31 Sal Bernal...55 Aidan Daniels...63 Liam Fraser...45 Luca Uccello
.............61 Bubacarr Jobe...64 Shaan Hundal

Subs:...80 Angelo Cavalluzzo (gk)...20 Christopher Mannella (mid)...36 Brian James (mid)...46 Ayomide Akinola (fwd)
team officials:...head coach Jason Bent

Bethlehem Steel FC (all white, black names and numbers)

..................32 Samir Badr
44 Ryan Richter (cpt)...34 Michael Daly...23 Anderson Conceicao...48 Auston Trusty
40 Joshua Heard...45 James Chambers...35 Derrick Jones...59 Anthony Fontana...3 Taylor Washington
...................41 Cory Burke

Subs:...56 Carlos Santos (gk)...37 Gabriel Gissie (mid)...38 Nick Bibbs (mid)...39 Amoy Brown (fwd)
...43 Jamie Luchini (fwd)...47 Helbert Frederico Carriera Da Silva (mid)...53 Raheem Taylor-Parkes (--)
team officials:...head coach Brendan Burke

Game Officials:...referee Justin Tasev...referee's assistants Peter Pendli and Gianni Facchini
...four official David Barrie...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 7:43pm...TFC defends north end. It is still hot and humid from earlier today but now overcast and windy from the south.
1 min 30 sec...TFC Luca Uccello GOAL...TFC Bubacarr Jobe intercepts ball at BSFC 40 yard line and runs up right and centers pass from 30 yards and TFC Sal Bernal stops it at 20 yards, turns and rolls short centering pass to Uccello who at 18 yards kicks low shot up middle into right corner of net past diving goalie.
3 min...TFC Hundal 18 yard shot along right end line is into outside webbing of net.
5 min...BSFC Washington cross from 25 yards on left has TFC Thomas head ball away at 12 yards in middle.
6 min...BSFC Richter low cross from right has TFC Thomas give up cornerkick.
6 min...BFSC Fontana cornerkick from right is cleared on right side of box eventual recross is whistled down.
8 min...BFSC Richter cross from 25 yards on right has goalie palm all top left corner.
8 min...BFSC Fontana cornerkick from left has goalie punch ball away on left corner over crowd of players.
10 min...BFSC Fontana receives pass in middle and 25 yard shot is caught by goalie.
12 min...TFC Bubacarr Jobe GOAL...TFC Shaan Hundal at 70 yards on left sends low pass upfield that bounces at center line between BSFC defenders Auston Trusty and Anderson Conceicao and Jobe charges up middle to get to ball at 28 yard line and steps around charging goalie Samir Badr who bumps into Conceicao and Jobe rolls 22 yarder from right into open net.
14 min...TFC Charpie long run up right and low cross from 25 yards has defender at 10 yards concede cornerkick.
15 min...TFC Daniels cornerkick from right has charging TFC Fraser chest 5 yarder forward that goalie catches on left side of net.
16 min...BSFC Burke rolls pass up middle and BFSC Heard quick low shot from 22 yards is smothered by goalie.
19 min...BSFC sub...Gissie replaces Burke.
20 min...BSFC Daly checks TFC Hundal off pass into BSFC box and dribbles out of trouble.
21 min...BSFC Jones is checked off ball on edge of TFC box.
25 min...BFSC Washington cross from 20 yards has BFSC Heard not able to turn header at 10 yards on right.
27 min...BFSC Fontana cornerkick from right is knocked down and BFSC Richter shoots 20 yarder well over net.
28 min...TFC Daniels cross to TFC Hundal who can't get control of it on edge of box and is checkd off ball.
31 min...TFC Jobe backheels pass on right side of BSFC box but TFC Charpie is checked off ball.
32 min...TFC Hundal wins cornerkick when bumped off ball.
32 min...TFC Daniels cornerkick from right has nearest defender on right clear.
34 min...BFSC Uccello low 30 yard shot from right bounces to charging goalie at 12 yards.
38 min...BSFC Ryan Richter GOAL...Richter takes 25 yard freekick up the middle that bends into the left side of net beyond flying goalie Phil Di Bennardo.
40 min...TFC Jobe takes quick 15 yard shot that hits BFSC defender at 8 yards and ball pops wide right for cornerkick.
40 min...BFSC Conceicao on right heads away TFC Daniels cornerkick from right.
43 min...BFSC Chambers blasts 40 yarder up middle through players and flying goalie knocks ball down on right post and he gets up and runs to pick up on right end line.
45 min...half ends 8:28pm.

Halftime Entertainment. Ibrahim somebody is chosen as the second KIA car key winner although I was sure they'd already chosen two out of six winners already.
Some Under 9's from the Woodbridge Strikers played a six person game of King of the Ring where they dribbled their own ball in the center circle while trying to knock the opponents ball outside to eliminate them. Woodbridge play their games at Vaughan Grove which is only the length of four football fields away from the Ontario Soccer Centre.

2nd Half:...starts 8:43pm...the temperature has not cooled down and the wind is from the west while the sun is out now and setting in the north west.
46 min...TFC Jobe gets to long pass on right and cross from 20 yards has defender clear.
47 min...BFSC Conceicao 25 yard freekick from right is high and wide right.
50 min...BFSC Richter rolls ball forward from 20 yards on pass but goalie picks up.
51 min...TFC Jobe run up right dribbling pas defenders and rolls pass to middle but goalie dives at 7 yards before TFC Hundal can get to it.
52 min...BFSC McCarthy shot from 15 yards on left is blocked and deflected back off him and 10 yarder is picked up by goalie.
53 min...BFSC Luchini clear shot up middle from 15 yards is over net.
54 min...TFC Hundal flicks header from 12 yards up middle that goalie catches on TFC Jobe cross from 22 yards on right.
It starts raining lightly while the sun is shining but only lasts for ten minutes at most.
57 min...BFSC Richter rolls ball up up middle from 22 yards that defender clears.
58 min...TFC Hundal in duel with defender on left wins cornerkick.
58 min...TFC Daniels cornerkick from left has goalie on left side of box punch ball away.
60 min...TFC sub...James replaces Daniels.
61 min...TFC Liam Fraser GOAL...TFC Luca Uccello takes 20 yard freekick from even with left post and it hits a player in the chest of the eight man wall and bounces out to middle for Fraser to blast rebound low between players into left corner of net past diving goalie on possible deflection.
63 min...BFSC Chambers chips 22 yard freekick from left is caught by goalie unchallenged on right post.
64 min...TFC Hundal running down middle has retreating BFSC Conceicao give shoulder grab and jostle him off ball and taps ball forward for goalie to clear.
65 min...BSFC Joshua Heard GOAL...BSFC Anthony Fontana cornerkick from right is partially cleared and BSFC Auston Trusty retreats to collect ball at 25 yards on left and taps ball forward for BSFC James Chambers at 20 yards on left and crosses from left edge of box at 8 yard line and Heard steps behind defender to shoot 5 yarder down middle into left side of net.
65 min...BFSC sub...Da Silva replaces Fontana.
.........BFSC sub...Luchini replaces Conceicao.
66 min...TFC Hundal is knocked down on rush into left side of BFSC box and prone shot from 8 yards is into left side webbing of net.
68 min...TFC Osorio is injured on check in center circle.
69 min...TFC sub...Akinola replaces Hundal.
.........BFSC Taylor-Parkes replaces Jones.
72 min...TFC James cornerkick from right is headed away from box.
72 min...TFC Bernal is given pass from right and his 22 yard shot up middle has goalie catch on right post.
74 min...TFC Taintor makes big clearance on scissor kick to stop cross from right.
75 min...BFSC Richter freekick from 20 yards along right end line is cleared.
81 min...BFSC YELLOW card...Taaylor-Parkes earns it for bumping over TFC Osorio after long run down left.
82 min...TFC James 22 yard freekick on far left is through players in box and TFC Fraser ducks and heads 6 yarder in middle wide right of post.
83 min...BFSC Gissie run up left and low cross from 15 yards near left end line has TFC Thomas make dangerous concession of cornerkick almost blasting a shot into his own net from 8 yards.
83 min...BFSC Heard is called offside on 6 yard jumping twist kick of cross from right up middle that sprawling goalie stops.
84 min...BFSC sub...Bibbs replaces Heard.
85 min...BFSC Taylor-Parkes low 8 yard shot from right is smothered by goalie.
86 min...TFC sub...Mannella replaces Uccello.
87 min...BFSC Da Silva cornerkick from right is into box and cleared.
88 min...BFSC Da Silva cornerkick from left has BFSC player flick header into box and defender clears. Da Silva cross from left has falling BFSC Taylor-Parkes 6 yard header has goalie save.
89 min...TFC goalie punches ball away ball over crowd of players at 6 yards after ball is popped up by TFC Thomas of cross from left. BFSC Chambers on give and go with BFSC Gissie on edge of TFC box has Champbers chip from 12 yards lands on top of net.
89 min...TFC YELLOW card...Jobe earns it for bashing over BFSC Trusty at center line. This was a delayed call because BFSC had the advantage on last play.
92 min...BFSC Da Silva cornerkick from right bounces into box and defender clears to short fast break out.
94 min...BFSC Washington is injured at the BFSC 15 yard line on right and the BFSC goalie drags him off the field!
95 min...TFC Bernal 18 yard shot up middle is caught by scrambling goalie after amking a save on shot from right set up by drop ball after injury.
95 min...game ends 9:33pm. It starts to rain about ten minutes later.

Final Score:....Toronto FC II.......3........Bethlehem Steel FC.........1.......

Attendance was announced as 1064 on this hot and humid evening with the threat of rain predicted all day that might have scared some potential fans away tonight. A light rain did start to fall at about the 55 minute mark but stopped in less than 10 minutes then held off until the game ended.

This was the first time this season that TFC II have scored at least three goals.

Scoring the first two goals early certainly helped the team build confidence after enduring not winning in almost a month—one tie and four losses.

Referee Justin Tasev gave out only two Yellow cards tonight (one to each team) in a game that never got rough.

TFC II actually had a shorter bench than the visitors with only four outfield players and an extra goalie. Callups to their MSL team and injuries have cut into their roster. In the stands were midfielders Raheem Edwards and Adam Bouchard. I asked them why they weren't playing. Bouchard said he's recovering from injury and Edwards answered that he's signed another four day MLS contract (his third of the maximum four he can sign during a season). His first was during the midweek Amway Canadian Championship game away to Vancouver and his second was to play in last Saturday's home game against Seattle. This week will allow him to play in their home game on Saturday against Chicago.

Only worrisome roster action is midfielder Chris Mannella was only brought into the game at 86 minutes. He often would be the team captain so I don't know if he's fallen off the radar or recovering from injury. Midfielder Leonard Sohn who I've watched this season with their PDL team did not make his USL debut tonight.

Best non-scoring chances of the game were at 8 minutes when BSFC Ryan Richter crossed from 25 yards on the right and the goalie palmed the ball over the top left corner of the net. 15 minutes had TFC Aidan Daniels take a cornerkick from the right which had a charging TFC Liam Fraser chest a 5 yarder forward that the goalie caught on the left side of the net. 43 minutes had BSFC James Chambers blast a 40 yarder up the middle between players and the flying goalie knocked down on the right post and had time to get back up and pick up the ball along the right end line. 54 minutes had TFC Bubacarr Jobe cross from 22 yards on the right and TFC Shaan Hundal flicked a header from 12 yards up the middle that the goalie caught. 82 minutes had TFC Brian James take a 22 yard freekick on the far left through the players in the 6 yard box and TFC Fraser in the middle ducked and couldn't quite turn a header into the right side of the net. The next minute BSFC Gabriel Gissie ran up the left and his low cross from 15 yards near the left end line had TFC Skylar Thomas concede a cornerkick with a dangerous blast from 8 yards that almost caught the left side of his net. Injury time had a very strange occurrence. BSFC Taylor Washington was injured at the BSFC 10 yard line on the right side. The referee waved the trainer on but the BSFC goalie dragged him by the heels off the field to get on with the game. The referee called a drop ball and TFC Ayo Akinola tapped the ball past the BSFC player (most of the other BSFC players were upfield waiting for a punt). Akinola continued his run and rolled the ball to TFC Jobe at 15 yards along the 6 yard line. Jobe rounded the sprawling goalie and took a 10 yard shot that a BSFC defender headed away at 3 yards and TFC Sal Bernal took a 15 yard shot up the middle that was caught by the scrambling goalie who slid back to the center of the box to make the catch at 3 yards. He then dribbled the ball himself upfield but the referee stopped the game by the time he reached the BSFC 40 yard line.

The BSFC roster includes ex MLS TFC/Ottawa Fury player Ryan Richter who anchors their backline and is the team captain. Their player Helbert Frederico Carriera Da Silva was better known as 'Fred' back in his days in the MLS.

They also have Josua Heard who although born in Wales grew up in Victoria BC and played for the Highlanders of the PDL. Raheem Taylor-Parkes was born in Mississauga and spent some time with TFC Academy.

Bethlehem Steel FC in Bethlehem is north of Philadelphia on the east side of Pennsylvania. Their roster on the USLsoccer site lists 37 players and 23 of them are listed as coming from the Union or the Philadelphia Union Academy as 'previous club'. They are a new team to USL this season but is trying to build on the reputation of a team that existed there from 1907 to 1930 ran by the Bethlehem Steel corporation, the famous steel and shipbuilding manufacturer.

TFC II's record improves to 4 wins, 11 losses, 4 ties for 16 points and they climb to eleventh place in the fourteen team Eastern Conference. Their next game is Sunday July 10th away in Harrisburg which is the team they just passed tonight. TFC's trouble is they've played at least three games more than all the playoff teams they're chasing and will likely run out of gains trying the catch the eighth and final playoff spot.

BSFC's record falls to 4 wins, 6 losses, 6 ties for 18 points and hold at eleventh place (so yes, TFC has to eventually pass them).

TFC II's next home game is Wednesday July 20th against defending USL champs Rochester Rhinos although that team was the last one they beat before the losing streak they just ended.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Toronto FC II starters