Toronto FC (6W-8L-4T, 22 points) earned a road point following a 1-1 result against Chattanooga FC (7W-6L-7T, 33 points) at Finley Stadium on Saturday evening before the hosts won the extra point in the MLS NEXT Pro shootout.
TFC II Head Coach Gianni Cimini employed a pair of changes from his starting eleven that defeated New York Red Bulls II at home last weekend with Andrei Dumitru and Matthew Catavolo coming in for Markus Cimermancic and Julian Altobelli.
Chattanooga FC opened the scoring when Alex McGrath’s square pass across goal was finished by Mehdi Ouamri. TFC II nearly found an instant response when Andrei Dumitru’s powerful effort forced goalkeeper Jean Antoine into a fine, low save a minute later. Ouamri’s 36th minute strike was enough to separate the two sides heading into the half-time break.
After knocking on the door throughout the second half, TFC II’s search for an equalizer in Tennessee came to a well-deserved end in stoppage time. Entering off the bench in the 89th minute, midfielder Luca Accettola dramatically fired home following a corner routine in the 92nd minute, marking the Woodbridge, Ontario native’s first professional goal for the Young Reds.
With scores level at one apiece following the full-time whistle, the two Eastern Conference clubs played out a MLS NEXT Pro shootout where the hosts Chattanooga FC took the extra point on the night in a 5-3 result.
The Young Reds hit the road again to face Atlanta United 2 next on Sunday, August 11. Kick-off from Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be available to watch on MLSNEXTPro.com and the MLS YouTube channel.
SCORING SUMMARY
CFC – Mehdi Ouamri 36’ (Alex McGrath)
TOR – Luca Accettola 90+2’ (Mark Fisher)
SHOOTOUT SUMMARY
CFC – Milo Garvanian – goal (1:0)
TOR – Ythallo – goal (1:1)
CFC – Minjae Kwak – goal (2:1)
TOR – Mark Fisher – goal (2:2)
CFC – Joseph Perez – goal (3:2)
TOR – Charlie Sharp – goal (3:3)
CFC – Farid Sar-Sar – goal (4:3)
TOR – Charlie Staniland – miss (4:3)
CFC – Jalen James – goal (5:3)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CFC – Milo Garvanian 22’ (caution)
TOR – Nathaniel Edwards 26’ (caution)
TOR – Theo Rigopoulos 70’ (caution)
CFC – Andres Jimenez 90+8’ (caution)
CFC – Joseph Perez 90+9’ (caution)
LINEUPS
CHATTANOOGA FC – Jean Antoine; Milo Garvanian, Farid Sar-Sar, Duvan Felipe Viafara Mina (Logan Brown 67’), Joseph Perez; Andres Jimenez, Jude Arthur (Minjae Kwak 46’), Alex McGrath (C), Luis Garcia Sosa (Callum Watson 82’), Taylor Gray (Jalen James 73’); Mehdi Ouamri (Ethan Koren 82’)
Substitutes Not Used: Jonathan Burke, Michael Barrueta, Robert Screen, Jesse Williams
TORONTO FC II – Adisa De Rosario; Mark Fisher (C), Ythallo, Marko Stojadinovic; Nathaniel Edwards, Charlie Staniland, Lucas Olguin (Adam Pearlman 81’), Andrei Dumitru (Theo Rigopoulos 61’), Jesús Batiz; Hassan Ayari (Luca Accettola 89’), Matthew Catavolo (Charlie Sharp 46’)
Substitutes Not Used: Abraham Rodriguez, Richard Chukwu, Markus Cimermancic, Tyler Londono, Joses Chukwu
MEDIA NOTES
- Luca Accettola scored his first goal for Toronto FC II, becoming the fifth different player to open his account for the Young Reds during the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season.
