The 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season is in the home stretch; for Toronto FC II three games remain.
The Young Reds will head to New York on Sunday for a clash against New York Red Bulls II at MSU Soccer Park and then play their final home match a week later at York Lions Stadium with the visit of Chattanooga FC.
Decision Day, where Toronto head to North Carolina to face Crown Legacy FC, is set for October 6, as 28 of the 29 teams in the league will conclude the regular season with simultaneous kickoffs for the Eastern and Western Conference matchups.
After a stop-start beginning to the year, TFC II’s push for the playoffs began in earnest back on July 28 with Red Bulls II coming to town.
Toronto would beat the Red Bulls 4-3 that day and rack up wins over FC Cincinnati 2, Philadelphia Union II, and NYCFC II – all teams set to compete in the post-season, only to drop points against Atlanta United 2, New England Revolution II, and Huntsville City FC, all currently sitting at the bottom of the table.
“That's been the story of our season,” said Adam Pearlman on Friday. “Grabbing points against teams above us and then feeling like a missed opportunity for the games that we dropped points which we should have gotten.”
“It shows how competitive the league is, that you need to be on your game no matter who the opponent is,” continued the defender, on a season long loan from the First Team. “It's been a roller coaster of ups and downs.”
On one hand a side can take confidence from knowing they can go toe-to-toe with the top of the conference, but on the other those points not collected are why Toronto find themselves on the outside looking in.
“We've shown as a team that we’re really capable. Three of them games, the teams were placed in the top three when we played them and we won all three.” said midfielder Charlie Staniland. “It's shown that we can go up against the top teams and compete. That should give us some confidence heading towards the end of the season.”
A pair of matches against NYCFC last week, a draw in Manhattan (Toronto would take the extra point in the shootout) and a win at York Lions Stadium, after losing a shootout away to already eliminated New England was the latest string.
Toronto collected six of nine possible points from that triple game week, but are still seven points off the final berth in the East. With nine points left, they need to be perfect here on out and have to hope that results elsewhere fall in their favour.
“We know it's difficult, but we're going to keep fighting,” said Head Coach Gianni Cimini following the 3-0 win over NYCFC on Sunday. “There was a stretch of games in the middle of the season where we gave up too many points. We're trying to fight for that last playoff spot, the guys are committed to that.”
“Three games left, nine points left, ripe for the taking,” he continued. “We've already taken six out of these nine, which we thought would be difficult, and we've done a good job with that. We’ve just got to push as much as we can.”
The players know the challenge that lies in front of them.
“It's easy to say, hard to do,” said Pearlman of being spotless going forward. “We're still in the playoff push and we know that. Three games, three important games, and we have to win all three to give ourselves a fighting chance.”
“We know we might need a few games to fall our way, but we can't control that,” he levelled. “We can only control what we can control, which is our three games. The task is to put pressure on the teams above us by winning all three games.”
Said Staniland: “We know what position we're in.”
“We've got nothing to lose and need to win all three of them games to give ourselves a shot,” he underlined. “That's the task really. We've got to come away with the nine points.”
Toronto will look to do so the only way possible: one game at a time.
“You’ve got to take it game for game,” said Cimini before training on Friday. “We're not in a position to control our destiny, but we are in a position to control our performances over the last three games.”
Julian Altobelli knows what it’s going to take.
“It's a killer mentality now, from here on it's do or die,” he said after scoring in the win over NYCFC on Sunday. “Everyone's excited and up for this challenge.”
“We're going to continue to fight,” Altobelli urged. “We're in this.”
Pearlman echoed those sentiments after a few days of recovery and training.
“We're still in the fight, we're not out,” he said. “We want to make every game a valuable game.”
“Game one, it's a meaningful game, it means something,” Pearlman said about Sunday’s visit to the Red Bulls. “And when we win, the next game, same thing. We want all three games to be meaningful games. [It’s] almost like we're in the playoffs already. We have to come up with the result.”
It’s a cliche, but that doesn’t make it untrue.
“It's three cup finals coming up for us,” said Staniland, who joined the side from Sheffield United at the start of the year. “We know where we want to be at the end of the season, we know we want to push for a playoff spot, and to do that we've got to win all three games, so it's three massive cup finals for us now.”
It’s been playoff-mode for some time around TFC II. Clutch performances from Altobelli exemplify that.
The 21-year-old has scored a goal in each of his last eight appearances and has drawn level with Jordan Perruzza for the club’s all-time lead with 20 goals.
Nine straight would tie an MLS NEXT Pro record, currently held by TFC Academy product Jacen Russell-Rowe, who achieved the feat with Columbus Crew 2 in 2022.
“He's been balling,” said Pearlman of his teammate. “He's been playing great this season, eight goals in eight games is crazy.”
“I’m a defender. I don't think he needs advice, he knows what to do,” he continued with a laugh. “I have faith that he's going to get that ninth goal this weekend and tie Jacen. I’d love to see Alto do it.”
One more would also put him in sole possession of the club’s all-time record.
“It's super exciting to even be up there with Jordan,” reflected Altobelli on Sunday after his tenth goal of the campaign. “He had a fantastic season that first [full season with 15 goals in 2019].”
“He's also one of my really close friends, so I'm looking to beat him,” he added. “And I'm going to make sure that I tell him that.”
Jokes aside, the camaraderie fostered at TFC II is a valuable asset. It helps strike the delicate balance between pushing each other and holding a certain standard with having each other’s back when the pressure ratchets up as it does now.
“This is a very special group of guys,” said Pearlman. “Everyone on the team is very close and connected.”
“It's really knowing who you're talking to and how to talk to them,” he laid out. “Some guys you know you can get on them to get the best of them and some guys need a little tap on the shoulder.”
“We're going into these three games not scared to play or to make mistakes,” Pearlman added. “All players want to play in games where it means something. We're going into the games excited for this opportunity and with a clear mindset of what the goal is. It’s going to be good.”
That foundation helps “massively” according to Staniland.
“It all comes from your training,” he continued. “In training we push each other hard, but because of that, when it does come to these high-pressure moments, you fall back on your training.”
“We've prepared right, we know that we're capable and we've done it,” Staniland highlighted. “We've seen these scenarios through the high level in training,”
The South African-born, Toronto-native Pearlman and the Englishman Staniland have become fast friends.
“From the minute I got here, all the lads made me feel really welcome, but when you join a new group, there's going to be certain lads that you move closer to and he was one of them,” said Staniland of Pearlman. “It's a big thing for me moving away for the first time. That created a bond for us from the start and that's continued.”
“We developed a good friendship when he first came over,” added Pearlman. “He's a good, funny kid, and obviously amazing on the field. He's away from his family, so he's been able to come over for a few dinners. We connect really well off the field, which helps on the field because we have that chemistry on the field as well.”
With the advancement of Charlie Sharp and Nate Edwards to the First Team and several players departing for post-secondary opportunities, TFC II find themselves less deep than they were earlier this season.
The side has been bolstered by the signing of 18-year-old midfielder Costa Iliadis on Friday and with additions from the next group of TFC Academy players – Stefan Kapor and Joses Chukwu – ready for the new challenge.
TFC II and Red Bulls II have split the two meetings earlier this season, each winning at home. New York, like Toronto, are fighting to stay alive in the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs race.
“It's a team that is strong in its identity,” detailed Cimini. “Overloaded central, a lot of aerial balls, a lot of balls in behind, a lot of box crosses, very direct, a commitment to running in behind; defensively a high press. We've got to be on our toes for sure against a quality side.”
Kickoff is at 5 pm on Sunday.
“It's going to be a battle,” anticipated Pearlman. “They're in a very similar position. We're going over there with the mindset that we have to win, but it’s not going to be easy.”
“It's going to be intense, but we're going in with a clear mind,” he closed. “We know what we have to do to come out on top.”
