A rainy night in South Florida saw Fort Lauderdale CF take on Toronto FC II as they drew 2-2 at the DRV PNK Stadium. The match kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET and aired live on ESPN+.
Fort Lauderdale made only one change in their lineup from their previous fixture against North Carolina FC, with Abel Caputo coming on in place of Venton Evans.
The opening moments of the match saw both teams threaten early on. Shaan Hundal came extremely close to opening the scoring in the 10th minute when an excellent through ball by Mitch Curry put Hundal one-on-one with the keeper. It took a great reaction save to keep the score level.
In the 14th minute of the game, Harvey Neville came down with an injury that forced Fort Lauderdale to make its first substitution of the match. Midfielder Ignacio Poplawski came on to replace him.
Fort Lauderdale was once again forced to make a substitution in the 23rd minute when Abel Caputo appeared to suffer a knock. He was promptly substituted for Venton Evans.
Evans' impact was almost immediate as he finally gave Fort Lauderdale the advantage in the 26th minute, only three minutes after stepping onto the pitch. An inch-perfect pass by Brian Rosales from his own box put Venton through in midfield as he weaved through defenders to fire a thunderous low shot past the Toronto keeper for a 1-0 lead. The goal was his fourth of the season, second-most on the team, while the assist was Rosales’ first.
Following the goal, both teams battled it out in the midfield and nullified each other’s attacks. In nearly the final attack of the half, Toronto pulled one back with their striker Garret McLaughlin scoring in the sixth minute of additional time to ensure both teams enter halftime on level terms.
The second half opened up with goalkeeper Dylan Castanheira making an excellent save in the 56th minute to deny Toronto an advantage.
Fort Lauderdale reclaimed their lead in the 69th minute as Hundal scored his fifth goal of the season to make it 2-1 for Fort Lauderdale. A spectacular passing move saw Josh Penn, Curry, Evans and George Acosta all involved; Evans capped the move with an excellent ball across the goal to give Hundal an easy finish at the far post. The assist was Evans’ first of the season.
Toronto came back into the match in the 81st minute to once again go level 2-2 with Fort Lauderdale as Jayden Nelson netted for the visitors. The final ten minutes were contentious as both teams sought a winner. Ultimately, neither squad was able to come out on top as the game ended 2-2.
Next Up for Fort Lauderdale is a rematch with Toronto FC II at Osceola Heritage Park on Saturday, June 19 at 7 p.m. ET.
