Inter Miami CF II suffered a 4-1 defeat to Toronto FC II on Saturday, September 3 at DRV PNK Stadium in MLS NEXT Pro action.
Inter Miami II took the field with CJ Dos Santos starting in goal; Harvey Neville, Modesto Mendez, Aimé Mabika and Noah Allen manning the defense; David Ruiz, Lawson Sunderland and George Acosta in the center of the park; and Romeo Beckham and Dairon Reyes flanking Shanyder Borgelin leading the attacking line.
Toronto would open the scoring in the sixth minute, with a goal by Jordan Perruzza, assisted by Steffen Yeates. Yeates intercepted a pass in the center of the pitch, and laid the ball off for Perruzza who scored.Â
The Herons would dedicate themselves to responding quickly, mounting an offense that resulted in a corner kick in the 13th minute after a scramble in the Toronto box. Acosta was able to latch on to a rebound from the corner, and unleashed a powerful shot from well outside the penalty box that was saved by a leaping effort from the Toronto keeper Luka Gavran.
In the fifteenth minute, Dos Santos made another fantastic save to deny a chipped shot by the Toronto offense, preventing a second goal.
Both sides’ goalkeepers would continue to protect their respective goals for the rest of the half; Dos Santos would make another comfortable save a few minutes later, and Gavran also produced a few saves as the Inter Miami offense attempted to find a way past him. The first half ended with the hosts down a goal.
Inter Miami started the second half enthusiastically, with Sunderland bringing a ball down just inside the box to make an attempt on goal that resulted in a save for Toronto’s Gavran.
In the 62nd minute, Benjamin Cremaschi entered the game for Acosta, providing reinforcement for the midfield in the last stages of the game. He was joined by Braxton Najib in the 69th, who relieved Sunderland.
Dos Santos made several incredible saves throughout the half to keep Inter Miami within striking distance.
In the 72nd minute, Cremaschi was brought down along the left flank, resulting in a free kick for Inter Miami. Beckham delivered a curling ball into the box, which Ruiz brought down for Cremaschi to finish past the Toronto goalkeeper. The finish brought the game to 1-1.
Toronto responded quickly, as Reshaun Walkes scored a left footed shot in the 75th minute, which was assisted by Markus Cimermancic.
Defender Abel Caputo entered the game for Mabika in the 80th minute, as Inter Miami sought to add fresh legs to the back line.
Toronto scored their third, with Stefan Karajovanovic scoring a left footed shot in the first minute of stoppage time. Toronto would add a fourth goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time; Antonio Carlini scored a penalty following a late foul in the Inter Miami penalty area.
Inter Miami CF II is back in action on Sunday, September 11 at DRV PNK Stadium against the Columbus Crew 2. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. E.T., and will be streamed live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
