Inter Miami CF II (3W-5L-1D, 10 points) suffered a 1-0 loss against the New York Red Bulls II this Sunday night at MSU Soccer Park. The match saw two Inter Miami II players make their professional debuts in Owen Finnerty and Ricardo Montenegro, who made appearances in the starting lineup for the first time in their MLS NEXT Pro career.
The squad’s starting XI featured Finnerty in goal; Nyk Sessock, Modesto Mendez, Tyler Hall, and Cesar Abadia-Reda in the backline; Montenegro and captain Abel Caputo managing the midfield; and Cameron Johnson, Miles Perkovich, Lorenzo D’Agostini, and Taghvai-Najib leading the attack.
Inter Miami II opened up the match with full force, putting up a pair of shots by Taghvai-Najib and Johnson in the first couple minutes. In the 19th minute, it was the Red Bulls that took the lead with a right-footed goal by forward Oladayo Thomas. However, Inter Miami II did fight back with a scoring opportunity of their own, with a D’Agostini shot on goal before coming to a break at halftime.
The Herons continued on with more attacking efforts in the second half. Substitute Lawson Sunderland came close to equalizing as Sunderland missed wide to the right and Johnson headed one on goal. Inter Miami II kept putting pressure on the home team’s backline with more scoring opportunities, with three more shots on goal but New York was able to hold on till the end.
Inter Miami II will return to South Florida to host Orlando City B for the second time this 2023 MLS NEXT Pro campaign on Thursday, May 25 at 7 p.m. ET at DRV PNK Stadium.
