Toronto FC II Fall at Home to Huntsville City FC

August 25, 2024 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Toronto FC II News Release

Toronto FC II (7W-10L-4T, 25 points) dropped a 2-3 home result against Huntsville City FC (6W-11L-5T, 23 points) at York Lions Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

TFC II Head Coach Gianni made three changes from his starting eleven that featured in last Sunday’s home win against Philadelphia Union II with Lucas Olguin, Jesús Batiz and Charlie Sharp making way for Marko Stojadinovic, Andrei Dumitru and Hassan Ayari.

Huntsville City FC got off to a flying start and took an early lead with the first attack of the afternoon when Adem Sipić slotted home Woobens Pacius’ pass after only 60 seconds.

Toronto FC II responded fifteen minutes later when captain Julian Altobelli scored a direct free-kick from the edge of the box to level the score at one apiece. The 16th minute effort marked Altobelli’s 16th career goal for TFC II and his third direct free-kick goal of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season, following set-piece strikes on the road against Columbus Crew 2 and Atlanta United FC 2 this summer.

The hosts nearly took their first lead of the afternoon when a swift team move resulted in Julian Altobelli’s close-range header from Charlie Staniland’s cross blazing over the target in the 39th minute.

Seven minutes later however, the Young Reds showcased their attacking prowess when Mark Fisher found the back of the net with a guided header from Hassan Ayari’s cross to make it 2-1 moments before the interval. The first-half stoppage time effort marked Fisher’s first goal and Ayari’s first assist for Toronto FC II since the pair joined the club ahead of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign.

The visitors equalized soon after the restart when Woobens Pacius cut in from the left flank and curled home an effort from Dominic Gasso’s cross-field pass in the 51st minute.

Huntsville City FC spurned two opportunities to go ahead with TFC II goalkeeper Abraham Rodriguez denying Olly Wright with an instinctive kick-save from close-range before Dominic Gasso’s long-range effort rattled the crossbar in the 62nd minute.

The Boys in Blue however took the lead in the closing stages through substitute Tristan Tropeano’s close-range finish from substitute William Perkins’ delivery towards the far-post.

Despite TFC II’s best efforts to find a late equalizer and earn a result in front of the home faithful, Huntsville City FC managed to hold on for all three points with Tristan Tropeano’s 82nd minute strike ultimately standing as the…