October 1, 2021 USL League One--Toronto FC II vs North Carolina FC (game report by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Friday October 1, 2021 USL League One game between Toronto FC II and North Carolina FC
played at the BMO Training Ground in Downsview at 4:00pm.

Toronto FC II (all red uniforms, white names and numbers)

...................90 Kevin Silva
58 Kobe Franklin...65 Antony Curic...34 Jon-Talen Maples...62 Rohan Goulbourne
85 Antonio Carlini...82 Julian Altobelli...48 Dante Campbell (cpt)...38 Luca Petrasso
.............52 Kosi Thompson...73 Paul Rothrock

Subs:...40 Caleb Patterson-Sewell (gk)...35 Mehdi Essoussi (mid)...51 Nicolas Ovalle (mid)
...68 Nakye Grenidge-Duncan (mid)...72 Steffen Yeates (mid)...81 Themi Antonoglou (mid)...87 Kwasi Poku (mid)
head coach Mike Munoz

North Carolina FC (all white uniforms, gold names and numbers)

....................18 Jake McGuire
14 Nelson Martinez...4 Max Flick...25 Britton Fischer...32 Parker O'Ferral
15 Daniel Steedman...12 Peter Pearson...17 Joshua Coan...9 Selmir Miscic
...............26 Robert Frame...22 Aziel Jackson

Subs:...24 Nicholas Holliday (gk)...2 Malyk Hamilton (def)...8 Lusi Arriaga (mid)...27 Drew Kerr (mid)
...28 Marvin Mariche (fwd)...34 Rohit Thakur...35 Caeen Tolentino (mid)
head coach John Bradford

Game officials:...Renzo Villaneuva...referee's assistants Kurtis Nozak and Twayne Anderson
fourth official David Barrie...(aqua shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 4:09pm...TFC defends north end on this warm late afternoon with a bright sun in the south west.
2 min...NC Coan 35 yard freekick down middle is cleared on left side of box.
3 min...TFC Petrasso cornerkick from right bounces out left side of box and TFC Altobelli chips 28 yarder over players wide
right for goalie to grab.
5 min...NC goalie runs to edge of box to catch chip in front of charging TFC Rothrock.
6 min...TFC Maples clears low cross into 6 yard box from left.
9 min...NC Jackson is checked off ball on TFC right end line.
10 min...TFC Rothrock cuts along 22 yard line to elude defender and rolls 20 yard shot that diving goalie saves in center of net.
11 min...TFC Petrasso ic checked off ball on left side of NC box.
12 min...TFC Goulbourne 35 yard high cross from left is headed out right side of NC box.
13 min...TFC Petrasso cross from left near end line is flicked through box on right but out for goalkick.
14 min...TFC Goulbourne pushes pass to TFC Rothrock who wins cornerkick on deflection.
15 min...TFC Franklin cornerkick from left has goalie punch ball away in crowd of players. TFC Camptbell runs it back into box
on right and wins cornerkick.
16 min...TFC Thompson kicks ball on left after cross from right and wins cornerkick.
18 min...TFC Petrasso rush down left and rolls ball through box where TFC Rothrock rolls 12 yard shot forward and wide right of net.
20 min...NC goalie is out to edge of box to catch chip in front of TFC players.
21 min...NC Martinez slideing tackle to poke ball away from TFC Petrasso on left side of box for cornerkick.
21 min...TFC YELLOW card...Franklin earns it for tackle at TFC 40 yard line.
22 min...NC Coan 45 yard freekick from right has goalie catch in crowd at 12 yards.
22 min...NC YELLOW card...Jackson ears it for roughing goalie who was making quick kick for breakout.
25 min...TFC Thompson one-touch of ball as defender slips and tips 18 yarder over net.
29 min...TFC Franklin chips 40 yard freekick from right. TFC Curic heads pop up from 18 yards on left is caught by goalie.
33 min...NC Steedman blasts 45 yarder up middle through crowd of players and just wide left of post. NC Pearson is injured
at TFC 45 yard line.
35 min...NC sub...Arriaga replaces injured Pearson before player resumes.
37 min...TFC Thompson runs up left and cross over box is passed back out downfield. TFC Rothrock 28 yard shot has goalie fly
to catch on right post.
41 min...TFC Petrasso makes two attempts to dribble into NC box and has two passes blocked on left then center.
42 min...TFC Petrasso cross from left 25 yards is headed away. TFC Curic chips 35 yarder well over net.
44 min...NC Coan 35 yard freekici up middle is chipped well over net.
46 min...half ends 4:55pm.

Second Half:...starts 5:11pm.
50 min...NC Coan on 2 on 1 takes low 28 yard shot that's wide right of net.
50 min...TFC Thompson taps pass across box and TFC Altobelli has short tap-in off right post.
51 min...TFC Thompson shot from 18 yards is chip to goalie.
52 min...NC goalie beats TFC Thompson to through ball to pick up ball at 15 yards.
53 min...TFC Franklin 35 yard freekick up middle has defenders clear in box.
54 min...TFC Rothrock low shot from 15 yards on right has sliding goalie save on right and then stand up to punch away
popped up rebound.
55 min...TFC YELLOW card...Curic earns it for tackle on NC Steedman at center line.
62 min...TFC player gets ball centered to him in 6 yard box but he's called for hand ball as he then kicks it over net.
62 min...TFC sub...Antonoglou replaces Altobelli.
63 min...TFC II Jon-Talen Maples GOAL...TFC Kobe Franklin takes 30 yard freekick from far left over two charging
TFC players into the box and Maples as third player on that charge connects on 6 yard shot down middle into net past
goalie Jake McGuire.
66 min...TFC II Luca Petrasso GOAL...TFC Kobe Franklin crosses low from 30 yards on far right that's over head
of leaping TFC Kosi Thompson in alignment with right post at 7 yards. Petrasso is behind him and one-touches 10 yard shot
low that bounces into right corner of net past diving goalie.
67 min...TFC player has 20 yard shot blocked then pulls NC player down.
68 min...NC YELLOW card...Coan earns it for pushing TFC player over into TFC players' bench.
69 min...TFC goalie out to 30 yards to beat NC Jackson to through ball.
70 min...NC sub...Hamilton replaces Steedman.
71 min...TFC Rothrock low 18 yarder up middle has goalie dive right to push ball wide right of post.
72 min...TFC players make short cornerkick then crossed into box and nearest defender pops up header onto top of net.
72 min...TFC II Paul Rothrock GOAL...TFC Kobe Franklin takes cornerkick from left that charging TFC Jon-Talen Maples
heads from 6 yards off left post. The ball deflects across the box and hits the right post and Rothrock turns towards
it at 1 yard and pokes it into empty net on the right as the goalie was still in the center of the net.
74 min...NC Jackson 22 yard shot up middle is just wide right of post.
75 min...TFC players 30 yard freekick from far left near cornerflag. TFC Maples has midair 12 yard shot saved by defender.
77 min...TFC Franklin cross from right is over box has TFC Petrasso one-touch chip has goalie catch. Goalie had returned
to net after being caught out.
78 min...NC YELLOW card...Flick earns it for tackle on 22 yards on right.
78 min...TFC Franklin 30 yard freekick from left is hight wide right for goalkick.
80 min...TFC Franklin 25 yard low shot on far right has goalie on edge of box deflect wide right.
81 min...TFC Petrasso cornerkick from right drops into center of box but is cleared.
82 min...TFC goalie to edge of box to smother through ball.
83 min...TFC sub...Ovalle replaces Carlini.
.............TFC sub...Poku replaces Thompson.
.............NC sub...Mariche replaces Jackson.
.............NC sub...Thakur replaces Miscic.
.............NC sub...Kerr replaces Coan.
85 min...TFC sub...Essoussi replaces Petrasso.
............TFC sub...Grenidge-Duncan replaces Rothrock.
87 min...TFC Franklin cornerkick from right has TFC player have diving header stopped at edge of 6 yard box and TFC Poku
has 8 yard shot blocked.
88 min...NC Frame centered pass through crowd of players on left and 18 yard shot up middle is just wide left of post.
89 min...NC Hamilton is injred at TFC 45 yard line and needs trainer. Trainer and TFC Campbell help him limp off field.
95 min...game ends 9:01pm.

Final Score:....Toronto FC II........3........North Carolina FC.........0..........

Attendance eventually climbed to just under 100 people. This was the first game I'd been able to attend
in two years. When the pandemic broke out, TFC II decided to sit out the 2020 season. There were
no vaccines back then and every game for them involved crossing the US borders and the same for
American teams visiting with quarantine waits that wouldn't fit into any schedule. For the 2021
season the team decided to play but for the start of the year play their 'home' games in Arizona
and then Florida. Finally July 30th they were back in Toronto but at this end admission was restricted
to 'family and friends'. This was my third time trying to enter (not the other rebuffs taking place
in person) and I was here so early they hadn't set up a gate but a team official signalled me through
because I couldn't get the QR app to register. If they had have thrown me out I only had a few hours
to wait and drive to Oshawa to watch my twentieth League1 Ontario game this season.

This year the size of the bleachers has been greatly reduced from three connected sections of something
like 12 rows each to two 5 row bleachers with a few park benches all along the east side staring
into the sun. More than enough to sit everyone although some of the player dads stood by the wall
so I moved to be able to take pictures to about the 20 yard line so I wasn't in anyone's line of site.

The afternoon was seasonally warmer than we'd expect for the beginning of October. They were hosing
down the field turf before the game with sprinklers than with garden hoses at halftime to help cool down
the playing surface. That's not even funny now as it was topped by hosing down BMO Field after it had
rained all day and would rain the entire TFC vs York United FC game in the Canadian Championship
quarterfinal.

Toronto dominated this game from the start with most of the action taking place in the North Carolina
end but they had so many chances that it began to look like maybe this would be a goalless draw
or maybe the visitors could sneak one in.

Julian Altobelli could have ended the tension earlier in the second half but he had a tap-in
at 50 minutes that he instead hit the right post.

Kevin Silva earned the shutout for TFC without having too much to do. He was helped by the visitors
shooting close but off target and the fact that he could command his defence with him yelling at them
to get back to help or cut off a potential threat.

TFC and TFC II have loaned players back and forth during the season but none in today's lineup have
been on the TFC roster and with a quick review I'd say none have ever played an MLS game. With the
injuries on the MLS roster, the loaned players now are all with the MLS team. Lowest number player
wore number 34.

Referee Renzo Villaneuva gave out two Yellow cards to each team in a game that had a few hard tackles
but nothing vicious.

North Carolina had a full bench of reserves. I've counted in the linescores when teams have visited
Toronto that they've had three guys listed as subs including a back up goalie. How many felons play
for these teams? Nah, sometimes they have non-Americans on the roster that can't 'work' here—at least
that's the explanation I remembered from the times they fielded a team in the PDL league.

A battle of the eleventh and twelfth (last) place team isn't something the league would get excited
about but TFC II were only four points out of the final playoff spot (sixth) at the beginning of the day.
Today's win moves them to eighth although now they must wait for all the other teams to play tonight
or later this weekend. However for this brief moment they are only one point out of the playoffs.
Their record improves to 7 wins, 8 ties, 9 losses for 29 points.

North Carolina's record falls to 5 wins, 4 ties, 14 losses for 19 points. They opened the season
with an 0-1-6 record at Week 11 of the season and were 8 points behind the next worst team even
back then. The team played as the Carolina Railhawks in the NASL as recently as 2017 then moved
back to USL and for 2021 dropped to USL League One. Maybe they've finally found their level.

Next game for TFC II is a rescheduled game on Friday October 8th against New England Revolution II
at 4:00pm.

I had fun walking out today. I put my mask on first as many of the players came over to talk
to their families. Goal scorer Luca Petrasso is the brother of York United player Michael Petrasso
and the family will be at York Lions Stadium on Sunday for the CPL league game. I said I'd watched
the two brothers kick toilet paper rolls to each other at the beginning of the pandemic
on YouTube—wow was it tough to find entertainment that long ago. I complemented TFC captain
Dante Campbell for his sportsmanship in helping the NC trainer carry off injured player Malyk Hamilton
(the only Canadian on the NC roster and a former member and teammate on Toronto FC III in their time
in League1 Ontario). I also told Kobi Franklin I was at the game when he scored a goal for TFC III
to become the youngest player to ever score in League1 Ontario. Earlier I had recognized
Jarek Whiteman who was watching the game (still on the roster for Vaughan Azzurri but currently
injured). He was one of the original TFC Academy players in 2008, Ashtone Morgan was another when
it all got started.

That banter got me inspired to write up a 'shoot' interview for an online magazine that wanted me
to write for them but the publishing date was closing in. It is just a summary of the L1O so far
this season and anything that came to mind within an hour.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
Twitter @RocketRobin01

Toronto FC II starters