May 30, 2025...MLS NEXT Pro...Toronto FC II vs Crown Legacy FC game report by Rocket Robin

...............

Result and details of the Friday May 30, 2025 MLS NEXT Pro game between Toronto FC II and Crown Legacy FC
played at York Lions Stadium in North York at 7:00pm.

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

.........................77 Adisa De Rosario
85 Marko Stojadinovic...75 Reid Fisher...58 Ythallo...73 Micah Chisholm
74 Michael Sullivan (cpt)...6 Lucas Olguin...71 Markus Cimermancic...81 Hassan Ayari
.............78 Malik Henry...64 Jahmarie Nolan

Subs:...80 Shafique Wilson (gk)...93 Pablo Patrick-Galvez (def)...56 Antone Bossenberry (mid)...72 Mark Fisher (mid)
...79 Andrei Dumitru (mid)...82 Patrick McDonald (mid)...86 Joseph Melto Quiah (mid)...87 Costa Iliadis (mid)
...62 Joshua Nugent (fwd)
team officials:...manager Gianni Cimini...assistant coach Arman Mohammadi

Crown Legacy FC (all white uniforms, black names and numbers)

...........................42 Isaac Walker
44 Yves Tcheuyap...63 Wyatt Holt...54 Assane Ouedraogo...56 Erik Pena
70 Emmanuel Uchegbu...48 Aron John (cpt)...55 Baye Coullbaly...40 Jahalne Forbes
................50 Leo Bartolovic...60 Andrej Subotic

Subs:...73 Kai Longanecker (gk)...24 Mikah Thomas (def)...41 Brian Romero (fwd)...68 Dylan Sing (fwd)
...77 Ferna Ferreira (mid)...88 Thiago Rodrigues (mid)...92 Rocket Ritarita (fwd)...99 Daniel Moore (def)
team officials:...head coach Gary Dicker...assistant coach Kevin Sawchak...goalkeeper coach Brian Edwards
...assistant gm Bobby Belair...technical director Tommy Wilson

Game officials:...referee Samar Soltani...referee's assistants Andre Pickler and Mehmet Sen
...fourth official Fabrizio Stasolla...(all black uniforms)

First Half:...game starts 7:03pm...TFC defends south end on this warm evening with a slight wind from the north east.
30 sec...CL Ouedraogo clears low cross from right into CL box.
3 min...TFC Sullivan stops low cross from left into box.
4 min...CL Bartolovic rolls 10 yard shot from left that goalie pushes wide on dive to short side.
4 min...CL Subotic high cornerkick from left has CL Ouedraogo leaps but can't turn header on right side of box.
7 min...CL Tcheuyap run down right and chip from 30 yard line finds CL John all alone at 7 yards that he heads downward
and flying goalie pushes ball wide left and defender clears.
10 min...TFC Ayari run on right nad 12 yard shot on sharp right has goalie push right near post.
10 min...TFC Ayari cornerkick from right has TFC Fisher pop header from 18 yards on slight left into box and goalie in crowd
of players gets hand to but defender heads away.
11 min...TFC Henry sends pass to TFC Ayari and he shoots at 20 yards on slight left an inward bender but its just wide of the top
right corner.
13 min...TFC Henry rush on right and crosses over box but TFC Ayari passes ball away and no one takes shot.
15 min...CL Forbes cornerkick from right has goalie charge forward in crowd of players to catch.
16 min...CL player chips from 30 yards on left is well wide right.
17 min...TFC Nolan rush in on right from 45 yards when defender slips. Nolan takes low 12 yard shot that's saved by goalie.
Nolan gets rebound shot that's also stopped by kneeling goalie and deflects for cornerkick.
18 min...TFC Ayari high cornerkick from right. TFC Fisher pops 20 yard header from slight left wide right.
20 min...TFC Ayari cornerkick from right haas TFC Fisher pop header from 20 yards but TFC players in 6 yard box are called offside.
23 min...CL John 30 yard freekick from slight right has ball sent between heads of charging players on left for goalkick.
24 min...CL player's cornerkick from left has goalie catch near left post.
30 min...TFC Henry is away on rush on right and taps ball back to TFC Sullivan who rolls 25 yarder to goalie.
31 min...TFC Ayari run on left and crosses between players to find TFC Nolan alone at 20 yards. Nolan rolls 15 yarder that
diving goalie gets hand to and deflects off left post for him to smother.
[The PA sound system plays a few notes of their goal music before being stopped.]
33 min...CL John bends cornerkick from left that hits outside mesh of net.
35 min...TFC Henry run on right anada rolls centering pass tht TFC Cimermancic shoots 15 yarder down middle and hits top
of crossbar and deflects over net.
36 min...CL Uchegbu makes short run up middle and rolls pass. CL Bartolovic bounces 20 yard header to goalie.
37 min...TFC Cimermancic run down left and crosses into box. TFC Henry can't turn open header from 6 yards.
38 min...CL Coullbaly ends CL pressure after blocked shot with a 22 yard blast up middle over the net.
39 min...TFC Chisholm heads away CL player's cross from left at 8 yards preventing CL player getting a chance on the right
side of box.
41 min...CL YELLOW card...Subotic earns it for grabbing TFC Sullivan breaking out at center line.
42 min...TFC goalie leaps on left end line but can't keep ball in play.
43 min...CL John cornerkick from left has goalie windmill swat ball out right side of box.
44 min...TFC Sullivan rolls pass forward from 35 yards. TFC Nolan can't get away a clear shot at 12 yards.
45:05 min...half ends 7:48pm.

Halftime Entertainment:...A mini game between players from the Oshawa Kicks 2013 Boys is held but why were they put
on the far side of the field?
Only the TFC subs stayed out to warm up. The Crown subs had warmed up in the endzone already late in the first half.

Second Half:...starts 8:03pm.
halftime sub:...CL Moore replaces Forbes.
48 min...TFC Stojadinovic blasts 20 yard shot off the left post and wins cornerkick on right. CL Uchegbu had been injured
earlier in the play and needs the trainer.
51 min...CL sub...Sign replaces Bartolovic.
..............CL sub...Ritarita replaces injured Uchegbu.
51 min...TFC Ayari cornerkick from right has defender head away. TFC Olguin chips 25 yarder over crowd of players and goalie
smothers on left post.
52 min...CL Subotic heads 8 yarder on left that flying goalie smothers on left post.
53 min...CL John cornerkick from left is cleared back to him and his rebound has TFC Ythallo pop header over own net.
53 min...CL John cornerkick from left has goalie save.
57 min...TFC Michael Sullivan GOAL...TFC Markus Cimermancic chips pass from 75 yards on the left
upfield which has ball drop at 30 yard line in middle for charging Sullivan who dribbles forward and steps
around retreating CL Daniel Moore who was even with him and from 10 yards on the slight left roofs shot
to the short left side over arms of goalie Isaac Walker who was at 3 yard line with another defender peeling
off to cover two TFC players charging into box.
59 min...TFC Henry cross from right from 15 yard line has TFC Nolan bicycle kick shot from 7 yards go well wide left.
61 min...CL Moore can't turn header from left on cross over box from right.
61 min...TFC Henry cross neaar right end line has defender head away in 6 yard box.
62 min...CL Coullbaly is tapped back pass and 20 yard blast is well over net.
63 min...TFC YELLOW card...Cimermancic earns it for pulling down CL player at CL 50 yard line breaking out up middle.
64 min...TFC sub...Bossenberry replaces Cimermancic.
............TFC sub...Iliadis replaces Henry.
67 min...CL Moore is checked off ball on run into left side of box.
68 min...TFC Ayari long run down left but rolls ball over end line.
69 min...TFC Fisher keeps CL Subotic from deking him in box.
69 min...CL goalie dives on left edge of 18 yard box to prevent TFC Nolan from getting to ball.
70 min...TFC Fisher forces CL Moore to push ball over end line on left.
71 min...CL sub...Rodrigues replaces Pena.
............CL sub...Romero replaces Subotic.
72 min...TFC sub...Nugent replaces injured Nolan who needed trainer on edge of CL box where the goalie had made save.
72 min...CL Moore cross from left end line is cleared.
73 min...TFC Nugent runs down right and low cross along 25 yard line. TFC Bossenberry lofts 25 yarder down middle
that goalie catches.
76 min...TFC Chisholm prevents CL Rodrigues from getting to ball on right endline.
78 min...CL Moore low cross from left is through box. CL Romero can't spin and get away shot from 10 yards.
79 min...CL Moore low cross is through box from left. CL Sing slides and 6 yard shot on slight right is wide left.
80 min...CL Romero 15 yard shot from extreme right is over net.
80 min...TFC sub...Fisher replaces Ayari.
81 min...CL John cornerkick on left has flying TFC player stop on left post.
82 min...TFC Bossenberry blasts blocked shot from 18 yards that diving goalie pushes wide left.
82 min...TFC Bossenberry cornerkick from right is knocked out for another cornerkick.
83 min...TFC Bossenberry cornerkick from right has TFC Iliadis shoots 12 yarder over bar.
85 min...TFC Fisher makes good header to clear ball in box.
87 min...TFC Ythallo is injured clearing ball on right edge of own box.
89 min...CL Moore low centering pass along 8 yard box has CL players not able to get away shot.
89 min...CL YELLOW card...Rodrigues earns it for eye poke (?!) on TFC Fisher injurying him at CL 35 yard line.
90 min...TFC YELLOW card...Fisher earns it for timewasting taking freekick. Fisher is still on field after that getting treatment
for his injury.
93 min...TFC sub...McDonald replaces injured Fisher.
93 min...TFC Bossenberry run to left end line and 15 yard shot has goalie stop on left post.
95 min...CL sub...Ferreira replaces Tcheuyap.
95 min...TFC Iliadis makes big header clearance in center of box.
96 min...TFC defenders make multi pass clearance.
96 min...TFC Stojadinovic ensures ball rolls over end line for goalkick keeping CL player from getting to it.
97:13 min...game ends 8:55pm.

Final Score:......Toronto FC II........1.........Crown Legacy FC.........0..........

Attendance climbed to about 400 at just after halftime on this mild evening. At least twice that of last Friday's game. I had expected with the MLS team playing tomorrow night at BMO for the third time this week, there would be a lot of fans that were 'TFC'd out'. Just my usual friends with the autograph hobby skipped tonight. Also must have been 20+ friends and relatives to see Legacy defender Yves Tcheuyap who is from nearby Oakville. Only other Toronto link is that Crown goalkeeper coach is Brian Edwards who was a backup goalie for Toronto FC between 2008 and 2010.

Adisa De Rosario earned the shutout tonight. This was his fourth of the season that pulls him even with Eldin Jakupovic of Chattanooga FC for the league lead. He had to be sharp today but got some help from his defence. A few dives to push a ball wide of the post helped his cause. A tweet earlier today from sportswriter Neil Davidson said today was the tenth C anniversary of the day MLS legend Dwayne De Rosario (Adisa's father) announced his retirement from the league.

The four starting TFC defenders played the entire 90 minutes. Marko Stojadinvic, Reid Fisher, Ythallo, and Micah Chisholm were particularcly solid from 75 minutes onward coping with CL Daniel Moore sending in crosses into the box from the left with them clearing or blocking any shot attempts.

TFC had three balls off the woodwork earlier in the game. 31 minutes had TFC Jahmarie Nolan receive a pass from Hassane Ayari finding him all alone in the middle at 20 yards. Nolan rolled a 15 yarder that goalie dove to get a hand to and deflected it off the left post and rolled back for him to smother. The PA system played a few notes of the goal song before shutting it off. Four minutes later and Malik Henry on a run of the right rolled a centering pass to Markus Cimermancic to shoot a 15 yarder down the middle and off the top of the crossbar and it deflected over the net. 48 minutes had Marko Stojadinovic blast a 20 yard shot off the left post.

Referee Samar Soltani gave out only four Yellows today (two to each team) and two of them were very late in the game for a strange passage of time. 89 minutes and Crown's Thiago Rodrigues earned one for twisting around TFC Mark Fisher at the Crown 35 yard line. It looked like there were fingers in the eye. Fisher lined up for a freekick but couldn't stop rubbing his face. The referee eventually gave him a Yellow card for time wasting. The trainer was then allowed out on the field (the injury was near the TFC bench anyway). Fisher was given all the protocol for a head injury. That gave TFC a chance to bring in Patrick McDonald as a substitute. It stretched the time added from 5 minutes to 7 minutes. No added time was given in the rather incident free first half but there a few injury delays in the second. The other two Yellows were professional fouls for pulling down a player breaking out near the center line.

This is the second weekend in a row where the MLS NEXT Pro teams of the parent MLS clubs play the night before. Last Friday TFC II played Huntsville City FC and the next day the MLS teams played ie. Nashville SC. Both games last weekend ended in 2-1 wins for the visitors. Tomorrow, how about a 1-0 score for the home team when the MLS Charlotte FC will play downtown? Both teams are located in different cities in North Carolina. Charlotte and Matthews are comparable Toronto and Scarborough.

MLSE had invited the Oshawa Kicks 2013 Boys team here which means parents and siblings are here too. They didn't use them for ball kids nor escorts for the players but just for halftime entertainment by having them play a mini-game but on the far side of the field. After the game they were allowed onto the track to meet with the players.

By the time I got home the other Eastern Conference game was over.

Toronto improves their record to 4 wins, 5 losses, 2 ties, 0 shoot-out-points for 14 points. That moves them from twelfth to a three way tie for eighth place although there are still eight of the fifteen teams in the East that will play tomorrow or Sunday so they may drop back down a place of two.

Crown Legacy's record drops to 3 wins, 3 losses, 4 ties, 2 shoot-out-points for 15 points. That puts them in a three way tie for fifth. A lot of mediocre record teams are battling for the final playoff spots.

Next Sunday TFC II travel to play last place Cincinnati before returning home on Thursday June 12 for a 6:45pm game (announced as the starting time although the league site says 7:00pm, and I'd written 6:00pm in my day planner at the beginning of the season) against Miami.

York Lions Stadium was making repairs by cementing the concourse and a large area was fenced off meaning we had to go down in the stands, cross a few long sections, then come back up to finish out way to the center sections. That's OK for the number of fans this team draws when they play here but would create major problems with CPL York United FC and especially AFC Toronto of the NSL women's league which almost fills this place. NSL has taken an international break and York United have moved their home game to Quebec City (certainly not for this reason) so there is plenty of time for cement to dry. I expect this was just storm damage as last week they only had some large spongy coverings that people could walk over without detouring.

Rocket Robin
robin.glover.1958@gmail.com

Toronto FC II starters