Chicago Fire FC II (8-7-6-3, 33 points) fell 4-2 against Toronto FC II (8-10-3-1, 28 points) on Monday afternoon at SeatGeek Stadium.
Tristan Blyth from Toronto FC II struck first, putting the visitors up 1-0 in the 24th minute and adding a second goal in the third minute of first half stoppage time.
Chicago responded with a work of art from Damyan Villanueva, who cut the lead in half in the 45+4th minute. Damian Nigg sent the ball across the box from the left side that Villanueva got a touch on before seeing a defender closing in. Using his left foot, he calmly popped the ball into the air to get around his defender, and sent a right-footed shot into the back of the net from close range.
The home side pulled even in the 57th minute with a goal from second-half substitute Tidiane Diawara. A ball was slipped behind the backline for Vitaliy Hlyut who ran onto it and held on despite being challenged by his defender. Hlyut found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper and took a mid-level shot that Adisa De Rosario saved, sending the rebound into the box where Diawara was waiting to pounce and send the ball into the open net to tie the match 2-2.
Toronto did well to come back with two goals of their own, with Elias Khodri scoring in the 89th minute and Jahmarie Nolan sealing the scoreline at 4-2.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago Fire FC II will wrap up a three-game homestand at SeatGeek Stadium against Orlando City B on Saturday, August 15. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. The match can be streamed across the globe on OneFootball and MLSNEXTPro.com.
Social: X - @ChicagoFireFCII (Hashtags: #ChicagoFireII) | Instagram - @chicagofirefcii | Facebook
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC II 2:4 Toronto FC II
Goals:
TOR - Blyth (1) (WATCH) 24’
TOR - Blyth (2) (Pinnock 1) (WATCH) 45+3’
CHI - Villanueva (4) (Damian 4) (WATCH) 45+4’
CHI - Diawara (4) (WATCH) 57’
TOR - Khodri (4) (WATCH) 89’
TOR - Nolan (8) (Barrow 1) (WATCH) 90+5’
Discipline:
TOR - De Rosario (Caution) 15’
CHI - Pineda (Caution) 31’
TOR - Chisholm (Caution) 52’
TOR - Boneau (Caution) 60’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Nemo Jr., D Borso (Williams, 90+2’), D Sandmeyer, D Nagle, D Damian, M Fleming (capt.), M Pineda, M Villanueva (Bernhardt, 82’), M Montiel (Napoe, 46’), M Hlyut, F Boltz (Diawara, 46’)
Substitutes not used: GK Gongadze, D González, D Chavez, M Morales, M Field
Head Coach: Mike Matkovich
Toronto FC II: GK De Rosario, D Stampatori (Nue-Brito, 67’), D Fisher, D Kapor, D Chisholm (Costabile, 82’), M Dawson (Nolan, 46’), M Stojadinovic, M Boneau (capt.), M Pinnock (Bank, 67’), F Khodri (Omoregbe, 90+2’), F Blyth (Barrow, 67’)
Substitutes not used: GK Kantorowicz, F Adamson
Head Coach: Gianni Cimini
Stats Summary: CHI / TOR
Shots: 19 / 10
Shots on Goal: 7 / 6
Passing Accuracy: 89.3% / 86.7%
Saves: 2/ 4
Corners: 4 / 0
Fouls: 14 / 9
Offsides: 1 / 4
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, Ill.)
Referee: Braeden Frey
Assistant Referee 1: Christopher Slane
Assistant Referee 2: Jackson Krauser
Fourth Official: Fermin Sanchez