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The Eastern Conference leading Union II are coming off a difficult 4-1 setback to New York Red Bulls II where the club’s biggest rival were able to avoid the season sweep. Head Coach Marlon LeBlanc put forth a young lineup with regular starters Andrew Rick, Olwethu Makhanya, CJ Olney, Neil Pierre and David Vazquez unavailable for the contest. Despite the missing pieces, Union II put up a fight against the club from New Jersey but saw high-potential scoring efforts just come up short. Eddy Davis III provided the lone goal for Union II as the Academy graduate notched his sixth goal of the season late in the match, flicking home a cross from Frankie Westfield.
Sunday’s contest is the second of three regular season meetings between the two sides with Union II taking the first win of the series in the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro seaon opener. Toronto opened th scoring as they struck on the counter in the 41st minute as Julian Altobelli threaded a ball to Jesús Batiz who converted on his second chance of the afternoon to make it 1-0 in favor of the visiting side. Union II responded in the 51st minute as Vazquez served up a perfectly placed volley into the box that Westfield got a header on first to float it into the back of the net. Three minutes later Union II found itself in the lead courtesy of that synchronized pressure from the front three. As Toronto sought to slow down the match, they turned to backline passes that saw Olivas, Vazquez and Davis seek out. A back pass to the keeper forced an arrant clearance that Davis intercepted inside the 18. A quick move later set up the Union Academy forward’s first-ever MLS NEXT Pro goal to make it 2-1 in favor of Union II.
Toronto FC II has played two fewer matches this season and currently sits in 11th place in the Eastern Conference table with 17 points. Sporting a 5-5-2 mark, Head Coach Gianni Cimini’s Young Reds snapped a three-game slide on Wednesday with Nathaniel Edwards strike in the 53rd minute helping the team knock off Inter Miami CF II.
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