Atlanta United 2 picked up its first point of the 2023 season with a 1-1 draw against New York Red Bulls II. In MLS NEXT Pro teams go to a shootout when the match ends in a draw to determine an extra point in the standings. The visitors earned that point after a 5-4 shootout win.
Atlanta wasted little time to find the opening goal in the fourth minute. Erik Lopez applied pressure at the midfield stripe and intercepted a pass from Hassan Ndam. The Paraguayan forward raced in on goal and found a composed finish into the bottom left corner to give Atlanta the early lead.
Atlanta continued to find space in behind the Red Bulls defense as the first half continued. In the 34th minute, Tyler Wolff spun his defender in midfield and played a through ball to Lopez, who once again found himself racing on goal one-v-one with the keeper, but this time his left footed shot narrowly missed the target. Late in the half, Wolff and Luke Brennan combined for a give-and-go down the left before Wolff laid the ball square to Lopez. The striker took a touch and curled an effort from the top off the box narrowly beyond the far post. Atlanta took a 1-0 lead into the break.
New York equalized early in the second half. In the 57th minute, Wiki Carmona pounced on a bouncing ball at the top of the box and ripped a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner giving Clement Diop no chance. Atlanta nearly responded five minutes later when Lopez floated a cross to the back post for an open Nick Firmino, but the midfielder couldn't direct his header on target.
Diop was called into action a couple of times down the stretch when he made two excellent diving saves from long-range shots by Red Bulls II. The first one was off the boot of Carmona, whose curling strike was saved. A couple minutes later, Curtis Ofori rifled an effort towards goal that Diop was equal to again. Both teams had opportunities to win in regulation, but the match ended 1-1 giving both teams a point. In MLS NEXT Pro all matches that end in a draw go to a shootout where the winning team can earn an extra point in the standings.
In the shootout, New York's keeper AJ Marcucci made the only save off a Firmino shot and Red Bulls II earned the extra point with a 5-4 shootout victory.
Atlanta United 2 returns to action next Sunday, April 9 when it travels to face NYCFC II in the first road match of the 2023 season (7:00 p.m., MLSNEXTPro.com). Some ATL UTD 2 matches are available with an MLS Season Pass subscription, located on the Apple TV app while the remainder of matches are streamed live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Match Summary
Stats
Shots: 21-9 New York
Shots on target: 7-3 New York
Corner kicks: 13-2 New York
Fouls Committed: 15-8 New York
xG: 1.45.0.88 New York
Possession: 52-48 Atlanta
Passing accuracy: 74-70 Atlanta
Scoring
ATL - Erik Lopez 4'
NYR II - Wiki Carmona 57'
Disciplinary
NYR II - Matthew Nocita 24' 🟨
NYR II - Oladayo Thomas 46' 🟨
NYR II - Yostin Salinas 52' 🟨
ATL - David Mejia 70' 🟨
ATL - Clement Diop 74' 🟨
NYR II - O'Vonte Mullings 81' 🟨
NYR II - Omar Valencia 83' 🟨
Notes
- Erik Lopez, Clement Diop, Tyler Wolff and Noah Cobb all made their first appearance with ATL UTD 2 this season.
- Lopez scored his first goal of the year
- Clement Diop finished with 6 saves
- This was the first shootout for ATL UTD 2 in its club history.
Shootout Results
ATL - Erik Lopez (goal)
NYR II - Frank Ssebufu (goal)
ATL - Nick Firmino (saved)
NYR II - Wiki Carmona (goal)
ATL - Karim Tmimi (goal)
NYR II - Daniel Edelman (goal)
ATL - Fuad Adeniyi (goal)
NYR II - Yostin Salinas (goal)
ATL - Toni Tiente (goal)
NYR II - Erick Ruiz (goal)
Attendance: 541
ATLANTA UNITED 2 STARTING XI
GK: Clement Diop
D: Tyler Young, Noah Cobb, Fuad Adeniyi, Aiden McFadden
M: Ajani Fortune (Nick Firmino- 55'), Kofi Twumasi (C) (Toni Tiente - HT), Tyler Wolff (Karim Tmimi - 78),
F: Erik Lopez, Luke Brennan (Erik Centeno - 72'), Jonantan Villal (David Mejia - 55')
Substitutes not used:
Vicente Reyes (GK), Efrain Morales, Raimar, Alan Carleton
NEW YORK RED BULLS II STARTING XI
GK: AJ Marcucci
D: Omar Valencia, Matthew Nocita (Yostin Salinas - 35'), Hassan Ndam, O'Vonte Mullings
M: Dru Yearwood (Erick Ruiz - 60'), Daniel Edelman, Curtis Ofori (Dylan Sullivan - 83'), Amos Shapiro-Thompson, Wikelman Carmona
F: Oladayo Thomas (Frank Ssebufu - 83')
Substitutes not used:
Will Meyer (GK), Jayden Reid, Arian Recinos, Henry Wise, Ricardo Gorday
OFFICIALS
Greg Dopka (referee), Tom Felice (assistant), Brian Marshall (assistant), Joshua Belk (fourth).
