Atlanta United 2 played New York City FC II to a scoreless draw on Friday night at Fifth Third Stadium. ATL UTD 2 took home an extra point in a penalty shootout following regulation, with Josh Cohen making two key saves in the shootout.
Atlanta's first opportunity came in the 23rd minute when Matías Gallardo floated in a corner before chaos in the box sent the ball out to the feet of Javier Armas who ripped a shot from just inside the 18 though his attempt caught the wind and went out for a goal kick.
Cohen was tested in the 39th minute after NYC earned a free kick just outside the 18 yard box. New York's Jacob Arroyave stepped up to send a left-footed shot to the upper right corner but Cohen reacted to make a diving save and keep the match scoreless heading into the break.
In the 47th minute Cohen yet again came up big when New York was able to get off back-to-back attempts from short distance but Cohen was able to get himself in front of NYC's shots before the ball got cleared away.
In the 66th minute Karim Tmimi received a lofted through ball down the right wing, pulling down the pass and running towards goal, Tmimi wound up for a shot driven to the lower right corner but his attempt was met by New York's goalkeeper, Alex Rando.
Shortly after, Erik Centeno danced his way to the top of the box to get off a powerful right-footed shot from outside the box but it got punched away. Atlanta regained possession allowing Tmimi to get in behind the defense and lay off a pass for Alan Carleton at the six yard box, but his attempt was also poked away to keep Atlanta off the board.
With things tied up at the end of regulation, the match was sent into penalty kicks with an extra point up for grabs. Atlanta was the first to take kicks, with Armas and Noble Okello converting Atlanta's first two attempts. Cohen continued his to impress, saving NYC's second and third penalty shots to seal a 4-2 shootout victory for ATL UTD 2.
Atlanta United 2 (2-4-1, 8 points) will return to action on Wednesday, May 8 as the club is set to match up against Carolina Core FC for the second time this year at Fifth Third Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, Apple TV - MLS Season Pass, Soccer Down Here). 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.
Notes:
- ATL UTD 2 went to its first penalty shootout of the season.
- ATL UTD 2 kept its third clean sheet of the season.
- ATL UTD 2 improves its all-time shootout record to 3-4.
- Javier Armas is the only ATL UTD 2 player this season to play in all 630 minutes.
- Javier Armas led ATL UTD 2 in passes with 53.
- Erik Centeno led all players in crosses with six.
- Josh Cohen made five saves in regulation and two in the penalty shootout.
- Karim Tmimi led all players in shots with four.
Stats:
Shots: 11-10 Atlanta
Shots on target: 5-5
Corner kicks: 7-5 Atlanta
Fouls Committed: 14-7 Atlanta
Passing accuracy: 90.5% - 85.5% NYC
Penalty Shootout:
ATL:
Javier Armas – ✅
Noble Okello – ✅
Alan Carleton – ✅
Jacob Williams – ❌
Karim Tmimi – ✅
NYC:
Taylor Calheira – ✅
Jonathan Jimenez Vargas – ❌
Christopher Tian-Long Tiao – ❌
Jake Rozhansky – ✅
Disciplinary:
NYC – Samuel Owusu 🟨 5'
ATL – Adyn Torres 🟨 38'
NYC – Maxmio Carrizo 🟨 53'
NYC – Jake Rozhansky 🟨 76'
ATL – Karim Tmimi 🟨 84'
ATL – Alan Carleton 🟨 87'
ATL – Ramzi Qawasmy 🟨 90'+1'
