FC Cincinnati 2 opened their 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season Sunday night at Scudamore Field at NKU Soccer Stadium, playing to a 1-0 loss to Toronto FC II.
Nathaniel Edwards scored the lone goal of the match for Toronto in the 40th minute. After scoring two goals for the Young Reds last season, Edwards tallied his first of the 2025 campaign, finishing a tap in effort from close range on a low driven ball across the face of goal from Hassan Ayari.
Seven players made their FCC 2 debuts against Toronto. Yorkaeff Caicedo, Andrei Chirila, Tega Ikoba and Monsuru Opeyemi all started in the match, with FC Cincinnati Academy defender Chirila going the full 90 minutes. Defender Noah Adnan played 45-minutes, replacing Nick Hagglund at halftime while Dilan Hurtado played 19 minutes in the second half.
Academy defender Will Kuisel played half an hour in his first appearance of the year after making two substitute appearances for the Orange and Blue last season. Academy midfielder Ademar Chavez saw 11 minutes in his MLSNP debut.
FC Cincinnati 2 travel to Foxborough, Mass. on a short week as they face New England Revolution II on Thursday, March 13 at 5 p.m. ET. The match will air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
FC CINCINNATI 2 GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati 2 vs Toronto FC II
Date: March 9, 2025
Competition: MLS NEXT Pro Regular Season
Venue: Scudamore Field at NKU Soccer Stadium | Highland Heights, Kentucky
Kickoff: 6:03 p.m. ET
Weather: 57 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 0-0-0
TOR: 1-0-1
CIN – None
TOR – Nathaniel Edwards (Ayari) 30’
LINEUPS
CIN: Paul Walters, Nick Hagglund (Noah Adnan 46’), Brian Schaefer, Andrei Chirila, Monsuru Opeyemi (Dilan Hurtado 71’), Peter Mangione (C), Stiven Jimenez (Ademar Chavez 79’), Yorkaeff Caicedo (Will Kuisel 60’), Kenji Mboma Dem, Stefan Chirila, Tega Ikoba (Gerardo Valenzuela 61’)
Substitutes not used: Nathan Crockford, Xhosa Manyana, Juan Machado, Carson Locker
Head Coach: Tyrone Marshall
TOR: Adisa De Rosario, Reid Fisher, Lazar Stefanovic, Richard Chukwu (Ythallo 73’), Kobe Franklin (C), Nathaniel Edwards (Malik Henry 89’), Lucas Olguin, Michael Sullivan, Hassan Ayari (Andrei Dumitru 81’), Charles Sharp, Dekwon Barrow (Josh Nugent 73’)
Substitutes not used: Nathaniel Abraham, Antone Bossenberry, Micah Chisholm, Marko Stojadinovic, Stefan Kapor
Head Coach: Gianni Cimini
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/TOR
Shots: 9 / 10
Shots on Goal: 2 / 5
Saves: 4 / 2
Corner Kicks: 1 / 2
Fouls: 16 / 8
Offside: 1 / 1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
TOR – Lazar Stefanovic (Yellow Card) 17’
TOR – Dekwon Barrow (Yelllow Card) 40’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Calin Radosav
Ast. Referees: John Krill, Jackson Krauser
Fourth Official: Salvador Flores
