Atlanta United 2 drew 2-2 with New York City FC II at Icahn Stadium on Friday night. Atlanta walked away with an extra point in the standings after winning the penalty shootout 4-2. Homegrowns Luke Brennan and Efraín Morales each claimed a goal in the contest while Jayden Hibbert claimed his third career shootout victory.
Both sides were active on the offensive end early in the match. Five minutes in, midfielder Alan Carleton danced through two defenders on the left side of the penalty area before he slipped an outside the foot pass to Nick Firmino who got off a shot on goal, but his attempt fell into the palms of NYC's Luis Barraza. ATL UTD 2 broke through in the 18th minute. Brennan led the charge, carrying the ball into the box before laying it off for Firmino on the right flank who flicked it towards the six-yard box for Brennan to head home.
In the 23rd minute, New York strung together multiple forward passes that resulted in Camil Azzam Ruiz getting off a shot on target from a tight angle that Hibbert was able to stop, but the ball fell to the feet of Ronald Arevalo to tap over the goal line despite a handful of deflections.
Atlanta carved out a dangerous chance in the 62nd minute. After receiving the ball on the end line from Tyler Wolff, Brennan sent in a perfectly weighted cross to the back post that met the head of Firmino to get a shot off, but his attempt rattled off the crossbar. The ball then fell back to ATL UTD 2, finding the feet of Carleton who ripped a shot that was heading towards the lower left corner of goal, but Barraza recovered to deny the opportunity.
New York took the lead after claiming its second goal in the 67th minute. Midfielder Jake Rozhansky picked out an unmarked Azzam Ruiz waiting at the top of the box, who collected the pass before turning and getting off a right-footed shot that dropped into the left side of the net.
For the second match in a row, ATL UTD 2 found a goal late into stoppage time. After earning a corner kick in the 94th minute, Matías Gallardo floated the ball into the penalty area to meet the head of Morales, sending his attempt past the reach of Barraza and leveling the match at two apiece.
With the match ending in a 2-2 draw through regulation, a penalty shootout commenced with an extra point on the table. After Atlanta converted its first two shots, NYC's Taylor Calheira stepped up for the home side's second attempt. Calheira sent the ball to the right of Hibbert but the Jamaican international was there to make the save, however, the official deemed Hibbert came off his line before the shot was taken. Calheira was stopped yet again during his second go at goal after Hibbert correctly guessed he would send his shot the same direction. ATL UTD 2 went on to score its next two before New York sent its keeper up to take the fourth attempt, which saw Barraza send the ball over the bar.
Atlanta United 2 (7-11-6, 31 points) returns home to take on rivals Huntsville City FC next Sunday, Sept. 15 at Fifth Third Stadium (3:00 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 is now 4-2 in penalty shootouts this season.
- ATL UTD 2 now holds a 2-1-1 record over New York City FC II.
- Javier Armas is the only ATL UTD 2 player to appear in all 2,160 minutes this season.
- Luke Brennan scored his fourth goal of the year.
- Alan Carleton led ATL UTD 2 in shots with four.
- Nick Firmino recorded his second assist of the 2024 campaign.
- Matías Gallardo recorded his fifth assist of the year. It marked his fourth assist in five matches.
- Jayden Hibbert has now won three penalty shootouts and has recorded four saves in shootouts.
- Efraín Morales scored his second goal of the season.
- Edwin Mosquera made his ATL UTD 2 debut.
Penalty Shootout:
ATL
Javier Armas – ✅
Alan Carleton – ✅
Matías Gallardo – ✅
Nick Firmino – ✅
NYC
Jake Rozhansky – ✅
Taylor Calheira – ❌
Samuel Owusu – ✅
Luis Barraza – ❌
Stats:
Shots: 15-11 Atlanta
Shots on target: 6-3 New York
Corner kicks: 6-5 New York
Fouls Committed: 12-12
Passing accuracy: 84.7% - 80.6%
Scoring:
ATL – Luke Brennan (Firmino) 18'
NYC – Ronald Arevalo (Unassisted) 23'
NYC – Camil Azzam Ruiz (Rozhansky) 67'
ATL – Efraín Morales (Gallardo) 90'+4'
Disciplinary:
ATL – Edwin Mosquera 🟨 38'
NYC – Jonathan Lopez 🟨 41'
NYC – Jake Rozhansky 🟨 50'
NYC – Rio Hope-Gund 🟨 70'
ATL – Karim Tmimi 🟨 75'
ATL – Efraín Morales 🟨 83'
