RENO, Nev. – Playing their 12th road match of the 2017 USL regular season, T2 fell 6-1 to Reno 1868 FC at Greater Nevada Field in front of 5,640 fans Saturday night.
T2 (2-19-3, 12pts) scored their lone goal of the match in the 73rd minute when midfielder Tomás Granitto’s free-kick delivery into the box from the left wing picked out midfielder Max Ornstil, who redirected his header into the lower-left corner of the net.
Reno 1868 FC (16-6-7, 55pts) opened the scoring in the ninth minute when forward Dane Kelly headed home midfielder Luis Fernandes’ cross from the left edge of the penalty area past T2 goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh.
The home team took a 2-0 lead three minutes later when Kelly nodded midfielder Chris Wehan’s delivery from a corner kick into the back of the net in the 13th minute. Reno added a third goal when Kelly’s back-healed pass in transition found midfielder Lindo Mfeka inside the box, and his low drive snuck past McIntosh in the 32nd minute.
Starting the second half on the front foot, forward Augustine Williams evaded his defender at the right edge of the penalty area, forcing Reno goalkeeper Russell Klabough into a diving save at the near post in the 46th minute. Great combination play on the left wing between defender Kyle Bjornethun and Ornstil freed the midfielder into space. Ornstil’s low cross found Williams inside the penalty area, where his shot was saved by Klabough in the 58th minute.
Reno extended its lead to 4-0 when forward Antoine Hoppenot laced his shot from inside the box into the roof of the net in the 49th minute. Reno added two more goals when Hoppenot curled his shot past McIntosh in the 59th minute and in the 61st minute when second-half substitute Mackenzie Pridham converted a rebound from inside the six-yard box.
Next up, T2 will play host to Phoenix Rising FC in the regular-season home finale on Wednesday, Sept. 27; kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific).
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 acting head coach Shannon Murray
On the team’s performance tonight…
“They came out early and we got punched in the face a couple of times, but I felt like the first 35 minutes weren’t bad in terms of our play. We just made a couple of mistakes that ended up costing us dearly. With this group, we made a lot of strides in the last couple of months, but today was a learning lesson. This is a game that we’re going to have to quickly learn from because we’ve got to turn around and play again on Wednesday. We’ll get back at it with these guys, show them things that we can improve on. We’ve got a good opponent coming into Providence Park on Wednesday. It’s one of those nights for us where there is a lot to learn from and a lot to learn from very quickly.”
On what he expects from the team for next Wednesday’s home match against Phoenix Rising FC…
“This is a big-boy game. This is professional soccer and we have a game in three days. Whether we get more players for the game or not doesn’t really matter. Our players are going to have to quickly recover, quickly get their minds right, quickly learn from what went on tonight and look to put out a much better performance on Wednesday.”
T2 (2-19-6, 12pts) vs. Reno 1868 FC (16-6-7, 55pts)
Sept. 23, 2017 – Greater Nevada Field (Reno, Nev.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 1 1
Reno 1868 FC 3 3 6
Scoring Summary
RNO: Kelly (Colvey), 10
RNO: Kelly (Wehan), 13
RNO: Mfeka (Kelly), 32
RNO: Hoppenot (LaGrassa), 49
RNO: Hoppenot (Mfeka), 59
RNO: Pridham, 61
POR: Ornstil (Granitto), 73
Misconduct Summary
POR: Hanson (Caution), 24
POR: Lowe (Caution), 87
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK McIntosh ©, D Hanson, D Tuiloma, D Batista, D Bjornethun (Amick, 63), M Cicerone, M Ornstil, M Granitto (Lowe, 77), M Mohamed, F Williams (Jimenez, 83), F Calixtro
Substitutes Not Used: GK Hamilton
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Granitto, Williams, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Granitto, Ornstil, Williams, 1); FOULS: 10 (Williams, 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 2
RNO: GK Klabough, D Richards, D Ockford ©, D Murrell, D Colvey, M Felipe, M LaGrassa, M Mfeka, M Wehan, F Hoppenot (Casiple, 64), F Kelly [(Brown, 35) Pridham, 54]
Substitutes Not Used: GK Bieker, D Janjigian, M Burgos, M Espinal
TOTAL SHOTS: 20 (Fernandes, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 11 (Kelly, 4); FOULS: 8 (Fernandes, Richards, 2); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 2
Referee: Benjamin Oakley
Assistant Referees: Stephen McGonagle, Julian Arias
4th Official: Raffaele Gaeta
Attendance: 5,640
Weather: Clear, 55 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
