HIGH POINT, N.C. (July 19, 2025) - Atlanta United 2 played to a 1-1 draw at Carolina Core FC Saturday night before falling in the penalty shootout to decide the extra point. The game was delayed 95 minutes due to inclement weather, while Javier Armas scored his third goal of the season to equalize late in the first of a four-match away stretch.
The match action began quickly, with Atlanta creating the first opportunity inside the first minute. Ryan Carmichael won the ball deep in the Core's half and played Patrick Weah on the left. The Liberian dribbled toward goal and shot toward the back post but it rolled wide right.
Carolina opened the scoring in fourth minute. Glory Nzingo placed a corner kick from the left to the back post, where Facundo Canete sprinted from the top of the box past his defender to connect on the header and take the early lead.
Nyk Sessock nearly grabbed the equalizer in the ninth minute. Carmichael found himself with the ball in the midfield and played Sessock through centrally for a one-on-one opportunity against Alex Sutton. The wingback dribbled around the goalkeeper and placed the ball toward the empty net but hit the outside of the post. Dominik Chong Qui recovered the rebound, but his shot toward the back post was pushed away for a corner.
In the 35th minute, Anthony Sumo Jr. was shown a straight red card for a studs-up tackle on Sessock. Rodrigo Neri was substituted on for Sessock, who could not continue after the foul.
Atlanta's final opportunity of the half began at the 41st minute with a ball played into the box from Cooper Sanchez at the midfield stripe. His right-footed curler found the back post where Moises Tablante came diving for the header, but the Venezuelan sent it over the bar.
In the 67th minute, Jacob Evans won the ball at midfield and started a quick counter attack. Evans played Canete on the right side, who dribbled around one and stood alone against Jonathan Ransom, but the 17-year-old stepped out to make the save and keep Atlanta in the game.
In the final minute of regulation, Atlanta held possession around Carolina's box in search for the equalizer. Adyn Torres took a shot that was deflected toward Armas at the left corner of the box. The captain took a touch and curled a right-footed shot into the upper-near corner to send the game into a shootout to settle the extra point. Both teams scored four of their first six attempts, but Adyn Torres had his attempt saved for Carolina to earn the extra point.
Atlanta United 2 (3-5-8, 19 points) returns to action Wednesday, July 30 when it travels to New England Revolution II at Gillette Stadium (11 a.m. ET, 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.
