HIGH POINT, N.C. (Sept. 13, 2025) - Atlanta United 2 fell 4-2 at Carolina Core in a tense match for playoff contention at Truist Point Stadium. Santiago Pita scored his first professional goal as Gabriel Wesseh now leads the team with five assists on the season.
In the 15th minute, Atlanta earned a free kick and Ryan Carmichael delivered an in-swinging set piece into the box, where Patrick Weah brilliantly struck a scorpion kick into the bottom-right corner for the opener.
In the 37th minute, Carolina equalized through Jesus Ibarra. Facundo Canete played Paul Leonardi at the top of the box, who slipped it to Ibarra on the left side and the former Chattanooga-man struck the ball into the bottom-left corner.
In the only minute of first-half stoppage time, the Core took the lead. Antonio Pineda quickly received the ball on the half-turn and slipped Canete through on the right, and the captain slotted it past Jonathan Ransom to take the lead into halftime.
Pita scored his first professional goal in the 52nd minute. Atlanta earned a set piece just beyond the right corner of Carolina's box, and Wesseh played Pita centrally. The 18-year-old touched the ball around one defender and launched a left-footed shot from 25 yards out into the top-left corner to equalize.
Kai Thomas received a through ball from Ibarra on the right, and struck a volley from a tough angle into the back post to take the lead in the 62nd minute. Five minutes later, Canete scored a penalty for Carolina's fourth. Ransom got a touch to the attempt, but it bounced off the shot-stopper and skipped into the roof of the net to secure Carolina all three points.
Atlanta United 2 (7-9-8, 31 points) returns to action Saturday, Sept. 20 when it travels to Crown Legacy FC at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex (7 p.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.
