Miami FC second-half comeback falls just short in 2-3 loss to Rhode Island FC
MIAMI — Goals by Frank Lopez and Roberto Molina in a valiant second-half comeback attempt were not enough to overcome a three-goal deficit as Miami gave up all three points to visiting Rhode Island FC Saturday night in Miami.
Miami was on the attack early in the first half and nearly had the opener after Balogun played an excellent cross into Frankie Lopez, but the forward missed just wide to keep the match scoreless in the 9th minute.
Unfortunately for Miami, their early control of the match quickly changed in the 11th minute. After maintaining most of the possession, Rhode Island took advantage of a foul by Miami's Jordan Ayimbila. The free kick found the head of Frank Nodarse whose header beat the diving hands of Rodriguez to give Rhode Island the early advantage.
After the first goal of the match, both teams settled in and traded possession back and forth with neither team able to threaten the other defense for the majority of the first half.
Miami fell victim right before the half ended to a controversial incident in the box. After putting a cross into Miami's box, Nodarse collided with Miami keeper Rodriguez as he tried to grab the ball. The ball then deflected to Rhode Island's Dikwa who hammered the ball into the net. Despite Miami's call for a foul on their goalkeeper, no call was made, and the visitors found themselves with a 2-goal lead heading into the half.
The start of the second half went from bad to worse for Miami. In the 48th minute, Rhode Island caught Miami's defense slow to react on the counter and again it was Dikwa who made Miami FC pay the price off a header that beat Rodriguez again.
Miami however, had no intention of giving up the fight and in the 63rd minute, their persistence paid off. Murana raced down the right side before putting the cross to Lopez. Lopez took a quick turn and fired a shot across goal beating Rhode Island's Ojeda to get Miami's deficit to two goals.
Then in the 78th minute, Miami sub Molina breathed life into the home squad as he fired a shot in the back of the net after taking a great ball from Allen Gavilanes. Miami continued its pursuit of the equalizer with Rhode Island on its heels but unfortunately for the home team, time was not on their side as the game ended in a 2-3 result.
Miami will now try to regroup as it travels to Charleston, South Carolina to take on the Charleston Battery on July 19 before heading back home to Miami to host the Oakland Roots on Saturday, July 27th at FIU Stadium.
Kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tickets for the match are on sale now at www.MiamiFC.com.
CBS News Miami is the official broadcast partner for Miami FC. This story was reprinted with permission from Miami FC.