Rodolfo Pizarro scores first goal in Club history
WASHINGTON D.C. (March 7, 2020) - Inter Miami CF played the second match of its inaugural Major League Soccer (MLS) season in Washington D.C. in a match at Audi Field against D.C. United that kicked off at 3:30 p.m. ET. The hosts left with a narrow 2-1 win despite Inter Miami taking the lead early on and having a strong performance.
“I’m proud of the players. Proud of what they did today. We need to keep on pushing. Unfortunately, we have less than we deserve after two matches. We have to continue pushing and fighting because in the two matches that we’ve played, the team has done some very good things,” said Head Coach Diego Alonso. “I think that today we played better than the other day, we had a first great half in which we could have had a larger difference than the 0-1.”
“In ten minutes, the match completely changed and afterward with a man down the team fought the remaining time to tie the match or even win it. We had opportunities in front of goal up until the last minute and that makes me proud. I’m happy to be coaching these players. I’m happy to be Inter Miami’s coach and I’m sure that with this group of players we will achieve important things,” he added.
Just 107 seconds into the match Inter Miami scored the first goal in its history thanks to a counter initiated by rookie forward Robbie Robinson. The 21-year-old took the ball from the halfway line and played a pass for Lewis Morgan into the box, who then delivered a cross to Rodolfo Pizarro. The Mexican international finished the move with a clinical finish at the back post to give Inter Miami the early lead.
Designated Player Pizarro continued to impress for Inter Miami for the rest of the match, controlling the midfield and creating numerous dangerous chances.
The rest of the first half was a close contest, with few opportunities in attack for both sides. Prior to halftime, both teams had to call on reinforcements due to injuries. Inter Miami brought on Juan Agudelo for Robinson in the 8th minute of added time. Meanwhile, Erik Sorga was substituted on for Ola Kamara in the 15th minute and Oniel Fisher came on for Joseph Mora in the 4th minute of added time for D.C. United.
Seven minutes into the second half, a shot from Morgan from the top of the box found its way into the back of the net. After Video Review, the goal was disallowed and defender Román Torres was sent off in the 54th minute due to a handball in the build-up play.
In the 56th minute, a penalty was called in favor of the hosts after a foul inside the box. Midfielder Yamil Asad converted the penalty in the 59th minute to level the match. Two minutes later, defender Frédéric Brillant recovered the ball inside the box after a free-kick deflected off the post and unleashed a right-footed shot to put the hosts 2-1 ahead.
Inter Miami continued creating numerous threatening chances in attack aiming for the equalizer, despite being a man down. A shot from Morgan from the edge of the box hit the side netting in the 67th minute and a left-footed shot from Nicolás Figal from the top of the box went just wide of the right post in the 76th minute.
The second match in the history of the Club saw the team build onto the positive aspects of their play after the match against LAFC last weekend. Inter Miami scored its first MLS goal in Club history, controlled the flow of play throughout much of the match and generated multiple offensive chances, recording 15 shots, seven more than D.C.
Defenders Dylan Nealis and Andrés Reyes were named in Inter Miami’s starting lineup for their MLS debuts. For Nealis, the third-overall selection of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, the match also marked his professional debut.
Inter Miami returns home ahead of its long-awaited MLS home opener, as the Club hosts the LA Galaxy on Saturday, March 14 at Inter Miami CF Stadium. The match is set to kickoff at 2:30 p.m. on FOX.
Single-game tickets to Inter Miami CF’s historic home debut on March 14 against the LA Galaxy have sold out. A limited number of single-game tickets remain for Inter Miami’s second home game on March 21 against the New York Red Bulls and third home game on April 5 against the Philadelphia Union are now on sale, visiting https://www.intermiamicf.com/en/tickets/single.
Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami will play all of its home matches at Inter Miami CF Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Located off Commercial Boulevard and I-95, the stadium stands adjacent to the Club’s new 50,000 square foot state of the art training facility, which includes seven professional fields. The facility will be the home to all Inter Miami teams, including its First Team in MLS, Fort Lauderdale CF in USL League One and the youth development Academy. It will also host international clubs, tournaments and local high school sporting events.
Scoring Summary:
IMCF - 2’ Rodolfo Pizarro (Lewis Morgan, Robbie Robinson)
DC - 59’ (PK) Yamil Asad, 61’ Frédéric Brillant
Misconduct Summary:
DC - Júnior Moreno (Yellow Card) 38’, Chris Odoi-Atsem (Yellow Card) 88’, Russell Canouse (Yellow Card) 90’ +4
IMCF - Román Torres (Red Card) 54’, Wil Trapp (Yellow Card) 60’, Nicolás Figal (Yellow Card) 84’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Inter Miami CF- GK Luis Robles, D Andrés Reyes, Dylan Nealis, Román Torres, Nicolás Figal, Ben Sweat, M Wil Trapp (Matías Pellegrini 77’), Victor Ulloa, Lewis Morgan, Rodolfo Pizarro, F Robbie Robinson (Juan Agudelo 45’ + 8)
Unused Substitutes- GK John McCarthy, D Mikey Ambrose, AJ DeLaGarza, M Lee Nguyen, Jay Chapman
D.C. United - GK Bill Hamid, D Frédéric Brillant, Steven Birnbaum, Joseph Mora (Oniel FIsher 45’ + 4), Russell Canouse, M Júnior Moreno, Edison Flores, Felipe Martins, Yamil Asad (Chris Odoi-Atsem 73’), Julian Gressel, F Ola Kamara (Erik Sorga 15’)
Unused Substitutes - GK Earl Edwards Jr., M Mohammed Abu, Emmanuel Boateng, F Griffin Yow
Details of the Game:
Date: March 7, 2020
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Stats:
Possession:
DC - 55%
IMCF - 45%
Shots:
DC - 8
IMCF - 15
Saves:
DC - 4
IMCF - 1
Corners:
DC - 6
IMCF - 3
Fouls:
DC - 20
IMCF - 17
