Matchday 10 in MLS NEXT Pro got started with plenty of midweek action, in which Eastern Conference teams such as New England Revolution II and Western Conference teams such as Colorado Rapids 2 impressed. This Thursday's busy schedule brought plenty of surprising results.
Here is a look at Thursday's action in Matchday 10.
FC Cincinnati 2 (1) - Atlanta United 2 (1) (FCC2 wins shootout 3-2)
FC Cincinnati 2 picked up its first points in almost a month, triumphing in a shootout Thursday night at NKU Soccer Stadium.
Karim Tmimi opened scoring with an impressive volley off the rebound from a dangerous free kick. Tmimi, who scored his fourth goal in his last five games, kept ATL UTD 2 on top until the 73rd minute. Brian Stitz scored from an excellent assist by Morgan Marshall.
FCC2 picked up points for the first time since a shootout loss to New England Revolution II on April 30, but the club has gone since April 23 without a win. ATL UTD 2 is in similar form, picking up three points from the previous two matches.
Inter Miami II (0) - Orlando City B (1)
Jack Lynn scored the decisive goal early on in a 1-0 win over Inter Miami II, handing Orlando City B a much-needed win. Lynn slid, redirecting a cross from Alex Freeman in the 57th minute.
Orlando City B goalkeeper Javier Otero made five saves in keeping a clean sheet for OCB. Inter Miami II found attacking momentum, keeping 57.3% of possession and earning four corner kicks.
OCB picked up a win for the first time in three matches, maintaining a top-four spot in the Eastern Conference. Inter Miami II dropped a second straight match, and has earned only one point in the past three matches.
New England Revolution II (2) - Columbus Crew 2 (0)
New England Revolution II halted Columbus Crew 2's four-game winning streak, extended a winning streak of its own to three games. Jordan Adebayo-Smith scored his fourth goal of the season, and Ben Awashie scored to seal the win.
Adebayo-Smith struck in the 34th minute, finishing off a defense-to-offense move by Revs II. Peyton Miller sent a ball up the field for Adebayo-Smith to run onto, past an onrushing Crew 2 goalkeeper. Awashie's goal in the 67th minute came as Revs II cycled a free kick back toward goal, allowing Awashie to finish from close range.
Revs II held the previously red-hot Crew 2 to only three shots on goal. The loss breaks a four-game winning streak which consisted of three consecutive clean sheets for Crew 2. Revs II, on the other hand, go level on 20 points with Crew 2 in the Eastern Conference.
NYCFC II (3) - TFC II (1)
Francesco Di Ponzio, Jack Beer, and Jonathan Jimenez scored as NYCFC II took care of business at Belson Stadium, earning three points in an Eastern Conference battle. NYCFC II took its chances well and piled on pressure with eight shots on goal.
TFC II's Alec Diaz opened scoring in the 36th minute. Di Ponzio answered five minutes later, putting away a ball that came across the top of the box. Beer put NYCFC II in front in the 58th minute with a powerful shot, and Jimenez sealed the win by dispatching a Matthew Myers cross in the 83rd minute.
NYCFC II goalkeeper Alexander Yagudayev, a 16-year-old Academy player, saved a penalty kick in the 62nd minute.
NYCFCII has earned six points from the past three matches. TFC II continues to ride a rollercoaster of results, with alternating wins and losses for the previous five matches.
North Texas SC (3) - Colorado Rapids 2 (3)
Colorado Rapids 2 took two points from a back-and-forth affair at Choctaw Stadium. Rapids 2 stayed in the match, with an 83rd minute penalty-kick equalizer from Oliver Larraz.
Robinson Aguirre scored the winning spot kick in the shootout. Rapids 2 goalkeeper Adam Beaudry made two saves to put Rapids 2 on pace for the shootout win.
Henri Santos opened scoring for North Texas SC, heading into the opposite side netting off a free-kick feed from Diego Hernandez. A fellow Brazilian, Caique, equalized for Rapids 2, turning around near the top of the box and uncorking a powerful shot in the 23rd minute.
Diego Garcia put North Texas back in the lead with a long-range effort in the 27th minute, but Remi Cabral answered 21 minutes later. In the 55th minute, North Texas' Nayrobi Vargas scored with a header to bring his team in front 3-2.
Rapids 2 remain unbeaten in 2023 with the result. However, North Texas' effort snapped Rapids 2's three-game winning streak and the club picked up points for the third straight match.
Timbers2 (1) - St Louis CITY2 (2)
Goals from John Klein and Faysal Bettache canceled out an early Timbers2 goal, allowing St Louis CITY2 to take three points home from a road trip to Providence Park.
Klein's fifth goal of the season was the decisive goal, coming in the 39th minute. Klein found plenty of space in front of goal, and headed in a well-placed cross from Wan Kuzain. Klein also assisted Faysal Bettache's equalizer in the 34th minute. Bettache unleashed a shot with the outside of his left boot in what will be remembered as one of the top goals of Matchday 10.
Florián Monzón opened scoring for Timbers2 in the fifth minute, stabbing a high arcing ball into the goal shortly after a free kick flew into the box.
CITY2 extended an unbeaten streak to three matches. Timbers2 fell to its second defeat in a row.
Earthquakes II (0) - Whitecaps FC 2 (1)
A header from Matteo Campagna in the 62nd minute proved enough for Whitecaps FC 2 to take all three points from Earthquakes II in this battle between competitive Western Conference sides.
Antoine Coupland sent a high-arcing cross into the box, which Campagna met for the decisive goal. His header sailed over the outstretched arm of Earthquakes II goalkeeper Emmanuel Ochoa.
Whitecaps FC 2 continues to rise in the Western Conference, reaching second-place in the conference, four points behind leaders Rapids 2. Earthquakes II fell to a defeat for just the second time in May.
