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Second Half Goals From Phillip, Carracciolo Secure 2-0 TFCA Win Over North Miss

By League1 Ontario staff, 10/03/16, 1:45PM EDT

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Two of the most in-form mid and late season west division teams grappled in their final league match, with Toronto FC Academy ultimately taking a 2-0 win over North Mississauga Panthers on Sunday.

Reshon Phillip (63') and Armando Caracciolo (81') knocked in a pair, and keeper Brogan Engbers claimed a clean sheet.

"We missed a couple chances early in the game that if we had put away we would have had a lead to manage," said North Miss head coach, Rick Titus. 

"If you don't put those away against a good team that is obviously well prepared physically and mentally, a team that trains five to six days a week, full of young players that want to be professionals - it will obviously come back to haunt you. That's exactly what the game was."

"As the game wore on, the team that doesn't train five to six times a week will begin to show cracks. Those cracks were increasingly evident as the game wore on. You saw the result and it was a fitting result I think."

Titus was also proud of the work put in by two of his central defenders, singling them out for post-match praise, and spoke about high hopes for the 2017  - a sophomore League1 season for the Panthers.

"Our centre-backs did yeoman's work today, shutting down a large number of plays, cleared a lot of balls out of the back, and played out of the back too under high pressure. Those two players of ours at centre-back deserve a lot of praise because they did everything they could to keep the team together today, and under tough circumstances. They really put in the work today."

"I'm really looking forward to starting on a different note, we had a very difficult start to this season. We had eighty-five players show up for the trials and you don't really expect that at the club soccer level so there was a natural period of adjustment with a new group. Next year I will have a core of guys that can come out and start, and it' just a matter of picking a few pieces to add to the team. You will see a much better start, and a much more prepared team, next season." 

TFC keeper Engbers thought his team did well to adjust to their opponent on the day, and singled out teammate and goalscorer Reshon Phillip for special mention.

"I thought we started off with a high line and they were getting behind us," he said. 

"We made an adjustment to drop off a few yards, which kept them in front of us and limited their most dangerous chances, so I thought we adjusted well."

[Reshon] is a monster and the type of player that can hold up the ball well, he's good at striking the ball (minus the penalty he missed today), but he did really well for us, linking up the play and getting behind the opponent's defence," Engbers added. 

"Next year I'll be playing with the PDL team to start the season, but once that is done I'm hoping to be back in League1 and improve upon our finish."

Toronto FC Academy and North Miss finish equal on points (38), and in the head to head tiebreaker, with both occupying third place in the east division to finish the season.