Inter Miami CF II suffered a 1-0 defeat to Chicago Fire II on Sunday, September 18 at SeatGeek Stadium in the team’s final 2022 MLS NEXT Pro regular season fixture.
Inter Miami fielded a starting XI featuring Andre Zuluaga in goal, Logan Batiste, Modesto Mendez, Abel Caputo, and Harvey Neville in defense, Lawson Sunderland, David Ruiz, and George Acosta manning the middle of the pitch, and Dairon Reyes, Shanyder Borgelin and Shaan Hundal led the team's attack.
Chicago opened the game aggressively, putting three shots on target in the opening 10 minutes of the match.
The Fire, however, broke through in the 14th minute when Omari Glasgow found Alex Monis on a clear run to the goal, who then fired a shot from the center of the box to give Chicago the early 1-0 lead.
It was a back and forth first 45 minutes of action, with both sides fighting for possession throughout the half .In the 42nd minute, Batiste put a shot on target that goalie Mihajlo Mišković punched up and over the net to keep the Herons scoreless and keep the first-half lead intact for the hosts.
Looking to add a spark to the second-half lineup, Darren Powell inserted Braxton Najib to replace Sunderland. Three minutes into the half Najib found a streaking Acosta, who unleashed a powerful shot from just outside the box that was just wide to the left of the goal.
Zuluaga had a strong second half, making multiple saves throughout the half to keep Inter Miami needing just a goal to tie the game.
Inter Miami would continue to push in search of the equalizer throughout the half to keep the team’s playoff chances alive, including a shot that was blocked by Chicago’s backline in the 92nd minute, but was unable to find the elusive goal to tie the match and fell 1-0 on the road in its final match of the 2022 season.
Inter Miami finished the season in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 36 points, just four points shy of the last playoff spot.
