Get to know more about the Lights’ preseason rivals as the club heads for its first overseas tour in beautiful Punta Cana
The Lights are going international.
In fact, they’re the only USL Championship side going global this year.
On February 15, the club will venture on the first overseas tour of its history, heading to the Dominican Republic for a two-week preseason camp at beautiful Cap Cana Sports City.
Cap Cana Sports City is a 3 million square meter venue in alluring Punta Cana with world-class facilities that meet international standards for many sporting disciplines, including soccer.
The complex’s 13 natural grass fields have hosted training sessions for national teams across CONCACAF and served the Japan Football Association and the Royal Spanish Football Federation as training camp during the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Cap Cana Sports City also hosts the MIC Football Punta Cana tournament, one of the most prestigious youth soccer events in the hemisphere, with high caliber invitees such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Argentine juggernauts River Plate.
In this optimal environment for athletic development, the Lights will enter their final stages of preparation for the upcoming season. Coupled with intense training sessions, the team will face three opponents in friendly matches: the Dominican Republic men’s Olympic (under-23) team, local side Atlético Pantoja, and Canadian Premier League club Inter Toronto.
Here’s all you need to know about our future rivals.
Dominican Republic Olympic Team: Ready to Make History
This summer, Santo Domingo is set to host the Central American and Caribbean Games for the first time in 52 years, and the Dominican Football Federation wants their Olympic team to be as competitive as possible for this historic occasion.
Things are very different than how they were 52 years ago. Back then, soccer did not receive significant support or funding, constantly living in the shadow of baseball, basketball, and volleyball. At the Games, the Dominican team finished fourth out of five in their group, scratching a win against Bahamas and being unable to make it past the group stage.
But now, soccer is gaining tremendous momentum around the island.
Propelled by the DR’s miraculous qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, which was led by the Lights’ very own Edison Azcona, The Beautiful Game is growing exponentially among the Dominican youth.
And now, a new generation of talented players wants to leave their mark in the annals of Dominican soccer.
Headed by Argentine Head Coach Marcelo Neveleff, who also coaches the Dominican senior team, the nation’s Olympic squad aspires to improve upon the results obtained at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games held in San Salvador, where they finished last in their group behind Concacaf powerhouse Mexico and hosts El Salvador.
Going past the group stage is imperative, but making the podium is the dream.
Achieving a Top 3 finish would not only earn the Dominican Republic their first ever medal in soccer but would also help them qualify for the 2027 Pan American Games, to be held in Lima, Peru.
Doing so will be no easy feat, but Coach Neveleff has access to serious talent currently emerging from the Liga Dominicana de Fútbol, such as defender Rauly Martinez, midfielder Ysaac Corcino, and forward Carlos Sarante.
Atlético Pantoja: The First Dominican Champions
Atlético Pantoja is one of Liga Dominicana de Fútbol’s (LDF) founding members. Born in the Santo Domingo neighborhood of Pantoja in 1999, Los Guerreros are one of Dominican soccer’s most iconic sides alongside Cibao FC and Moca FC.
Their rivalry with Cibao is one of the biggest in the Caribbean, often reflecting the antagonism between the Dominican Republic’s biggest cities: Santo Domingo and Santiago de los Caballeros. Something similar, and on a larger scale, happens in baseball, where sworn enemies Tigres del Licey (Santo Domingo) and Águilas Cibaeñas (Santiago de los Caballeros) clash consistently for national dominance.
Atlético Pantoja has the honor of being the first national champions of the modern Dominican soccer era, crowning themselves in 2015 just as the Liga Dominicana de Fútbol became a reality. In 2018 they earned their biggest achievement yet, becoming Concacaf Caribbean Club champions after defeating Jamaican side Arnett Gardens 6-5 in a penalty shootout.
As of right now, Pantoja stands fourth in the LDF mini-league stage after having led the league during the regular season. The first four teams in this stage move on to the playoff stage to determine the national champions, so they’re currently going all-in into the title race.
Some players to watch include top goalscorer Bertrand Frantz (11 goals in 20 matches), defender Alexander Vidal, and midfielder Gerard Lavergne.
Inter Toronto FC: A New Identity
Inter Toronto FC is the latest iteration of the Canadian Premier League (CPL) club representing the York Region in Ontario. Formerly known as York9 and York United FC, the club rebranded to Inter Toronto FC on November 27, 2025.
The club is coached by Mario Eustáquio, CANMNT star Stephen Eustáquio’s brother and the youngest head coach in first division North American soccer at the moment of his appointment.
Inter finished fifth in the CPL in 2025 with 38 points, qualifying for play-ins. They would move past play-ins after defeating HFX Wanderers in a penalty shootout but were knocked out by future runners-up Cavalry (1-4) in the quarterfinals.
Some of the team’s best performers throughout the 2025 season were forward Julian Altobelli, fourth top goalscorer in CPL (11 goals) and Golden Boot in the Canadian Championship (4 goals), and Shola Jimoh, a promising 17-year-old forward who has already earned a call-up for Jesse Marsch’s Canada senior national team. He was one of only two CPL players to be summoned for the friendly against Guatemala in January.
Inter is currently building a strong squad for the upcoming season, adding Ecuadorian Ariel Almagro, former Tampa Bay Rowdies player Ollie Bassett, and former Chivas, Toluca, and Mexico national team star Raul “Dedos” Lopez to their ranks, among others.
