Ohio Mom Intercepts Fleeing 2-Year-Old On The Field During MLS Match
By Kelly Fisher
August 9, 2021
Corralling toddlers is no easy task, and one 2-year-old in Ohio really put his mom to the test over the weekend.
Zaydek Carpenter darted out onto the field at TQL Stadium during the second half of the game between Cincinnati and Orlando on Saturday (August 7).
But he wasn't on the lam for long. His mom, Morgan Tucker, chased after her son and rushed them back to their seats. The Cincinnati Enquirer captured the unexpected and amusing highlight of the game. Photojournalist Sam Greene noticed the “young pitch invader (who) was quickly scooped up by their own personal security detail without incident,” he wrote in a tweet (following up to say that the mother-son duo from Moscow, Ohio, “had a great time at the game” — even from the comfort of their own seats).
A young pitch invader was quickly scooped up by their own personal security detail without incident. #FCCincy #mls pic.twitter.com/gK2bzgNdas
— Sam Greene (@SGdoesit) August 8, 2021
We hope this mother and her young pitch invader are having a great day. 😂
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 9, 2021
pic.twitter.com/hKfwa6wyWI
MLS pointed out that panoramic cameras also caught a glimpse of the fleeing toddler.
"I literally looked away for one second and saw he was under the fence and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,'" Tucker told "Good Morning America." "I had to jump over the gate and then sprinted after him…I was so scared he was going to get hit in the head with a soccer ball."
She added that her laughing 2-year-old didn’t know what he was doing, and her face “was as read as a tomato” when fans cheered them on.