Toronto FC lose 3-1 to NYCFC in first game since buying out Insigne. Bernardeschi contracts
Hannes Wolf, Mitja Ilenic and Kevin O'Toole scored for New York (9-7-4). Eight of NYCFC's wins have come at home (8-3-0).
The win moved NYCFC up three places to sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, seven places and 14 points above Toronto.
While Toronto (4-11-5) was competitive at Yankee Stadium, its offence was stagnant in the first half. There wasn't much offence until Ola Brynhildsen and Theo Corbeanu both tested New York 'keeper Tomas Romero around the hour mark.
At the other end it too often allowed NYCFC attackers too clear a path to TFC's goal.
Toronto FC buys out hefty contracts of Italy's Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Bernardeschi
Toronto started brightly but found itself trailing 1-0 in the 20th minute when, after a NYCFC free kick, a cross found Wolf and the Austrian midfielder's stylish left-footed volley went in after beating Sean Johnson and hitting both goalposts.
It was the ninth goal of the season for Wolf and his sixth in his last six games.
Ilenic doubled the lead in the 49th minute, sticking out a leg to deflect in Agustín Ojeda's cross after the Argentine winger had been allowed to race towards the Toronto goal without challenge. Ilenic, a 20-year-old Slovenian international fullback, marked his second goal of the season with Cristiano Ronaldo's trademark celebration.
Toronto cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 70th minute via an own goal. Corbeanu beat a defender down the right flank, reached the byline and sent in a cross that deflected off defender Justin Haak and then Romero into the goal.
O'Toole restored New York's two-goal lead in the 74th minute. Kosi Thompson was dispossessed and Maxi Moralez passed the ball to Wolf, who found O'Toole unchecked in the Toronto penalty box. The substitute dribbled towards goal and beat Johnson with a low shot.
Toronto coach Robin Fraser went with the same lineup that beat visiting Portland 3-0 Saturday in what was TFC's best performance of the season.
Toronto moved the ball around but showed little in front of goal in a first half that saw both teams attempt four shots with NYCFC holding a 2-0 edge in shots on target.
TFC defender Kevin Long was shown a yellow card in the second minute with midfielder Matty Longstaff following him into referee Fotis Bazakos' book in the 20th minute.
Defender Richie Laryea, back from Gold Cup duty with Canada, came on in the 57th minute. Maxime Dominguez became the third TFC player to be cautioned after a tussle with Ilenic in the 67th minute.
Thompson made his 100th appearance for TFC in all competitions.
New York forward Alonso Martínez returned from international duty with Costa Rica but goalkeeper Matt Freese, the hero of the American penalty shootout quarter-final win over Honduras, remains at the Gold Cup.
Romero, an El Salvador international and former Toronto player, started in goal for NYCFC. Canadian Greg Ranjitsingh, his backup, also had a stint with TFC.
Toronto defenders Nicksoen Gomis, Zane Monlouis and Henry Wingo remain long-term casualties. Captain Jonathan Osorio was also out, recovering from a lower-body injury suffered with Canada, while midfielder Deybi Flores played in Honduras's 2-1 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup semi-final Wednesday in California.
Toronto signed TFC 2 defender Reid Fisher and midfielder Malik Henry to MLS short-term agreements for the game. Originally drafted by CF Montreal in the second round (39 overall) in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, Henry's promotion cost Toronto a third-round draft pick in 2026 with US$75,000 in conditional general allocation money, given Montreal had retained his MLS priority rights.
Henry came on in the 70th minute, picking up a yellow soon after.
Toronto has had little success at NYCFC with a 1-6-5 regular-season record there. The lone win was a 1-0 decision on Sept. 23, 2020, thanks to a 90th-minute Alejandro Pozuelo penalty in a game played at Red Bull Arena.
TFC has won two playoff games at NYCFC.
Up next, Toronto hosts Atlanta United on July 12 while NYCFC visits Charlotte FC.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edmonton Journal
10 minutes ago
- Edmonton Journal
Looking back on the Raptors in NBA Bubble five years later
Article content To say it was a strange time is an understatement. Hyper-competitive athletes suddenly were surrounded by their opponents whenever they went to eat, relax by the pool or hang out on the complex. And players used to playing in front of packed arenas suddenly were competing in eerily quiet spaces. Article content Coaches and players who always had screamed out plays and schemes knowing it would be drowned out by crowd noise quickly found out the opposition would pick up anything right away so adjustments had to be made. There were also no energy boosts provided by raucous fans, no home-court advantages anymore. Article content Some were more ready to return than others. Pascal Siakam's decision not to pick up a basketball for so long put him way off his game (Siakam shot just 39.5% from the field and missed 43-of-53 three-point attempts in the bubble playoffs) and ended up hurting the Raptors. He wasn't the only one, though he has received the most attention in ensuing years. Article content Article content Still, Toronto won its first game back five years ago on Aug. 1, against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers no less, plus another against Miami, the team that would advance to take on the Lakers in the Finals, and Orlando before falling to Boston. Article content The Raptors won 7-of-8 games in all and looked like a legitimate threat to repeat after steamrolling Brooklyn in four straight in the first round of the playoffs before dropping the first two games of the second round to the Celtics. Article content The Raptors would win the next two (including Game 3 in epic fashion on OG Anunoby's buzzer-beater off a great pass from Kyle Lowry) to tie the series, then take Game 6 in double overtime after dropping Game 5, to force a Game 7. The Raptors couldn't pull that one out and their time in the bubble came to an end. Article content Article content Article content The NHL also adopted a bubble type of system after its season had been paused on March 12. The rest of the regular season was cancelled, with the playoffs played in the two centralized 'hub' cities Toronto and Edmonton, starting Aug. 1, but with no spectators. Article content Major League Baseball had cancelled the rest of Spring Training on March 12, but it began again on July 1 rebranded as 'Summer Camp.' Article content The shortened regular season commenced on July 23, but the Blue Jays were denied permission to play in Toronto, so they spent their home games in Buffalo. Article content The Blue Jays did not actually play a game at Rogers Centre again until July 30, 2021, having previously played there in September of 2019 when the team completed an awful 67-win campaign (the Raptors spent the 2020-21 season in Tampa and didn't play again in Toronto until Oct. 2021).
National Post
10 minutes ago
- National Post
Who is Victoria Mboko? Canada's newest tennis sensation climbs the ladder at the Canadian Open
Canada's newest tennis sensation, 18-year-old Victoria Mboko, is continuing to attract attention as she moves into the fourth round of the Canadian Open in Montreal this weekend. Article content The last of nine Canadians remaining in the final tournament bracket, Mboko collected her sixth win against a top-50 player, 18-year-old Czech star, Marie Bouzkova, over three sets. Article content Article content The two players have squared off before on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, but only once. It was during the Italian Open earlier this year and Gauff prevailed. That was on clay. Now, they'll face off on a hard court. Article content 'I'm going to kind of go into the match how I usually go into every other match despite the surface,' Mboko told The Tennis Gazette after her victory in the third round. 'I'm going to show up with how I play, and I just hope for the best.' Article content She expressed excitement over the rematch with Gauff and expects it to be a hard-fought battle. Article content Article content Article content Against Bouzkova in the third round, Mboko appeared to falter, losing the first set 6-1, but she got her groove back in front of the home crowd and secured a place in the round of 16 (the last round before the quarter-finals).
Globe and Mail
10 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Everything you need to know about Summer McIntosh as she dominates the World Aquatics Championships
The World Aquatics Championships are underway in Singapore and Canada's Summer McIntosh is – as expected – making big waves. The 18-year-old has already won three gold medals this week, and is looking for two more to tie American legend Michael Phelps's record for most individual golds won at a single world championship. Summer McIntosh faces greatest challenge yet in historic medal chase A generational talent already among the top swimmers in the world, McIntosh may be the best swimmer to ever come out of Canada. She is a three-time Olympic champion, seven-time World Champion, holds six current world records and has set precedents that would have been unthinkable in Canadian swimming even a decade ago. Here's everything you need to know about McIntosh as she looks to make history yet again this week. McIntosh is 18 years old and was born and raised in Toronto. Her mother, Jill Horstead, competed for Canada in the 200-metre butterfly at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games, and her older sister, Brooke, is a Canadian pairs figure skater. During the pandemic, McIntosh uprooted her training from Toronto to Florida to train with coach Brent Arckey, a medley specialist, and has been training and studying in Sarasota. In May, she announced she would be moving to Austin, Texas, to train with Bob Bowman, who coached Michael Phelps to his Olympics dominance. She made her Olympic debut in Tokyo at just 14 years old, making her the youngest Canadian athlete at the 2020 Summer Games. McIntosh is the reigning Olympic champion in the 200-metre butterfly, the 200-metre individual medley and the 400-metre medley, and set her first of six long-course world records when she was just 16. At the Canadian swimming trials in June, McIntosh beat her own world records in the 400-metre individual medley and the 400-metre freestyle, and also broke the 200-metre individual medley record. Last December, she also set three short-course world records in 400-metre freestyle, 200-metre butterfly and 400-metre individual medley at the world championships. Olympian Summer McIntosh may be the best swimmer to ever come out of Canada In total, she has won four Olympic medals, 11 long-course World Championship medals and set nine world records in six events at the senior level. After her three golds and one silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the weeks before her 18th birthday – tying teammate Penny Oleksiak for the most by any Canadian at a single Olympics – Time magazine dubbed the season the 'Summer of Summer.' McIntosh has won three gold medals so far in Singapore, making her the first Canadian to claim three golds at a single world championship. She won gold in the 200-metre butterfly on Thursday, coming within a quarter of a second of beating the world record and making her the first to win three world titles in the same event after victories in 2022 and 2023. Her meet-record time of 2:01.99 is the fastest ever in a textile suit and just shy of the world record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009 during the era of the now-banned 'super suit.' Cathal Kelly: Summer McIntosh's star set to soar with Olympics still three years away McIntosh also won the 200-metre individual medley and 400-metre freestyle events earlier in the meet. In total, she has won 11 medals at long-course worlds, pushing her past teammate Kylie Masse. McIntosh was back in the water Friday in the 800-metre freestyle heats ahead of Saturday's final, which saw her go head-to-head with reigning Olympic champion Katie Ledecky. The final for the 400-metre individual medley, in which McIntosh is the Olympic champion and world-record holder, is on Sunday, the last day of the championship. McIntosh is aiming for five individual titles – something only Phelps has achieved at a single world championship. If she wins her remaining two events, she would also be the first and only woman to accomplish the feat. At the Friday heats for the 800-metre freestyle event, McIntosh faced off against reigning Olympic champion Ledecky, an American widely considered the best female swimmer in history. Ledecky, who is going after Phelps's all-time record of 26 gold medals at the world championships, finished more than five seconds ahead of McIntosh with a time of 8:14.62. Ledecky currently has 22 golds at the event. Last February, McIntosh clocked the season's fastest time at a meet in Florida, handing Ledecky her first loss in the event in 13 years. But she ultimately opted out of that event at the Paris Olympics to focus on other races. McIntosh said Thursday she was frustrated not to reach the world record in the 200-metre butterfly, but felt optimistic going into the final two events. 'Seeing how close I was gives me a lot of confidence, and the way I felt in that final is amazing as well, so I'm super, super excited for the 800 and then of course the 400 IM,' McIntosh told The Canadian Press. 'Now all my focus is on getting a good recovery tonight and then getting ready for the heats.' McIntosh's strength across several different strokes and distances at such a young age sets her apart. She is a precision freestyler, elite at the butterfly and a talented backstroker when it comes to the medleys. Arguably, there was a time when the breaststroke might have been her weakness. But she went to work in 2023 and fixed that ahead of the Paris Olympics. 'Pain tolerance is her secret weapon': The origins of Summer McIntosh While her youth and power were what first turned heads, McIntosh's coaches, teammates and observers have noted that it's her mental strength, discipline and ability to handle the intense pressure that help set her apart from peers even years her senior. 'We've never had anybody at this level,' Brent Hayden, who won bronze for Canada at the London Olympics in 2012 and swam alongside McIntosh in Tokyo, told The Globe and Mail last July. 'I don't think we've seen somebody this good in that many events, ever.' With reports from Grant Robertson and The Canadian Press
