Toronto hosts the New York Red Bulls on 4-game home losing streak
New York Red Bulls (8-7-3, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. Toronto FC (3-10-4, 13th in the Eastern Conference)
Toronto; Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: New York +127, Toronto FC +211, Draw +223; over/under is 2.5 goals
BOTTOM LINE: Toronto hosts the New York Red Bulls looking to break a four-game home losing streak.
Toronto is 2-9-2 against Eastern Conference opponents. Toronto has a 1-6 record in games decided by one goal.
The Red Bulls are 6-5-3 in conference games. The Red Bulls have a 3-5 record in one-goal games.
The matchup Wednesday is the second meeting of the season between the two teams. The Red Bulls won the last game 2-1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Federico Bernardeschi has four goals and three assists for Toronto. Theodor Corbeanu has three goals over the last 10 games.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has 10 goals for the Red Bulls. Cameron Harper has three goals and two assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Toronto: 3-6-1, averaging 1.1 goals, 4.0 shots on goal and 3.1 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.1 goals per game.
Red Bulls: 5-5-0, averaging 2.0 goals, 3.6 shots on goal and 4.9 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.4 goals per game.
NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY: Toronto: Nickseon Gomis (injured), Kosi Thompson (injured), Deandre Christopher Kerr (injured), Kobe Lloyd Franklin (injured), Henry Wingo (injured), Federico Bernardeschi (injured).
Red Bulls: Roald Mitchell (injured), Omar Valencia (injured), Wiktor Bogacz (injured), Serge Ngoma (injured), Marcelo Morales (injured), Dylan Nealis (injured).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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New York Times
33 minutes ago
- New York Times
NHL offseason trade board 2.0: The latest on the top 30 targets as action heats up
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With no extension on the horizon in Calgary, Andersson is available ahead of the final year remaining on his contract. He's an all-around defender who excels at winning puck battles and can jump into the attack. He brings highly valued off-ice intangibles, too, and recently wore the 'C' for Sweden on home ice at the IIHF World Hockey Championship. There are minor concerns — such as his foot speed and an ugly minus-38 rating last season — but Andersson is a major asset for Calgary to peddle, whether he's moved now or at the trade deadline in 2026. The Sabres have a glut of defensemen on the left side, and the 24-year-old needs a new contract coming off his healthiest and most productive NHL season. That's why Buffalo has been gauging the trade market on the restricted free agent. Byram is an elite skater who can log big minutes and still has his best years ahead of him, making him an intriguing option for teams looking for an upgrade on their blue line. 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The Penguins aren't looking to move a highly dependable, low-maintenance winger with ties to their back-to-back Stanley Cup years. However, with Rust's no-movement clause set to expire on June 30, the 33-year-old is one of their most sought-after assets. Rust is coming off a 31-goal, 65-point season and remains an above-average skater who plays an effective two-way game. An added bonus comes from the fact that the actual money owed over the final three years of his contract is below his already-affordable cap hit. The pickings are slim in the free-agent goaltending market, and Gibson is coming off a bounce-back performance. While he may have relinquished the Ducks' No. 1 job to Lukáš Dostál, the veteran finished with a .912 save percentage and impressive goals-saved-above-expected numbers: 11.71, according to Evolving-Hockey, and 15.3, according to MoneyPuck. 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Undersized but with enticing playmaking abilities, Maccelli will be a restricted free agent when his contract expires after next season. The Canucks have a decision to make with Demko set to enter his final season under contract. They already have Kevin Lankinen signed long-term, and No. 3 man Arturs Silovs appears ready for more consistent NHL playing time, so a trade can't be ruled out. Injuries have severely limited Demko the past two seasons, but he's been a top-tier performer when healthy. And a scarce goalie market may drive up his price. Depending on how negotiations progress on a new contract, Dobson could easily shoot up to the No. 1 spot on the trade board. The Islanders appear to be in an either/or situation with the mobile right-shot defenseman who piles up points. Either they sign Dobson to a lucrative extension this summer that buys out multiple years of unrestricted free agency or they look to trade him to a team willing to make that kind of commitment. Set to enter the final season of his contract, the veteran center is a candidate to find a new home with recently hired Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche looking at ways to turn over the team's underperforming roster. Pageau is elite in the faceoff circle and a strong penalty killer who is due just $3.5 million in actual salary next season. He owns a 16-team no-trade clause. A reliable player who can be trusted across 200 feet, Järnkrok is coming off a season where he struggled to find any kind of rhythm after not being healthy enough to play before March. Still, he's a low-risk bet due to a strong track record of consistent play and his favorable contract status. Once his $1.325 million bonus is paid on July 1, Järnkrok will be owed just $775,000 in salary next season — making him the equivalent of a league-minimum player. 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While the Bruins have engaged in negotiations on a contract extension, a move remains a possibility if they aren't able to lock up some of his unrestricted-free-agent years. Geekie turns 27 this summer and Boston has already started accumulating future assets with an aggressive sale ahead of the trade deadline in March. Merzlikins has seemingly been on thin ice in Columbus for a couple of years now, with open discussions about a trade dating back at least 16 months. He's consistently struggled to perform up to the level of his contract, which is why colleague Aaron Portzline identified a goaltending overhaul as an organizational priority in Columbus this summer. Amid a muddled goaltending market, Merzlikins is available. He'll also likely be a buyout candidate if a trade doesn't emerge. It's 11 months on from his trade request, and the 23-year-old forward is still looking for a change of scenery. Robertson once again found himself watching the Leafs' most important games from the press box, dressing for just three of 13 playoff games, and is a restricted free agent holding arbitration rights this summer. Robertson has a wicked release and high work rate, scoring 29 goals across the past two seasons despite seeing limited power-play time. (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic, with photos of JJ Peterka, Rasmus Andersson and Jason Robertson by Bill Wippert, Kevin Sousa and Kirk Irwin / Getty Images)
New York Times
33 minutes ago
- New York Times
PWHL Draft 2025 guide: How to watch, top prospects, selection order and more
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Instead, the draft is led by a trio of elite college players: Patty Kazmaier Award-winning forward Casey O'Brien, U.S. defender Haley Winn and Czech national team forward Kristýna Kaltounková. Advertisement O'Brien was the No. 1 center on the best team in the NCAA last season and was 'the best player in college hockey,' according to Wisconsin Badgers coach Mark Johnson. She led the NCAA in scoring with 88 points in 41 games, won her third national championship and is The Athletic's No. 1 prospect in the 2025 draft class. She is an excellent playmaker who reads the game at an advanced level and has phenomenal vision and hands as a passer — she had more assists last season (62) than most players in the country had points. O'Brien is defensively responsible, can play in all situations and was able to make an impact on every shift in college. Winn is a dynamic offensive defender and the best at her position in the draft. 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Undrafted players will become free agents and can sign with any team after the draft or try out at training camp. 1. New York Sirens 2. Boston Fleet 3. Toronto Sceptres 4. Montreal Victoire 5. Ottawa Charge 6. Minnesota Frost 7. PWHL Vancouver* 8. PWHL Seattle* Note: Vancouver and Seattle will alternate positions in all subsequent rounds of the draft. For example, Seattle will have the seventh pick of Round 2 and eighth pick in Round 3. The six inaugural teams will maintain their order of selection. There are no ping-pong balls in the PWHL, at least not when it comes to determining which team gets the No. 1 pick like the NHL has done for years with its lottery. Instead, the PWHL has adopted the Gold Plan, which was created in 2012 by then-student Adam Gold, and determines the draft order based on the number of points each team earns after being eliminated from the playoffs. New York won the first pick for a second straight year after being the first team eliminated from the playoffs and accumulating the most draft order points. The Boston Fleet were eliminated from the playoffs after an 8-1 loss against Minnesota in their regular season finale and were awarded the second pick. Advertisement Last season, the remainder of the draft order was based on the inverse order of the regular season standings, which meant that despite winning the Walter Cup, Minnesota had the No. 3 pick because it finished fourth heading into the postseason. This year, however, the draft order is the inverse order of the playoff results. The Toronto Sceptres, the lowest-ranked playoff semifinalist, will select third ahead of the Montreal Victoire, the other semifinalist, which finished the regular season on top of the standings. The runner-up Ottawa Charge will select fifth and champion Minnesota Frost will select sixth. 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In Canada, TSN will broadcast the first three rounds of the draft on television and online ( and the TSN app). Full coverage of all six rounds will also be available on the network's premium channel (TSN+) and globally on the PWHL's YouTube channel. (Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic; photos of Nicole Gosling, Haley Winn and Casey O'Brien: Chris Tanouye, Troy Parla, Gil Talbot / Getty Images)
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Club World Cup: Inter Miami validates the Messi project, but proves an exception to the MLS rule
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — For Major League Soccer, the Club World Cup was a test. 'A chance,' MLS commissioner Don Garber said, 'for us to showcase our growing competitiveness on the global stage.' And on that stage, last Thursday in Atlanta and Monday here at Hard Rock Stadium, Inter Miami passed the test in historic fashion. It advanced to the Club World Cup's Round of 16 with a 2-2 draw against Brazilian power Palmeiras. It nearly won Group A, having beaten FC Porto last week, 2-1. 'We [showed] the world,' Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said after the Porto win, 'that we can compete against any team.' Advertisement "We showed," defender Noah Allen said Monday, "that we can hang." But what, exactly, did MLS show? Hours before Inter Miami survived Group A, the Seattle Sounders bowed out of Group B without a point. LAFC, the third of three MLS teams, crashed out of Group D before it even got to a decisive third game. Nine countries sent multiple representatives to this novel Club World Cup. On a points per match basis, collectively, the U.S. and Mexican reps have been the worst. CONCACAF, the region encompassing North and Central America, has been outpaced by South America and Africa. Its teams have been competitive, but results have been underwhelming. Advertisement The only exception to the rule, thus far, has been Inter Miami. Which makes sense. Inter Miami is the exception to many MLS rules. It has Lionel Messi, who earns more money than any other MLS club's entire roster. He has won more career trophies than MLS has played seasons. He has elevated Inter, on and off the field, to this stage, and to levels the league has never known. The question, then, is whether their progress to the Club World Cup's knockout stage says all that much about the league's broader progress. Built in his image Messi is also the primary reason Inter has performed onstage. He has elevated the Herons with his on-ball brilliance, with his goals and gravity, with his alien-like skills — but also indirectly and intangibly. He propelled them to Thursday's win over Porto with a classic free kick, but 'beyond the goal,' Mascherano said, 'he's a player who guides us. His hunger, his resilience, his desire to continue competing at any level — he shows us where we need to go.' Advertisement He has elevated Inter Miami over the past two years with his aura, his standards and his professionalism. The team, Mascherano said, has been 'infected by his spirit, his winning spirit.' Homegrown kids have played beyond their years and above their pedigrees. On Thursday, an unbalanced squad won as a coherent, confident unit. On Monday, it was sturdy and cohesive for 80 minutes yet again. It is unbalanced, of course, because MLS roster regulations and spending caps make it so. Messi, though, has been the ultimate workaround. He lured three former Barcelona teammates to Miami, two of them — Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba — on under-market contracts. He also wooed several young South Americans, who came, in part, for a chance to play with the GOAT. His god-like pull made recruitment 'much easier,' former Inter Miami sporting director Chris Henderson told Yahoo Sports last year. Luis Suarez extended Inter Miami's lead over Palmeiras with a brilliant solo goal, helping the MLS side advance to the Club World Cup's Round of 16. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP) (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA via Getty Images) The end product was the best roster in league history; the most regular-season points in league history; and on Thursday, the first win by an MLS club over a European counterpart in official competition. Advertisement That Porto win was a dream-like showcase for a 5-year-old club with grand ambition. Sunday's Round of 16 match against PSG, the European champion, will be another. It will further validate the Messi project, which began with a years-long courtship. It will boost Inter's brand globally. What it will do for MLS is up for debate. Messi and Inter Miami have become so distinct, so distinguishable from the rest of the league, that Seattle and LAFC probably tell a more accurate story. 'Nowadays, any team can compete with you' Seattle and LAFC have played five games and lost all five. LAFC could make it six on Tuesday against Flamengo. On paper, it's a semi-humiliating haul for MLS. On the field, however, it has been more respectable. Advertisement The Sounders bowed out with pride. In a 2-1 loss to Botafogo, they nearly overwhelmed the Brazilian champions in search of a second-half equalizer. Against Atlético Madrid and PSG, they never looked capable of winning; but they never looked comically overmatched either. Cristian Roldan and Obed Vargas battled with some of the best midfielders in the world. Their only glaring defect was the lack of a dynamic forward — in part because their best one, Jordan Morris, missed almost all of the tournament due to injury. LAFC also held its own against Chelsea. Its downfall was a downright ugly performance against what was, per Opta, the 258th-ranked team in the world, Espérance Tunis. LAFC's 1-0 loss to the Tunisian champs was the biggest stain on MLS at the Club World Cup. For all the league's talk of challenging Europe's Big Five, and perhaps even reaching soccer's summit in a decade, its top teams remain roughly on par with the kings of overlooked leagues on other continents. They also don't spend enough money on enough difference-makers. In the Sounders case, academy product Paul Rothrock was perfectly capable of hassling defenders. But no one was capable of doing what Botafogo striker Igor Jesus did, or what Chelsea's Pedro Neto did to LAFC. 'Nowadays, any team can compete with you,' Jordi Alba said Sunday. 'Physically, they're all [mostly] on par.' Advertisement It's individual quality that so often tips or wins games. And that's what MLS clubs don't have quite enough of. Superteam, still standing The exception, once again, is Inter Miami. Even beyond Messi, beyond Sergio Busquets, it has Suarez, who astutely created Monday's opening goal. It has Tadeo Allende, an Argentine winger signed from Celta Vigo in Spain's La Liga, who sprinted away from the Palmeiras defense and finished. Inter, a 2020 expansion franchise, has nowhere near the history of Palmeiras or Al Ahly. It has nowhere near the social impact. It has been a quasi-away team twice in its own city at this Club World Cup. The tournament has reinforced just how young MLS clubs are, and just how much deeper the passion for soccer is elsewhere. Advertisement But MLS had the infrastructure; Miami had the lifestyle; Inter owner Jorge Mas had the relationships and the money. They attracted Messi. Together, they assembled an MLS superteam. Together, over three games, they were better than the most powerful club in Africa, and just as good as perhaps the most powerful in South America. Suarez seemed to finish the job with a bulldozing run, straight through the heart of the Palmeiras defense. His 65th-minute goal triggered triumphant celebrations. Subs spilled over the sideline. Players and coaches and owners pumped their fists, as if to punctuate Inter Miami's statement. Instead, Palmeiras punctuated the night with a comeback. With two late goals, O Verdão stormed back to the top of Group A. Advertisement Speaking postgame, Miami players expressed "bittersweet" disappointment. And speaking the day before, presciently, Mascherano explained a difference between the two squads that ultimately swung the game. While Inter Miami's depth is constrained by MLS regulations, Palmeiras "has two or even three options per position, at a very high level," Mascherano said. Two of those options, Paulinho and Mauricio, came off the bench to reclaim first place — whereas Inter Miami's subs, such as Fafà Picault, squandered chances to put the game away. But Inter escaped nonetheless, into the knockout rounds, toward the bigger and better things it wants to chase. And its statement held up, battered by Palmeiras but, in the end, unblemished. "When we started this tournament, we were convinced that we can play our football," Mascherano said postgame. "We knew we were going to play against teams with maybe more quality than us — maybe teams that, normally, in their domestic league, they have more competitive games. But I think we [were able] to show the world that we can compete when we're [united]." Allen added: "This tournament was made for all the teams around the world to compete and showcase their talent. And I think that's what we're doing. We're showcasing how we can play, and how we can compete at the top level against the top teams."
