WASHINGTON — Toronto FC leaves the U.S. capital with honours even, not a bad showing for anyone flying the Canadian flag these days.
Federico Bernardeschi's 70th-minute penalty lifted Toronto into a 2-2 draw with D.C. United in their Major League Soccer season opener Saturday night.
Referee Sergii Boiko pointed to the penalty spot after former Toronto midfielder Brandon Servania clashed with Richie Laryea going after the ball. The contact was slight but Laryea, no stranger to winning penalties, went down.
Bernardeschi converted the spot kick, beating South Korean goalkeeper Kim Joon Hong, as Toronto rallied twice from one-goal deficits.
"Overall I thought (the performance) was really good," Toronto coach Robin Fraser said after his debut game in charge. "I thought we started off with a few nervous mistakes. And I think we grew into the game. … I think we probably will regret missing some of the chances that we did. But the fact that were creating the chances is really good."
Toronto outshot D.C. 11-7 (7-3 in shots on target), had a 7-2 edge in corners and an expected goal factor of 2.37 compared to 0.76 for D.C.
"We were happy to get the point but we thought we deserved more," said 20-year-old Toronto midfielder Markus Comermancic, who started and made his MLS debut one day after joining the first team on a homegrown player contract.
"We were pleased but not satisfied," he added.
Captain Jonathan Osorio also scored for Toronto. Boris Enow and Christian Benteke had the goals for D.C. United, which got a fine performance in goal from Kim in his MLS debut.
The home side pulled ahead in the eighth minute via Enow, a former Cameroon youth international acquired last July from Israel's Maccabi Netanya FC. After a giveaway by Henry Wingo in the Toronto end, Enow sliced into the penalty box and beat Sean Johnson for his first career MLS goal.
Wingo made amends in the 28th minute, taking a pass from Alonso Coello and firing a low, dangerous cross that eluded a lunging Kim. An attempted clearance from an off-balance Aaron Herrera in front went straight to Osorio, who knocked it home for his 66th career goal in Toronto colours across all competitions.
Osorio has scored in all 13 of his seasons with TFC.
Benteke, who won the league's Golden Boot last season with 23 goals, headed D.C. into the lead in the 35th minute. The six-foot-three Belgian designated player, finding space between two Toronto defenders, got to a fine cross from Jacob Murrell and Johnson, despite getting a hand to it, could not keep the powerful header out.
Toronto was cut open too easily with the attack starting deep in the D.C. end with a pass that found Murrell down the flank. The first goal conceded was also too easy, with Fraser saying improvement is needed.
Opening day — on the league's 30th season and 19th for Toronto (Fraser is head coach No. 15 for TFC) — turned into an entertaining end-to-end game. Albeit a chilly one.
It was 3 C, feeling like zero, at kickoff at Audi Field.
Canadian winger Theo Corbeanu was the other new face in the Toronto starting 11, arriving on a season-long loan from Spain's Granada CF.
New signing Zane Monlouis, whose arrival from England's Arsenal was announced earlier in the day, made his debut in second-half stoppage time. The 21-year-old centre back, who had been in camp with Toronto, made more than 100 combined appearances for the London team's U-18, U-21 and U-23 teams.
Italian star Lorenzo Insigne, whom Toronto has been actively trying to shed, was not in the match-day roster.
Toronto last won at D.C. in April 2016 with Sebastian Giovinco scoring the game's lone goal in the first minute.
Saturday's game came 4 1/2 months after Toronto closed out the 2024 campaign on Oct. 5 with a 1-0 loss to visiting Inter Miami. TFC's last victory was Sept. 14, a 2-1 decision over visiting Austin FC. Its last away victory came Aug. 24 (1-0 at Houston).
UP NEXT
Toronto: Visits Orlando City next Saturday
D.C. United: Visits Chicago next Saturday.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2025.
The Canadian Press
