AFC Toronto Kickoff NSL Season 2025

20250419 AFC Toronto v Montreal Roses FC, Inaugural launch of the Northern Super League (NSL), BMO Field, Toronto First all women professional football league (c) Gerard Richardson

TFC Wins First Game of 2025

Congratulations to the Reds and Coach Robin Fraser on winning their first game of what is expected to be a long and arduous MLS season. Toronto defeated Real Salt Lake 1-0 on a goal scored by Theo Corbeanu in the 9th minute of play at America First Field Stadium in Utah on Saturday, April 19th, 2025. The Reds players have slowly bought into Coach Fraser’s defensive philosophies however, Coach the team has scored just8 goals with 13 against and may have to continue to work on their scoring exploits now that they seemed to have their defensive coverage in sync. The Reds have just data filled the win column and record now stands at 1-4-4. Not a long way from .500 if they focus on creating scoring chances. However, in this game Toronto scored very early, and the stat sheet showed that it presented a challenge to provide continuity after eight 9yellow) cautions were issued and one ejection to Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna in the 61st minute.

“I think it was maybe four games ago that we talked about this “bend but not break” mentality. And I felt like that was really indicative of what happened today. And I’m really proud of the fact that we gave up 12 goals in our first five games and in our last four we’ve given up one. It just speaks to the level of commitment and engagement that the players are now playing with. And if you continue to do that, you give yourselves chances to win games,” said TFC Coach Fraser.

Canada defeat USA 2-1 for 3rd place at CONCACAF Nations League 2025

#10 Jonathan David celebrates scoring Canada’s winning goal against USA in the 59th minute at CONCACAF Nations League 2025. The third-place game was the first of the day’s doubleheader played at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles. David’s goal broke the 1-1 halftime deadlock after Tani Oluwasewyi gave Canada the lead in the 27th minute before Patrick Agyemang returned the favour for USA in the 35th minute with the equalizer. However, the elusive Jonathan David, who received a square pass and created space for himself on his left foot in the congested USA penalty area, gave Canada the lead they never relinquished. With the 2-1 win, Canada received the third-place prize and another milestone accomplishment in the country’s soccer history. Mexico defeated Panama in the championship final by the same 2-1 margin.

Soca Warriors head coach Dwight Yorke can be proud of his young team. They took advantage of a short-handed Cuba team after Cuba went down a man after midfielder Romario Torres was red-carded for a dangerous two-footed tackle on Andre Rampersad in the second minute of play.

The Soca Warriors could not have asked for a better gift. It was the second leg of a home and away CONCACAF Gold Cup Preliminary match played in Trinidad on March 25th at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva after Trinidad and Tobago had won the first leg in Cuba 2-1.

Cuba had opened the scoring in the first match at home, and it is safe to say that the early red card to Cuba in the second match must have calmed the nerves of Trinidad and Tobago Coach Dwight Yorke somewhat.

Yorke made no bones at the press conference the previous day that he would have accepted any result as long as his team advanced and a draw would have secured his team’s qualification for the Gold Cup championship finals.

However, watching his team miss several easy-scoring opportunities after the red card may have been unsettling, and a scoreless draw to advance was not a good result for his tenure as a coach.

Things got worse before they got better when his team captain, Kevin Molino, missed two glorious scoring opportunities. On the positive side, Spicer’s aggressive play down the left flank kept the Cuba defense under constant pressure.

Forward Isaiah Lee finally put any notion of an upset to rest when he opened the scoring and later gave the Soca Warriors the breeding room with a brace that sent the Warriors into the halftime break leading 2-0.

It was the first time in quite some time that the anxiety level of the Trinidad and Tobago supporters seemed to be in check. It was definitely due to the two-goal and the man advantage.

The Soca Warriors supporters’ appetite for goals was satisfied when captain Kevin Molino scored just after halftime, and substitute Nathaniel James added another one for the road, giving T&T a 4-0 victory.

BRIGHT START TO TFC’s HOME OPENER UNTIL…..

Saturday, March 25th, 2025, began with showers before the sky opened up for the sun to get a break after what seemed like one of the worst winters in quite some time. A promising sign, no doubt, for Toronto FC’s home opener in Major League Soccer (MLS) against Chicago Fire at BMO Field in Toronto.

That day also marked the return of Robin Fraser to Toronto. Robin enjoyed good times in Toronto but entered the game winless in three games, with one tie and two losses. Before joining Colorado Rapids, where he stayed for 5 seasons, he was an assistant coach under Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney for five seasons (2015-2019). During that time, the club was very successful on the field of play. Toronto FC won the first domestic treble in MLS league history by winning the MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield, and the Canadian Championship in 2017. While qualifying for three MLS Cup Playoffs (2015, 2016, 2017), reached two MLS Cup Finals (2016, 2017) and was also part of the coaching staff that led TFC to capture three consecutive Canadian Championships (2016, 2017, 2018).

However, despite the winning experience in Toronto, Coach Fraser entered BMO Field with a winless start to his team’s first three. He looked forward to his first win in front of what is still regarded by many as the best fans in Major League Soccer.

Coach Fraser’s young team may also have anticipated their first win in front of the home crowd, and they were on the front foot from the kickoff after having possession at kickoff. For the first twenty minutes, it was all Toronto, and the team was rewarded when #29 Deandre Kerr won an aerial challenge and scored with a beautiful goal (header) in the 11th minute. It was the best start for the home team, which enjoyed their first lead of the season.

Toronto FC’s left-footed players were taking the play to Chicago down the left side, with TFC’s wing-back Nicksoen Gomis feeding Tyrese Spicer up front. It was a promising attack since Spicer was having some early success with his defenders, and at that point, it seemed like it would be a long afternoon for the visiting Chicago Fire team. However, it appears that the inexperienced TFC players either became anxious or lacked energy as

Chicago began to take over the game’s momentum and systematically moved into attack mode. At that point, it seemed like there was a dogfight, and the battle began to work against the inexperienced Toronto team. The tables finally turned in the 30th minute when Chicago’s Andrew Gutman scored the equalizer with a left-footed piledriver that beat goalkeeper Johnson’s outstretched left hand into the last post. Gutman’s shot was from just outside the 18-yard box to the left. The goal resulted from a careless giveaway from a TFC player’s attempt to dribble his third opponent.

It was not the goal Toronto should have conceded when the game was beginning to slip, and an extra effort was needed to weather the storm. Chicago capitalized on the momentum change and took the lead in the 44th minute when Hugo Cuypers mopped up a rebound off TFC’s goalkeeper Johnson. Chicago went into halftime leading 2-0.

There was no scoring in the second half, although Chicago scored a goal that the referee disallowed. The VAR officials in the booth above determined that the goal deserved a second look. After further review, the goal was called back because of a Chicago player’s infringement (foul) during the scoring.