Toronto FC (11W-17L-4T, 37 points) earned a road point following a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire FC (7W-16L-9T, 30 points) at SeatGeek Stadium on Saturday night.
First Half:
Toronto FC gaffer John Herdman employed three changes from his side that started midweek against Vancouver Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship Final. Sigurd Rosted, Kobe Franklin and Prince Owusu replaced Shane O’Neill, Deandre Kerr and Lorenzo Insigne in the Reds’ starting eleven.
Following a relatively quiet opening 30 minutes in Bridgeview, Illinois, Toronto’s Sean Johnson was called into an action to make an important double save in the 34th minute. The American shot-shopper, who began his MLS career in Chicago and previously spent seven seasons with the Fire, denied Georgios Koutsias’ powerful left-footed effort before getting up to catch Justin Reynolds’ header on the rebound to keep the scores level.
Moments away from the half-time whistle, Chicago’s Gastón Giménez was adjudged to have committed a foul in his attempt to halt Federico Bernardeschi’s surging run from the right flank. Following a lengthy in-stadium video review however, referee Ricardo Montero awarded Toronto FC a penalty kick for the Paraguayan international’s challenge on the Italian.
Prince Owusu stepped up for the Reds and made no mistake in sending Chicago’s Chris Brady the wrong way from 12 yards out. The German striker found the bottom-left corner with his stoppage-time spot-kick, scoring his joint team-leading eighth MLS goal of the campaign to give his side the 1-0 lead heading into the break.
Second Half:
Five minutes into the restart, Prince Owusu nearly doubled the Reds’ advantage with a ferocious effort from outside of the box which Chicago keeper Chris Brady dove low to parry away for a corner.
Heading into the closing stages in the Windy City, Chicago Fire drew level in the 84th minute when Ariel Lassiter’s cross towards the far post was poked home by substitute Jonathan Dean for his first career MLS goal.
Seeking a late response, the Reds came within inches from finding a game-winner twice in the space of two stoppage time minutes. First, Lorenzo Insigne, five minutes after entering the action, saw his direct free-kick from 30 yards hit the post in the 93rd minute before Federico Bernardeschi cut inside from the right wing and dragged his effort wide of the target two minutes later.
The hosts then had a pair of late shots in the penalty area from substitute Chris Mueller blocked by Toronto’s Kevin Long before the final whistle bl
Chicago Fire substitute Chris Mueller then had two shots blocked by Toronto’s Kevin Long in the penalty area, as the two Eastern Conference clubs settled for a point apiece upon the final whistle at SeatGeek Stadium.
The Reds return home following their three-game road trip to host New York Red Bulls in their penultimate MLS regular season clash on Wednesday evening. Kickoff from BMO Field is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and on TSN 1/4/5 in Canada.
LINEUPS
CHICAGO FIRE FC – Chris Brady; Arnaud Souquet (Allan Arigoni 60’), Wyatt Omsberg, Rafael Czichos; Ariel Lassiter, Fabian Herbers (Chris Mueller 60’), Gastón Giménez (C), Kellyn Acosta, Justin Reynolds (Jonathan Dean 75’); Georgios Koutsias (Brian Gutiérrez 60’), Hugo Cuypers (Tom Barlow 75’)
Substitutes Not Used: Spencer Richey, Tobias Salquist, Mauricio Pineda, Federico Navarro
TORONTO FC – Sean Johnson; Sigurd Rosted, Kevin Long, Raoul Petretta (Shane O’Neill 46’); Kobe Franklin (Tyrese Spicer 88’), Alonso Coello (Kosi Thompson 61’), Matty Longstaff (Lorenzo Insigne 88’), Richie Laryea; Federico Bernardeschi, Jonathan Osorio (C), Prince Owusu (Deandre Kerr 61’)
Substitutes Not Used: Luka Gavran, Aimé Mabika, Nathaniel Edwards, Brandon Servania
MEDIA NOTES
- Jonathan Osorio made his 300th Major League Soccer regular season appearance for Toronto FC and becomes the first player in club history to reach the milestone while representing the Reds.
- Osorio also became the fourth Canadian-born player to make 300 regular season appearances in Major League Soccer history (via @MLS_PR).
- Prince Owusu scored his team-leading eleventh goal (across all competitions) of the 2024 season.
POSTMATCH SOUND
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