MLS Regular Season | Match #11

Toronto FC vs FC Dallas

Saturday, May 4 | 7:30 p.m. ET

BMO Field | Toronto, Ontario

TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV + TSN 1/5

English: Joe Tolleson (Play-by-Play) and Greg Sutton (Analyst)

Spanish: Sergio Ruiz (Play-by-Play) and Walter Roque (Analyst)

English (Local Feed): Gareth Wheeler

English (TSN): Luke Wileman and Steven Caldwell

Toronto FC (5-4-1, 16 pts) welcome FC Dallas (2-5-2, 8 pts) to BMO Field for their eleventh match of the 2024 MLS season on Saturday evening. The Matchday 12 encounter kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and can be viewed globally on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app and on TSN1/5 in Canada.

Sitting fourth in the MLS Eastern Conference table, the Reds enter Saturday’s match fresh from recording three consecutive wins against New England Revolution and Orlando City SC in MLS play and Simcoe County Rovers in the 2024 Canadian Championship action over the past fortnight. TFC hold an 2W-11L-6T all-time record through their first 19 meetings with the Texas-based club to date.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Toronto FC host FC Dallas of the MLS Western Conference at BMO Field for their fifth MLS home match of the 2024 season on Saturday evening. TFC hold a 118W-83L-77T all-time record (431 points) in MLS regular season matches played on home soil, after recording three victories and a loss through their first four home matches in 2024.

AN ODE TO THE PAST

Toronto FC welcome FC Dallas, one of only ten original MLS teams in 1996, for the 20^th regular season encounter in the all-time series between the two clubs. Historically, TFC hold a 2-11-6 all-time record through their first 19 meetings with the Texas-based club. The Reds have scored nine goals and won twice through eight matches against the Toros at BMO Field, with the visitors winning and the teams sharing the spoils three times each. TFC’s last home victory against FC Dallas came on May 7, 2016, courtesy of Tsubasa Endoh’s 28^th minute game-winner at BMO Field.

THE CLIMB CONTINUES

Toronto FC recorded their fifth victory of the 2024 MLS season with a dramatic 2-1 victory against Orlando City SC at Inter&Co Stadium last Saturday. Late goals from Tyrese Spicer in the 87^th minute and Prince Owusu in the 90^th minute spurred the Reds to record their first come-from-behind victory of the 2024 MLS season and the club’s first since May 2022. The performance marked only the second time in TFC history that the club scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals in a match in the 87^th minute or later and the first time since July 2013. The road match also featured Prince Owusu scoring for the fourth consecutive match, Kobe Franklin registering his first assist of the 2024 MLS season and new acquisition Derrick Etienne Jr. making his club debut as a 58^th minute substitute.

TEAM OF THE MATCHDAY

Toronto FC’s Federico Bernardeschi and Kevin Long were named to the Major League Soccer (MLS) Team of the Matchday 11, as a starter and substitute respectively, following their performances in Saturday’s road win. Making a club-leading tenth start of the 2024 MLS campaign, Bernardeschi was instrumental to both goals in the Reds’ comeback win and recorded two assists in a single match for the second time in his TFC career. Kevin Long played the full 90 minutes at the heart of the Reds’ back-line and defensively helped the side secure all three points on the road. The Irishman led TFC in ball actions (81), passes (68), clearances (5), challenges made (5) and aerial challenges won (5) and ranked amongst the Reds’ top five players in distance covered (9.62 km), top speed (32.27 km/hour), sprints (21) and pass success rate (89.70%) on the night. In total, Toronto FC have now earned 11 MLS Team of the Matchday honours during the 2024 MLS regular season – Sean Johnson (3), Federico Bernardeschi (2), Lorenzo Insigne (2), Deybi Flores (1), Kevin Long (1), Prince Owusu (1) and Tyrese Spicer (1).

ONCE A RED

The Reds will square off against familiar faces in FC Dallas’ Liam Fraser and Omar Gonzalez on Saturday. A product of the Toronto FC Academy, Fraser signed a First Team contract as a Homegrown player on January 19, 2018, and made 39 combined appearances for the Reds across four seasons (2018 – 2021). The Canadian midfielder joined FC Dallas in August 2023 and has made 18 appearances for the club to date. Gonzalez joined TFC on July 9, 2019, and made 73 combined appearances for the Reds across three seasons (2019 – 2021). The American defender joined his hometown club in January 2024 and has made four appearances for FC Dallas this season. On the home side, American midfielder Brandon Servania, currently sidelined through injury, is currently in his second season with TFC. A product of the FC Dallas Academy, Servania played college soccer at Wake Forest University before joining FC Dallas as a Homegrown player in January 2018. The Birmingham, Alabama native scored five goals and made 74 combined appearances for Dallas across four seasons (2019 – 2022) prior to joining the Reds via trade last February.