Charleston, NC - Toronto FC drew its final preseason game ahead of 2011 First Kick by playing D.C. United to a 2-2 draw, a match which saw the Reds finish with 10 players on the pitch.
DCU were ahead early with their on-loan U.S. international striker Charlie Davies putting the team up 1-0 with a blast past TFC goalkeeper Stefan Frei, following a mistake by Toronto in the middle.
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Toronto responded at the 19th minute when captain Dwayne De Rosario, playing in his first Carolina Challenge Cup match due to a minor injury, put the Reds level with a well taken penalty. TFC was awarded the chance from the spot when newly signed Canadian international Gianluca Zavarise was brought down inside the area.
The Reds went ahead 2-1 when a long clearance from Frei found Maicon Santos in the clear. The Brazilian striker held off a challenge and slid the ball past an advancing Pat Onstad in the D.C. goal. It was a cool finish and it marked the first time the Reds scored from open play in the three-match tournament that concluded on Saturday in Charleston.
TFC's lead became precarious at the 37th minute when trialist Mikael Yourassowsky was shown his second yellow card of the half and the Reds were down to 10 for the remainder of the match.
In the second half D.C. punished Toronto for its lack of discipline, notching the equalizer through Joseph Ngwenya at the 61st minute.
Notes: Preseason holdout Adrian Cann returned to the TFC lineup and made his way onto the pitch to start the second half when he replaced Toronto FC Academy standout Oscar Cordon ... Toronto striker Maicon Santos limped off the pitch with a second half injury. He was replaced by 2011 MLS SuperDraft pick Matt Gold at the 67th minute ... D.C. United won the Carolina Challenge Cup played at Blackbaud Stadium with seven points. They had won the 2010 version of the tournament as well before finishing last in the regular season.
Scoring Summary:
Toronto - De Rosario 19' PK, Maicon 28'
D.C. - Davies 12' Ngwenya 61'
Toronto lineup (4-3-3): Stefan Frei, Dan Gargan, Nana Attakora, Ty Harden, Mikael Yourassowsky (Ejected 37'), Nathan Sturgis, Oscar Cordon (Adrian Cann 46'), Dwayne De Rosario (Javier Martina 87'), Gianluca Zavarise (Keith Makubuya 90+'), Jacob Peterson (Matt Stinson 80'), Maicon Santos (Matt Gold 67')
