TORONTO—When Toronto FC score first, they are unstoppable: a perfect 9-0-1. When the opponent does, winning becomes a much more difficult prospect.

So when Chicago opened the scoring at BMO Field after just 40 seconds on Saturday, one would understand if heads began to drop, knowing the season-long struggle to win from behind.

“It's not easy to do in this league,” said TFC coach Greg Vanney. “From a mentality standpoint, this was one of our biggest wins ... It shows that we've grown, in terms of patience and our understanding of who we are and what we are, and how we're going to be successful.”

Sebastian Giovinco crafted the first of three goals, hustling to win the corner, then collecting the secondary ball to curl an outside-boot effort towards the far post. The shot was later deemed to have nicked off Jonathan Osorio before nestling into the side-netting. Giovinco thought it rightly his; an opinion that the scorekeeps held – until they didn't.

Chicago reinstated their lead at the start of the second half, but Toronto persevered, first equalizing and then finding a late winner.

Michael Bradley, scorer of the second goal, called Saturday's victory a "great three points," crediting what he felt was a fantastic recovery.

“The response to come back after going down twice was fantastic," Bradley said. "This time of year, it's all about finding ways to come away with points.”

Vanney saw the response as both a measure of the club and a signal of their resiliency.

“It's maturity by our group at an important time of year.” he said. “You've got to know that you can come from behind as you approach the playoffs because that character, that confidence is critical.”

Before Saturday's match, Toronto were 3-13-3 when conceding the opener. Jozy Altidore's 79th minute strike added a fourth result to the win column.

“We feel like we have a good team, but it's up to us to prove it every time we step on the field,” Bradley said. “It's on us.”

He added: “The mentality, the commitment, the determination, to keep going even when we went down was very good. Days like this are important; to come into this locker room after the game, to be able look around, look each other in the eye, and know that every guy spilled everything they had onto that field. These are important steps.”