Toronto FC (5W-11L-6T, 21 points) earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Western Conference leaders San Diego FC (13W-7L-3T, 42 points) on Wednesday night, courtesy of Theo Corbeanu’s decisive penalty at Snapdragon Stadium.
Toronto FC Head Coach Robin Fraser made a pair of changes from Saturday’s side that started against Atlanta United FC with Kevin Long and Alonso Coello coming in for Deybi Flores and Derrick Etienne Jr.
The Reds were rewarded for a bright start to proceedings when San Diego’s Franco Negri was penalized for fouling Toronto’s Theo Corbeanu in the box following a video review. Corbeanu stepped up himself and emphatically buried the spot-kick into the top-right corner to give the visitors a one-goal lead.
The 20th minute penalty marked Corbeanu’s team-leading fifth MLS goal of the season and the Hamilton, Ontario native’s first from the spot for the Reds.
TFC were forced into using a concussion substitution in the 31st minute after Raoul Petretta suffered a clash of heads with Franco Negri and had to be replaced by Tyrese Spicer.
The second half featured an influential boost off the bench for Toronto as club captain Jonathan Osorio made his long-awaited return from injury, entering in the 75ht minute for his first club appearance since May 31 against Charlotte FC.
Under heavy pressure from San Diego FC for much of the second half, Toronto’s collective unit produced a resilient defensive performance to preserve the narrow 1-0 lead and secure a hard-earned three points against the MLS newcomers in California. With the win, the Reds remain unbeaten against Western Conference opponents this season, with three wins and a pair of ties in 2025.
Toronto FC wrap up their two-game road trip with a visit to Nashville SC on Saturday, July 19. Kick-off from GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tennessee is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and on TSN4 in Canada.
LINEUPS
SAN DIEGO FC – Pablo Sisniega; Oscar Verhoeven (Manu Duah 79’), Christopher McVey, Ian Pilcher, Franco Negri (Luca Bombino 60’); Onni Valakari, Jeppe Tverskov (C), Luca de la Torre; Anders Dreyer, Alex Mighten (Emmanuel Boateng 60’), Tomás Ángel (Hirving Lozano 60’) Substitutes Not Used: CJ dos Santos, Jacob Jackson, Hamady Diop
TORONTO FC – Sean Johnson (C); Kosi Thompson, Kevin Long, Sigurd Rosted, Raoul Petretta (Tyrese Spicer 31’); Richie Laryea, Alonso Coello, Theo Corbeanu (Derrick Etienne Jr. 70’), Maxime Dominguez, Matty Longstaff (Jonathan Osorio 75’); Ola Brynhildsen (Deandre Kerr 70’) Substitutes Not Used: Adisa De Rosario, Luka Gavran, Kobe Franklin, Lazar Stefanović, Markus Cimermancic
MEDIA NOTES
- Theo Corbeanu scored his team-leading fifth goal of the 2025 MLS season.
- Sean Johnson recorded his sixth clean sheet of the 2025 campaign.
