Toronto FC played out a 2-2 draw against CF Montréal before falling short in a 3-2 penalty shootout loss in the preliminary round of the 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship at BMO Field on Wednesday evening.
Toronto FC Head Coach Robin Fraser made six changes from his side that started against New York City Ago four days ago with Sean Johnson, Sigurd Rosted, Raoul Petretta, Federico Bernardeschi, Maxime Dominguez and Charlie Sharp making way for Luka Gavran, Lazar Stefanovic, Nicksoen Gomis, Lorenzo Insigne, Tyrese Spicer and debutant Dékwon Barrow.
The Reds were forced into an early substitution as club captain and influential midfielder Jonathan Osorio was forced to depart through a shoulder injury. Spanish midfielder Alonso Coello came on in his place in the 21st minute.
Canadian winger Theo Corbeanu opened the scoring for TFC, when he slipped past CF Montréal’s Joel Waterman and unleashed a powerful left-footed strike beyond goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois in front of the southend supporters.
After recently opening his club account with the game-winning goal against Real Salt Lake on April 19, the 29th minute golazo marked the TFC Academy product’s first goal for TFC in the Canadian Championship competition.
Seeking a response, CF Montréal found an equalizer through Joel Waterman, when the Canadian defender connected on a half-volley from Luca Petrasso's 70th minute cross.
The scores did not remain level for long after, with the Reds regaining the lead three minutes later. On the play, Theo Corbeanu impressively carried the ball into Montréal’s penalty area from his own half before setting up Tyrese Spicer for a well-placed, right-footed strike past Sirois to make it 2-1.
The 74th minute goal marked the Trinidad & Tobago international’s first goal of the 2025 season and Corbeanu’s first assist for Toronto FC.
The Bleu-blanc-noir, however, plucked their second equalizer of the night when substitute Tom Pearce’s cross was met by an acrobatic left-footed volley by Italian forward Giacomo Vrioni in the 88th minute.
With the scores level at two upon the referee’s full-time whistle, the knockout match was decided by a penalty shootout, with CF Montréal winning 3-2 to advance to the quarter-finals of the 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship.
Toronto FC resume their MLS campaign and host New England Revolution in their third consecutive home match on Saturday afternoon. Kick-off from BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario is set for 4:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
LINEUPS
TORONTO FC – Luka Gavran; Kosi Thompson (Kobe Franklin 74’), Lazar Stefanovic, Kevin Long, Nicksoen Gomis (Raoul Petretta 64’); Jonathan Osorio (C) (Alonso Coello 21’), Deybi Flores, Lorenzo Insigne (Maxime Dominguez 64’), Theo Corbeanu, Tyrese Spicer; Dékwon Barrow (Ola Brynhildsen 73’) Substitutes Not Used: Sean Johnson, Adisa De Rosario, Sigurd Rosted, Matty Longstaff
CF MONTRÉAL – Jonathan Sirois; Dawid Bugaj, George Campbell, Joel Waterman, Luca Petrasso; Nathan Saliba (Dante Sealy 46’), Samuel Piette (C) (Dominic Iankov 70’), Victor Loturi; Hennadii Synchuk (Tom Pearce 46’), Caden Clark (Owen Graham Roache 81’), Prince Owusu (Giacomo Vrioni 57’) Substitutes Not Used: Sébastian Breza, Jalen Neal, Aleksandr Guboglo, Fabian Herbers
MEDIA NOTES:
- Dékwon Barrow made his debut for Toronto FC as a starter, becoming the sixth player to make his club debut during the 2025 season.
- Theo Corbeanu recorded his first assist for Toronto FC.
- With a goal and an assist tonight, Theo Corbeanu recorded his first multi-goal contribution performance for TFC.
- Dékwon Barrow, Ola Brynhildsen, Theo Corbeanu, Maxime Dominguez and Lazar Stefanovic made their first Canadian Championship appearances.
