Toronto FC recorded a dominant 8-1 victory CS Saint-Laurent in the second leg of the 2024 Canadian Championship quarter-final on Tuesday evening, winning the two-legged affair 11-1 on aggregate. Four goals from Deandre Kerr, along with strikes from Cassius Mailula, Derrick Etienne Jr., Prince Owusu and an own-goal by the visitors powered the Reds through to the semi-finals at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.

First Half:

Toronto FC rang in nine changes from the starting eleven that beat rivals CF Montréal 5-1 on Saturday with Sean Johnson, Sigurd Rosted, Nicksoen Gomis, Raoul Petretta, Federico Bernardeschi, Deybi Flores, Tyrese Spicer, Matty Longstaff and Prince Owusu making way for Luka Gavran, Kosi Thompson, Aime Mabika, Antony Curic, Kobe Franklin, Andrei Dumitru, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Cassius Mailula and Deandre Kerr.

Carrying a three-goal advantage into the second leg, the Reds capitalized on their early dominance and scored two goals in the opening 15 minutes for the second match running. Canadian Deandre Kerr opened his account on the night with a well-struck left-footed volley from Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty’s cross into the box in the 12^th minute.

Just under two minutes later, the Reds’ Homegrown duo combined once again in similar fashion, with Kerr on hand to side-foot Marshall-Rutty’s cross into the visitors’ net in the 14^th minute.

Kerr completed his first hat-trick for the club late in the first half, when the forward latched onto a through ball from substitute Derrick Etienne Jr. to fire a left-footed effort past goalkeeper Konstantinos Maniatis. The 43^rd minute strike gave the hosts a three-goal cushion on the night, before CS Saint-Laurent were reduced to 10 men after a direct red card was shown to Oussama Boughanmi for a dangerous tackle on Alonso Coello in the 45^th minute.

Second Half:

The Reds began the second half where they left off in the first. South African forward Cassius Mailula scored for the second consecutive Canadian Championship match at BMO Field, when his left-footed shot on target was deflected into the visitors’ net in the 50^th minute.

Six minutes later, referee Yusri Rudolf pointed to the penalty spot when Kobe Franklin was adjudged to have been fouled in the penalty area. From the resulting spot-kick, Haitian winger Derrick Etienne Jr. stepped up from 12 yards and found the bottom right corner of the net to open his account for his new club.

TFC found their sixth of the night six minutes later, when a neat passing sequence between debutant Nathaniel Edwards, Etienne Jr. and Franklin resulted in CS Saint-Laurent’s Nathan Goulet bundling the ball into the back of his own net in the 62^nd minute.

In the 72^nd minute, Deandre Kerr made club and competition history when the Ajax, Ontario native’s perfectly timed run and finish, from Andrei Dumitru’s through ball, resulted in the Reds’ seventh goal of the night. With the goal, Kerr became the first TFC player to score four goals in a single match in club history and also became the first-ever player to score four goals in a Canadian Championship match.

The hosts scored their eighth and final goal of the night, when a swift passing sequence between substitutes Prince Owusu, Deybi Flores and Federico Bernardeschi resulted in the German forward tapping home to score in the 80^th minute.

In spite of the scoreline, TFC goalkeeper Luka Gavran was kept on his toes throughout by the visitors and the Hamilton, Ontario native put in an outstanding performance recording 10 saves on the night. CS Saint-Laurent, however, managed to find a consolation goal late on through Rickson Aristilde’s tidy finish from Yann Toualy’s pass in the 89^th minute, marking the semi-professional team’s first goal against an MLS club.

After winning the two-legged tie 11-1 on aggregate, Toronto FC advance to the Canadian Championship semi-finals set to be played later in the summer.

Next up, the Reds continue a home stretch to host FC Cincinnati in MLS regular season action on Saturday evening. Kick-off from BMO Field is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be available to watch on TSN in Canada on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV globally.

LINEUPS

TORONTO FC – Luka Gavran; Kosi Thompson, Aimé Mabika, Antony Curic; Kobe Franklin, Andrei Dumitru, Alonso Coello (Deybi Flores 64’), Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (Nathaniel Edwards 46’); Cassius Mailula, Lorenzo Insigne (C) (Derrick Etienne Jr. 33’, Federico Bernardeschi 64’), Deandre Kerr (Prince Owusu 76’)

Substitutes Not Used: Gregory Ranjitsingh, Nicksoen Gomis

CS SAINT LAURENT – Konstantinos Maniatis; Jefferson Alphonse, Nathan Goulet (Abdoul Aziz 64’), Obeng Tabi (Aylan Khenoussi 64’); Wesley Wandje (C), Oussama Boughanmi, Mouhamadou Sylla (Yann Toualy 46’), Riad Bey (Rickson Aristilde 46’); Safwane Mlah, Loïc Kwemi, Josué Desire (Mouhamadou Kane 46’)

Substitutes Not Used: Peter Scuccimarri, Malick Daouda

NOTABLES:

• Toronto FC scored eight goals in a competitive match for the first time in club history.
• With eight goals scored tonight, Toronto FC set the record for the most goals scored by a team in a Canadian Championship match.
• Deandre Kerr scored his first hat-trick for Toronto FC and became the first player in club history to score four goals in a single match.
• Kerr also became the first player to score four goals in a Canadian Championship match.

• Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty recorded two assists in a single match for the first time in his Toronto FC career.
• Andrei Dumitru started his first match and recorded his first assist for TFC.
• Antony Curic started his first match for the Reds.
• Nathaniel Edwards made his Toronto FC debut as a substitute in the 46^th minute, becoming the ninth player to make his club debut during the 2024 season.
• Derrick Etienne Jr. scored his first goal and registered his first assist for Toronto FC after entering the match as a 33^rd minute substitute.
• With the assist for Prince Owusu’s 80^th minute goal, Federico Bernardeschi has now been involved in eleven goals (seven goals and four assists) in his last six matches across all competitions (Major League Soccer and Canadian Championship).
• Toronto FC’s starting eleven featured seven, current or former, Toronto FC II contracted players: Luka Gavran, Kosi Thompson, Antony Curic, Kobe Franklin, Alonso Coello, Andrei Dumitru, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, with Nathaniel Edwards coming on as a second-half substitute.
• Following the club’s 11-1 win on aggregate, Toronto FC advance to the semi-finals of the 2024 TELUS Canadian Championship.

**POSTMATCH SOUND**