It was a day long in the making.

Luca Petrasso made his first team debut for Toronto FC in their 4-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday at BMO Field.

Now 21 years old, he first joined the TFC Academy back in 2013 at the age of 12 and over the years progressed along the club’s development pathway. He played in League1 Ontario with the Senior Academy side, TFC III, from 2016 and then signed a professional contract for TFC II in 2018.

Four years and three seasons later after a stellar campaign last season in USL League One, Petrasso signed a homegrown deal earlier this year.

Saturday was the culmination of years of hard work.

“It was very cool,” said Petrasso post-match. “Obviously, I was quite nervous before the game. I had all my family there watching, which was amazing. The atmosphere was amazing.”

“I was just really excited to get going and get the opportunity to play,” he continued. “I thought I did quite well, but obviously we didn't get the result. [We’ll] bounce back next game.”

Petrasso was in the middle of a lot of the good movements Toronto created in the opening 45 minutes, rampaging up the left-side of the field as a winger. With TFC II he was more often than not fielded at left-back, a role that comes with a lot of attacking opportunities at which he excelled.

That forward drive was on display on Saturday and it led to TFC’s goal in the 35th minute when Petrasso surged up the flank before playing in-field to Jesús Jiménez. In the second half he swapped to left-back as substitutions required.

His coach, Bob Bradley, was pleased with the display.

“The first half he was really bright,” he said. “That's what we've seen of him lately and he took the opportunity to start. A lot of our attack in the first half came down our left side through him, a really positive day.”

“When he went to left-back, there's a few moments defensively where he got caught on the wrong side of a guy and we’ve got to work through some details, but I'm happy for him,” Bradley added. “I thought, especially the first half, was very good.”

A few butterflies pre-match were to be expected, but Petrasso had long had the image of stepping out on that field in his mind.

“I was very nervous,” he smiled. “I saw all the fans as we were walking out onto the field, but to be honest, it’s a dream come true.”

“I remember when I was a little kid I was a ball boy in the MLS Cup Playoffs. TFC won, so I had that dream of playing on that field and playing with the players that I play with now,” Petrasso recounted. “Players I look up to and I hope to have amazing careers like them. It's a dream come true to play in front of my family, in front of the fans.”

“It’s just the first game,” he reminded. “Keep on focusing and I hope to play more to come.”

That a day he long dreamed of came was not entirely a surprise. He’d picked up the clues leading into the match.

“I kind of knew at the beginning of the week: I was training with the starting lineup in our sessions when we played 11 vs. 11. I was a left winger, so I had an idea I was going to be playing,” he noted. “And then as the week went on, I was consistently there in training with them and so had to get my head wrapped around it and ready to go.”

Nominally a left-back, playing further up-field in the first half was only a slight adjustment.

“I’ve played wing in the past,” Petrasso added. “So I was quite comfortable playing that position.”

After the final whistle once the team had thanked the fans for their support, the debutante made a B-line to the East Stands near the tunnel.

“Yes, that was my family,” Petrasso confirmed. “They came closer to say hi and congratulate me on my debut – that was very nice of them.”