MLS Regular Season | Match #12
Toronto FC vs New York City FC
Saturday, May 11 | 7:30 p.m. ET
BMO Field | Toronto, Ontario
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
English: Joe Tolleson (Play-by-Play) and Greg Sutton (Analyst)
Spanish: Moisés Linares (Play-by-Play) and Pablo Mariño (Analyst)
English (Local Feed): Gareth Wheeler
Toronto FC (6-4-1, 19 pts) welcome 2015 MLS expansion club New York City FC (4-5-2, 14 pts) to BMO Field for their twelfth match of the 2024 MLS season on Saturday evening. The Matchday 13 encounter kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and can be viewed globally on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
The Reds enter Saturday’s match on a five-game winning streak across all competitions and currently sit third in the MLS Eastern Conference table after recording three consecutive MLS wins against New England Revolution, Orlando City SC and FC Dallas. TFC hold an 6W-8L-7T all-time record through their first 21 regular season meetings with the Boys in Blue to date.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Toronto FC welcome Eastern Conference rival New York City FC to BMO Field for their sixth MLS home match of the 2024 season on Saturday evening. TFC hold a 119W-83L-77T all-time record (434 points) in MLS regular season matches played on home soil, after recording 12 points from a possible 15 (4W-1L) through their first five home matches in 2024.
AN ODE TO THE PAST
Toronto FC host 2015 MLS expansion club New York City FC for the 22nd regular season encounter in the all-time series between the two clubs. Historically, TFC hold a 6W-8L-7T record through their first 21 meetings with the Boys in Blue in regular season play, while the Reds remain unbeaten in postseason play after recording three MLS Cup Playoffs wins (3W-0L-0T) against NYCFC. The two clubs have previously faced off at BMO Field on nine separate occasions, with the Reds outscoring New York City 17-9 through five wins, two losses and two ties in Toronto. Earlier this season, NYCFC beat Toronto FC by a 2-1 scoreline at Yankee Stadium. The Reds, meanwhile, will be looking for a repeat of last season’s result at BMO Field, when the hosts recorded a 1-0 victory at home on April 29, 2023.
BATTLE OF THE NORTH
Toronto FC recorded a convincing 3-0 victory over CS Saint-Laurent in the first leg of the 2024 Canadian Championship quarter-final on Wednesday evening. Second-half goals from Matty Longstaff, Deandre Kerr and Federico Bernardeschi helped the Reds secure the road result against the Ligue1 Québec side at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montréal, Québec. The tournament match featured Kerr scoring his first goal of the 2024 season, Bernardeschi scoring his first direct free-kick goal for the Reds and Cassius Mailula and Deybi Flores registering their first assists for TFC. Toronto FC will host CS Saint-Laurent in the second leg of the 2024 Canadian Championship quarter-final at BMO Field on Tuesday, May 21.
THE CLIMB CONTINUES
Prior to Wednesday’s Canadian Championship victory, Toronto FC recorded their third consecutive MLS victory after defeating FC Dallas by a 3-1 scoreline, courtesy of a Federico Bernardeschi brace and Matty Longstaff goal, on Saturday evening. The match at BMO Field featured Bernardeschi scoring the second brace of his TFC career, Longstaff scoring his first goal for TFC and Tyrese Spicer registering his first assist for the Reds. With Saturday’s win, Toronto FC have won three consecutive MLS regular season matches for the first time since October 2020.
TEAM OF THE MATCHDAY
Toronto FC’s Federico Bernardeschi was named to the Major League Soccer (MLS) Team of the Matchday 12, as a starter, following his all-action performance in Saturday’s home win. Making a club-leading eleventh start of the 2024 MLS campaign, Bernardeschi scored a brace which included the game-winning goal in the 52nd minute, which was later nominated for the league’s AT&T Goal of the Matchday for Matchday 12. Bernardeschi then set up Matty Longstaff for the Reds’ third goal on the night, marking the first time the Italian registered three goal contributions in a single match during his TFC career. In total, Toronto FC have now earned 12 MLS Team of the Matchday honours during the 2024 MLS regular season – Sean Johnson (3), Federico Bernardeschi (3), Lorenzo Insigne (2), Deybi Flores (1), Kevin Long (1), Prince Owusu (1) and Tyrese Spicer (1).
ONCE A RED
The two club rosters share a pair of familiar faces in goalkeepers Sean Johnson and Tomás Romero. Prior to joining the Reds in January 2023, goalkeeper Sean Johnson spent six seasons with New York City FC, where he recorded 60 clean sheets in 206 appearances (2017 – 2022) for the Boys in Blue. The Lilburn, Georgia native also led the club to their first MLS Cup championship in club history and was named the 2021 MLS Cup Finals MVP, after saving two spot-kicks in a penalty shootout to beat Portland Timbers. To date, Johnson has made 30 combined appearances for TFC and recently became only the fourth player in MLS history to record 100 career clean sheets when he kept a shutout against FC Cincinnati in TFC’s 2024 MLS season opener. Tomás Romero spent the 2023 MLS season with Toronto FC and recorded a total of 23 saves through six appearances for the Reds last season. The El Salvador international joined New York City FC on February 6, 2024, and has made five appearances for NYCFC II in MLS NEXT Pro and U.S. Open Cup action so far.
