TORONTO – Matt Gold can admit now that watching the MLS SuperDraft was a stressful situation. He thought he would be a third-round pick, but as the draft moved into the deeper rounds, the stress became a lot to handle.

“Once you’ve watched the first round go by, you’ve already been watching for almost a couple hours,” Gold said. “You start to see the guys that you thought would go before you off the board and that’s when the stress really notches up a level. It’s the uncertainty. No one likes the uncertainty.”

Toronto ended that uncertainty when they scooped up Gold with the 43rd pick overall, and now Gold says he wants to focus on doing what he has to do to get noticed by the new TFC coaching staff.

“My greatest strength is my fitness,” said Gold, who played collegiately at Ohio State. “I want to go in as a guy in the top third of the team in fitness.”

Reds director of player personnel Paul Mariner agrees with Gold’s self-assessment.

“We liked how athletic he was and ... he comes from a really good background,” Mariner said. "He’s a quality person."

Gold prefers to play in a holding midfield position, and that’s where TFC have told him they want him to play.

“I’m not really a guy that is going to get the glory, score the goals,” he said. “I like that game.”

With the return of the reserve division and increase in MLS rosters, later-round picks will get a longer look this year than they may have in the past. Gold says that takes a bit of the pressure off heading into camp.

“In the past, guys like me got bounced around a little in their first year,” he said. “I’m hopeful that I can find some stability. I want to make that top 24, top 20 even. I’m excited to get to camp.”