Toronto FC eliminated from MLS playoff contention with draw

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FOXBOROUGH — Luca Langoni’s deflected shot in the 90th minute gave the New England Revolution a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC in MLS play Saturday, eliminating TFC from playoff contention.

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The Argentine forward’s shot went through a crowd of bodies, deflecting off defender Sigurd Rosted past goalkeeper Luca Gavran. Theo Corbeanu’s 75th-minute goal had given Toronto (5-13-11) the lead.

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New England also faced playoff elimination, depending on a later result.

Djordje Mihailovic set up Toronto’s goal, finding Corbeanu in open space down the right flank. The winger outfoxed defender Tanner Beason before sliding a low shot past goalkeeper Matt Turner for his sixth of the season.

Toronto extended its unbeaten run to five games (0-0-5).

The two sides had lacked bite in front of goal beforehand in a scrappy contest short on entertainment value at Gillette Stadium. Going into the game, New England was tied for 18th in goals scored while Toronto was tied for 28th.

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New England (8-14-8) outshot Toronto 11-9 but TFC had a 5-4 edge in shots on target.

Toronto’s trainers were busy on the night.

TFC, having already lost defenders Henry Wingo, Zane Monlouis and Nicksoen Gomis for the rest of the season, saw veteran centre back Kevin Long — playing in his 50th MLS game — exit in the 16th minute after going down clutching the back of his leg.

Captain Jonathan Osorio was forced to leave in the 52nd minute, also feeling the back of his leg. Forward Deandre Kerr needed treatment midway through the half but made it to the 53rd minute before giving way.

New England went into weekend play in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, two places and six points ahead of Toronto. The Revs were coming off back-to-back losses to Chicago and Charlotte.

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TFC last made the playoffs in 2020 when it fell at the first hurdle, losing 1-0 after extra time to expansion Nashville after finishing second in the East at 23-5-13.

Since then, Toronto has gone 35-88-42 in regular-season play, finishing 26th, 27th, 29th and 22nd in the Supporters’ Shield Standings. TFC went into weekend play 26th overall.

Gavran, making his second league start of the season with No. 1 Sean Johnson on the bench, was forced into action in the 21st minute, stopping a hot shot from Carles Gil.

At the other end, Turner made an acrobatic one-handed diving save to parry Mihailovic’s curling shot from outside the penalty box in the 30th minute.

Argentine forward Tomas Chancalay and Nigerian midfielder Alhassan Yusuf both had first-half chances for the Revs but failed to find the target after good setups. Turner stopped Corbeanu in the 43rd minute, escaping further punishment after failing to hang onto the ball.

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Corbeanu came close in the 57th minute, his shot from just inside the penalty box curling outside the post. And he threatened again in the 73rd minute, only to see defender Peyton Miller block his shot.

Toronto coach Robin Fraser made five changes to his starting lineup including Gavran.

Ecuador midfielder Jose Cifuentes made his first start for Toronto after a 16-minute cameo off the bench against Montreal with Raoul Petretta and 19-year-old Lazar Stefanović slotting in the backline and Kerr up front.

Fullback/wingback Richie Laryea came off the bench in the 78th minute after travelling with Canada to Romania and Wales during the recent international window.

New England was missing Ecuador forward Leo Campana and winger/forward Ignatius Ganago. Forward Dor Turgeman, New England’s newly signed Israeli international, has yet to receive his visa.

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New England started two teenagers with 17-year-old Miller on the wing and 18-year-old Ugandan midfielder Allan Oyirwoth, making his first MLS start.

Toronto came into the game with a 12-17-13 all-time record against the Revs, including a 5-11-6 record in Foxborough, but had had success in recent trips there with a 3-1-2 record in its last six visits dating back to August 2019. Toronto won 1-0 in its last game at Gillette Stadium in March 2024.

New England won 2-0 when the teams met May 3 at BMO Field with Gil and Campana both scoring. That victory was part of a nine-game unbeaten run (5-0-4) in league play from April 12 to June 14, a stretch that followed a poor 1-4-1 start to the season. Prior to Saturday, New England had gone a dismal 2-10-2 since the unbeaten run.

UP NEXT: Toronto visits the Columbus Crew on Saturday while New England plays at the Philadelphia Union. Mali international defender Mamadou Fofana will sit out that game for yellow card accumulation after picking up a caution Saturday.

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