Toronto FC crashed out of the MLS playoffs on a whim Saturday, losing in a 4-0 loss to Orlando City.
Facundo Torres and Ercan Kara gave Orlando a 2-0 lead midway through the first half. A Toronto own goal by Lukas MacNaughton made it 3-0 early in the second half before Canadian Tesho Akindele rubbed the wound with a goal from the bench in the 84th minute as Toronto’s defense opened again.
Toronto (9-16-7) entered the game knowing defeat at Exploria Stadium would eliminate it from the playoffs, with the tie also ending post-season hopes hanging on results elsewhere.
Prior to that, Toronto made it to the MLS Cup final in 2016, ’17 and 19, winning the title over Seattle in 2017.
But glory days are far behind the club with coach Bob Bradley, who took over last November, overseeing a roster reshuffle that is likely to continue in the off-season.
The elimination of the TFC playoffs is bad news for Canadian coach John Herdman, given it means that defenders Richie Laryea and Doneil Henry and midfielders Jonathan Osorio and Mark-Anthony Kaye will be out of work at club level after the October 9 regular season finale. The World Cup kicks off November 20 in Qatar.
WATCH | Toronto FC was officially eliminated from the playoffs:
Orlando City beat Toronto FC 4-0 Saturday night and with that loss, Toronto will miss the MLS postseason.
Laryea, Osorio and Kaye head to Europe to join Canada for exhibition matches against Qatar and Uruguay during the upcoming FIFA international window. Henry has a hamstring injury.
Toronto, who ended the season at home to Inter Miami on September 30 and away in Philadelphia on October 9, enters the weekend’s game in 13th place in the Eastern Conference, six places and seven points below the playoff line.
Orlando (13-12-6) started the day in fifth place in the East. The shutdown was his ninth of the season, setting a one-season club record.
CF Montreal keeps first place hopes alive
Alistair Johnston scored his fourth goal of the season on the counter-attack in the 72nd minute to lead CF Montreal to a 1-0 win at the New England Revolution on Saturday night.
Djordje Mihailovic and Romell Quioto both provided assists on the counter-attack, which ended in goals that took Montreal to a sixth straight away win and kept their hopes of finishing top of the Eastern Conference and a first-round bye alive.
With New England (9-12-11, 38 points) going into the game with playoff hopes at stake, the Revolution overall lost 18-10, although they tied Montreal in an effort on target and forced Sebastian Breza into three saves.
The 2021 Supporters Shield winner starts the night 10th in the East, three points behind seventh-place Columbus, who now has two games in hand going into tomorrow’s home game against Portland.
New England have lost three in a row for the first time since a four-game losing streak that occurred in late March and early April.
WATCH | Johnston elevates CF Montreal to Revolution:
CF Montreal beat New England Revolution 1-0 Saturday night in MLS action.
Whitecaps beat Sounders, maintain playoff hopes
The Vancouver Whitecaps once again kept their playoff hopes alive on Saturday with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders.
Pedro Vite opened the scoring in the 29th minute and Julian Gressel doubled Vancouver’s lead eight minutes later as the Whitecaps (11-14-7) beat their regional rivals for the first time in more than five years.
Goalkeeper Thomas Hasal stopped two shots on target to collect his fourth win of the season for Vancouver and Stefan Frei made three saves for Seattle.
The result saw the Whitecaps beat the Sounders (12-16-3) to ninth in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer.
Vancouver still sits two places and three points below the playoff bar with two games remaining in the regular season. Seattle is four points and three places off the post-season spots.
WATCH | Whitecaps jump ahead of the Sounders in the standings:
Vancouver beat Seattle 2-1 Saturday night and jumped ahead of the Sounders in the standings.
The ‘Caps come from a 3-0 win over the LA Galaxy on Wednesday while the Sounders have not played since beating Austin FC on September 10.
The impact of the busy schedule was seen in the second half, with Seattle pressing hard and Vancouver’s players occasionally gasping for air.
Former Whitecap Fredy Montero scored Seattle’s only goal of the night in the 89th minute, sending the ball into the penalty area where it slipped off Bruin’s head and into the net.
