Toronto FC visits LAFC, looking to finally add a win to its string of eight draws

Los Angeles FC’s success in qualifying for the FIFA Club World Cup came with a caveat.

With the FIFA club extravaganza kicking off June 14, LAFC’s June 18 home contest against Toronto FC had to be rescheduled. Given Wednesday’s makeup date at BMO Stadium falls in the October FIFA international window, that means LAFC is without star forwards Denis Bouanga (away with Gabon) and Son Heung-min (South Korea) who have combined to score the team’s last 18 goals.

The last Los Angeles player to score other than those two was Canadian midfielder Mathieu Choiniere, in a 2-0 win at New England on Aug. 16.

And Choiniere is also away on international duty. LAFC is also missing striker Nathan Ordaz (El Salvador) for its regular-season home finale, with away games at Austin and Colorado to follow.

“We have other key pieces that can fill in and do a good job as well,” said LAFC veteran midfielder Mark Delgado, who spent seven seasons in Toronto from 2015 to 2021.

“It’s a great opportunity for other guys who are hungry to get on the field , who have been itching to get on the field,” he added. “It’s a great moment for guys to step in and show why they’re here.”

Huge shoes to fill, however.

Bouanga has 24 goals this season, tied with Miami’s Lionel Messi for most in the league. Son has eight goals (in just nine games).

LAFC (16-7-8) extended its season-best winning streak to five games with a 1-0 victory against visiting Atlanta United on Sunday. The victory clinched home-field advantage in the first round of the MLS playoffs and means LAFC can finish no lower than fourth in the Western Conference.

“They’re in a great run of form and even though they’re missing players, I wouldn’t imagine they would change too much,” said Toronto coach Robin Fraser. “They have a good team and they have a deep team.”

Asked about his other attacking options, LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo reeled off the names of Jeremy Ebobisse, David Martínez, Alexandru Baluța, Yaw Yeboah, Timothy Tillman, Andy Moran and Delgado.

“We have plenty of players who are dangerous to finish plays,” he said. “It may look a little different. It may feel a little different. But the end result should be the same.”

Los Angeles goes into the game 27 points and 16 places above 25th-place Toronto (5-13-14) in the overall league standings.

Toronto is without captain/midfielder Jonathan Osorio and fullback/wingback Richie Laryea (both with Canada) and forward Derrick Etienne Jr. (Haiti) for its penultimate game of the season. Kevin Long (hamstring) joins fellow defenders Zane Monlouis, Henry Wingo and Nicksoen Gomis on the sidelines.

Toronto is unbeaten since a 2-0 setback July 26 at Charlotte FC. Since then, it has recorded a league-record eight straight draws at Philadelphia, Atlanta, New England, Columbus and Chicago and at home against Columbus, Montreal and Miami.

TFC has conceded just eight goals during that run.

“They’ve been making life difficult for teams,” said Delgado. “A hard-working team, you’ve definitely got to respect that. They’ve got a lot of grit.”

On the other side of the coin, TFC has not won since a 1-0 decision July 16 at San Diego.

“Robin (Fraser) has shown throughout his career that he has solutions and that he builds teams and match plans that are really hard to beat,” said Cherundolo, who is stepping down at the end of the season. “His teams are always difficult to beat and I expect nothing less (Wednesday).

“We need to be on our toes. We need to be executing at a high level in order to beat them (Wednesday). We have our solutions. I’m looking forward to see if those solutions will work.”

It’s just the third-ever meeting between the two clubs with Toronto (0-1-1) searching for its first win. Los Angeles won 4-2 when the teams met in Toronto in September 2018 with the teams playing to a 1-1 draw a year later in L.A.

LAFC sports a 10-4-2 record at BMO Stadium this season and is 6-3-6 away from home, unbeaten in its last 11 road outings (5-0-6).

Los Angeles is only the second team in MLS history to go unbeaten across 11-or-more road matches in regular-season play, joining FC Dallas, which did not lose in 12 consecutive road matches from May 1 to Sept. 25, 2010, en route to the MLS Cup final (losing 2-1 to the Colorado Rapids after extra time at Toronto’s BMO Field).

In other TFC news, Laryea has been fined an undisclosed amount by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for violating league policy regarding hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent in the 89th minute of Toronto’s 2-2 draw Saturday at the Chicago Fire.

The incident occurred after Jack Elliott scored for Chicago off a corner, with the prickly Laryea apparently objecting to the defender’s enthusiastic celebration.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2025.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press