Toronto FC won the 2017 MLS Cup on Saturday, beating the Seattle Sounders 2-0 at BMO Field. Once again, Jozy Altidore made the difference for Toronto, scoring in the 67th minute. Victor Vazquez doubled the lead four minutes into stoppage time. Alex Bono made two saves to keep the clean sheet. Altidore won the MLS Cup MVP award.
“Lifting this trophy has been an obsession for the last 364 days, not just for me but for every single guy in our team, every coach, every part of the staff,” Toronto midfielder Michael Bradley said. “From the second Torres scored the winning penalty last year, to get ourselves back here, to give ourselves another crack at it, there’s no other word for it than just obsession. It’s hard to describe to people on the outside to what it’s been like to live that every day, to live that in beginning of preseason when it feels like you are years away from a game, let alone a playoff game, let alone a final. The group that we have is just so committed, so focused.”
The MLS Cup caps a season where Toronto won every competition that they entered. They won the Canadian Championship, the Supporters’ Shield, and MLS Cup in a season that many are already calling the best in league history. That’s an easy argument to make with them capping off 2017 with the MLS title.
Toronto dominated the shots, 22 to 7, putting 11 of those on goal to Seattle’s two. Seattle could not get its offense going, finishing a second consecutive MLS Cup without scoring in regulation. Thought the score ended up not flattering him, Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei had another standout performance, keeping the Sounders in the game with six saves in the first-half.
MLS now shifts focus almost immediately to the expansion announcement due at the end of the month. They will welcome a new team for 2018 with LAFC taking the field. The league announced on Friday that all teams will have a budget increase to work with as the rest of the teams try to catch up with Toronto.
