SANDY — Theo Corbeanu scored his first Major League Soccer goal as Toronto FC defeated 10-man Real Salt Lake 1-0 Saturday for its first win of the season.
The victory was also TFC’s first in Utah since July 2007.
Real Salt Lake controlled play and did most of the attacking in the first half but still went into the break down 1-0. Toronto defended well and scored an early opportunistic goal.
Salt Lake kept coming forward even after losing star attacker Diego Luna to a straight red for violent conduct in the 61st minute. The home side outshot Toronto 23-2 (6-1 in shots on target) and had 61.3 per cent possession.
Toronto (1-4-4) had gone 0-8-5 since its last league victory, a 2-1 decision over visiting Austin FC on Sept. 14. It had not won away from home in some eight months, going 0-4-3 since a 1-0 decision at Houston on Aug. 24.
But TFC had shown signs that a win was coming with consecutive draws against high-flying Vancouver, Miami and Minnesota, whose combined league record was 14-2-7 going into weekend play.
CF Montreal (0-6-3) and, surprisingly, the defending champion Los Angeles Galaxy (0-6-3) are the only MLS teams yet to win this season.
Salt Lake (3-6-0) has lost four of its last five. But it had the upper hand for much of Saturday.
RSL had 59.5 per cent possession in the first 45 minutes, outshooting Toronto 9-1 (2-1 in shots on target). Salt Lake, which had scored just eight goals in its first eight league matches, continued to attack in the second half but lacked clinical finishing. And when the home side did hit the target, Toronto goalkeeper Sean Johnson was up to the task.
Corbeanu opened his MLS scoring account in the ninth minute, taking advantage of a heavy touch by defender Bode Hidalgo. The Toronto winger pounced on the ball, shifted it to his right to find space for a shot and beat diving goalkeeper Rafael Cabral to the corner.
The 22-year-old from Burlington, Ont., marked the occasion with Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark goal celebration.
Salt Lake had eight corners before Toronto got its first in the 60th minute. That corner led to Luna’s red card after he and Toronto defender Raoul Petretta got tangled up as they battled for position. Both went down and Luna was sent off for kicking out at Petretta as he got up.
The red card survived video review. Petretta received a yellow card for his part.
Luna, a 21-year-old U.S. international, had three goals and an assist in his previous four games.
Referee Sergii Demianchuk handed out seven yellow cards in addition to the red, with five going to Toronto and two to Salt Lake.
Toronto came into the contest with a dismal 1-8-2 record at Salt Lake in league play and had not won in Utah since its first visit there in its first year in the league. TFC had never won at America First Field with its lone victory coming at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the University of Utah venue that used to be RSL’s home.
Toronto coach Robin Fraser fielded a rare unchanged starting 11. That might have been out of necessity with defenders Richie Laryea, Zane Monlouis, Nicksoen Gomis and Henry Wingo and forward Deandre Kerr still out injured.
Norwegian forward Ola Brynhildsen came in off the bench in the 72nd minute after a one-game injury absence.
Rookie Jesus Barea made his first MLS start for Real Salt Lake in the only change to its starting 11. The 22-year-old Spaniard was taken in the first round (19th overall) of the December MLS SuperDraft out of Missouri State.
Johnson made a fine reflex save in the 24th minute to get a hand to Dominik Marczuk’s long-range shot off a corner that deflected off TFC midfielder Deybi Flores.
Johnson was called on again in the 30th minute, stopping Braian Ojeda’s hard shot from distance.
There was drama in the 36th minute when Federico Bernardeschi, receiving a yellow card in taking one for the team, chopped down Luna on the edge of the Toronto penalty box after a swerving run by Barea opened up the defence. Salt Lake was unable to take advantage of the free kick, however, with Bernardeschi acrobatically swinging a leg in the way of the shot.
Johnson made back-to-back saves to deny Alexandros Katrani and Ojeda in the 70th and 71st minutes.
The trip to Utah marked a return for Fraser, a former Real Salt Lake assistant coach and member of Jason Kreis’ 2009 MLS Cup championship staff.
Salt Lake coach Pablo Mastroeni is still looking for his 100th coaching win. The former U.S. international’s record now stands at 99-110-74 across all competitions including his time in charge of the Colorado Rapids from 2014-17.
UP NEXT
Toronto FC: Hosts New York City FC on Saturday, April 26.
RSL: Visits expansion San Diego FC on Saturday, April 26.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2025.
The Canadian Press
