It was a nail-biter by the lakeshore, as Dániel Sallói and Toronto were denied on the goal line in their bid to upset the league-leading San Jose Earthquakes, with the match finishing 1-1.
Post-match, Raheem Edwards described the result as “a win in itself in a sense of a depleted team against the best team in the league.”
Toronto fielded a patchwork XI, with Robin Fraser handing rare starts to Lazar Stefanovic at centre-back, Malik Henry on the right wing, Markus Cimermancic in attacking midfield, and Emilio Aristizábal up front, while Josh Sargent was a late omission through injury.
San Jose’s lineup remained largely unchanged, though star Designated Player Timo Werner missed out with a hamstring issue.
The match couldn't have started better for the hosts, as Sallói struck in the second minute, beating Daniel with a composed finish from inside the box.
SETTING THE TONE EARLY!!! 😤 pic.twitter.com/vXmyvVeDWO
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) May 2, 2026
San Jose, riding a six-game unbeaten run, responded quickly. In the 13th minute, Preston Judd finished off a set piece to bring the visitors level.
The sequence exposed Toronto's defensive organization, which had looked unprepared to deal with the delivery. Post-match, Robin Fraser acknowledged the issue, saying, “That was definitely, or it felt like a lapse.”
Preston Judd equalizes for @SJEarthquakes!
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 2, 2026
His seventh of the season. 👏 pic.twitter.com/rNALNgVLC6
Before halftime, more injury trouble struck Toronto, as centre-back Lazar Stefanovic was forced off. The Reds played the closing minutes of the half with ten men.
Opening the second half, Toronto fans may have expected Walker Zimmerman, who made the bench despite still working through a knock, but it was TFC II emergency call-up Micah Chisholm who was inserted into the back line beside Monlouis.
Fraser was pleased with Chisholm's mid-game debut and felt “he handled himself quite well. He was combative when he needed to be combative. He made some good plays for us. And I think overall it was a pretty good showing for somebody who basically got thrown into this [match]”.
San Jose thought they had taken the lead in the 65th minute through Preston Judd, but the goal was correctly disallowed, with Jack Skahan in an offside position in the buildup.
Robin Fraser turned to his bench, introducing Derrick Etienne Jr. for Malik Henry and Deandre Kerr for the hard-working Emilio Aristizábal.
In the 74th minute, Monlouis had a terrific opportunity to put Toronto in the lead with a header off a corner, but his effort was blocked.
Fraser went to the bench again in the 75th minute as 17-year-old midfielder Antone Bossenberry replaced Markus Cimermancic. It was the youngster's second appearance in as many matches.
In the 86th minute, it was Toronto who thought they had netted a late winner when Etienne Jr. put in a through ball for Dániel Sallói, but his lobbed effort over the keeper was evidently blocked on the line by San Jose defender Reid Roberts.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED 🤯 pic.twitter.com/gs80AVjowt
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) May 2, 2026
The play was briefly reviewed by VAR, but the decision stood with no goal awarded. If ever there was a moment to strengthen the case for goal-line technology in Major League Soccer, this was it, especially when compared to systems like Hawk-Eye used in top European leagues.
When asked about the play post-match, Toronto manager Fraser stated, “Honestly, I don't even want to comment on that because who knows, right? Officiating. You just never know where it's going to go. So, I haven't looked, and I can't really comment on it.”
In the dying minutes of the game, Toronto faced one more centre-back injury as Monlouis limped off the pitch in favour of Walker Zimmerman.
Both sides traded goalscoring opportunities down to the final whistle, but ultimately neither team could find a breakthrough, sharing the points at BMO Field.
The TFC manager remarked that the result and effort from his team were satisfactory. “It was efficient, it was pragmatic. And out of that, we were able to create some good chances”.
Robin Fraser also had complimentary words for Dániel Sallói, Toronto’s standout performer on the day, saying:
“Yeah. I mean, Dániel's been great for us. He's been an incredible pickup. I've spoken so much about him, not just as a player, but as a person and as a teammate. He's been a fantastic addition to us, and he just keeps producing for us. So, I have nothing but good things to say about Dániel.”
Toronto will conclude its nine-match homestand next Saturday with an afternoon clash against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
