Jermain Defoe brace lifts Toronto

Updated: May 17, 2023, 06:33 am

TORONTO -- Jermain Defoe set up two goals and then scored two of his own, leading Toronto FC to a 4-2 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night.

Toronto trailed 2-0 before Jonathan Osorio and Dominic Oduro scored in the first half. Defoe then had his goals in the 63rd and 89th minutes, helping his team stop a three-game winless streak.

Brad Davis scored twice for Houston, which has allowed a league-worst 38 goals this season. The Dynamo have not won an MLS game since a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on May 17.

The teams play again next Saturday in Houston, after Toronto hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps in a midweek game.

Houston (5-11-3) went ahead in the 13th minute when Giles Barnes fed an open Davis, whose hard left-footed shot from inside the penalty box beat Joe Bendik. Barnes got another assist on Davis' second goal in the 30th minute.

Toronto (7-5-3) pulled one back in the 39th minute when goaltender Tally Hall fumbled a Defoe cross and Osorio was there to head it in. It scored again during first-half stoppage time, with Defoe finding an open Oduro on a counter-attack.

Oduro's first shot was blocked by Hall, but he converted the rebound for his first goal with Toronto and No. 47 for his MLS career.

Defoe then added two goals in the second half, sliding one shot through Hall's legs and making the most of errant back pass for his second of the game. He has 10 goals in 12 league games.

The Dynamo are 1-8-1 on the road this season.