New York Red Bulls hold off Toronto FC to avoid play-in round

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:12 am

A three-minute scoring outburst led the New York Red Bulls to a 2-1 Decision Day victory over visiting Toronto FC on Sunday.

The win elevates the Red Bulls (9-9-5, 32 points, 1.39 points per game) to sixth place in the Eastern Conference and allows them to avoid the play-in round. New York will face the third-place Columbus Crew in the first round of the playoffs.

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Toronto FC (13-5-5, 44 points, 1.91 points per game) entered Decision Day with a chance at winning the Supporters' Shield. Instead, Toronto will finish the regular season in second place in both the Eastern Conference and in the overall league standings and will face the highest-seeded play-in winner from the East, with the Philadelphia Union winning the Shield.

New York outshot Toronto by an 8-1 margin in the first half, including a pair of rapid-fire goals from Tom Barlow and Brian White.

A corner attempt in the 24th minute went through the legs of White and bounced right to Barlow, who converted a header for his third goal of the season.

Just two minutes later, the Red Bulls extended their lead as White got the final touch just inside the near post. The goal continues White's late-season hot streak, as the forward now has four goals in New York's last five games.

Toronto FC responded to their lackluster first half with lots of pressure in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, highlighted by Tsubasa Endoh's first goal of the season. In the 50th minute, Red Bulls goalkeeper Ryan Meara got a hand on Nick DeLeon's initial shot, but Endoh was in position to knock in the rebound.

Meara responded with a game-saving stop in the 57th minute. Toronto captain Michael Bradley made a wonderful move to give himself a clear scoring chance in the box, but Meara made the save to prevent the equalizer.

Jonathan Osorio returned to Toronto's lineup after a three-game injury absence. Jozy Altidore (hamstring) played 33 minutes as a substitute after missing Toronto FC's previous seven games.

Another potential injury concern developed for Toronto, however, as defender Richie Laryea left the game in the 41st minute with an apparent groin issue.