HARRISON, N.J.—Faced with a New York pushback in the second half, Toronto FC served a timely reminder at Red Bull Arena that it can defend as well as it can attack.
Now the sixth-seeded Red Bulls, down 2-1 after the opening leg, face an uphill battle Sunday in Game 2 of the MLS Eastern Conference semifinal at BMO Field where league-leading Toronto posted nine shutouts while going 13-1-3 this season.
The Red Bulls need to win and score at least two goals to survive, or at least match Monday’s score to force overtime. And given Toronto’s offence — it scored in 31 of 34 games this season and was last blanked at home on March 31 — that seems a very tall order.