D.C. United draws 2-2 in home opener against Toronto FC
Featured image courtesy of Hannah Wagner, D.C. United.
By Sarah Kallassy and Donald Wine II
D.C. United kicked off the 30th Major League Soccer season, drawing 2-2 with Toronto FC in front of a home crowd of 16,655. Ultimately, some of last season’s pain points kept the Black-and-Red from claiming all three points.
While the temperatures were chilly, Black-and-Red supporters were out in force to kick off the 2025 season. Dave Johnson celebrated his 30th year calling the game for D.C. United. Bruce Murray currently joins him on the broadcast.
Boris Enow opened the scoring in the 8’ with a left-footed shot from the center of the box that stunned Sean Johnson. Enow had shown flashes of his potential throughout 2024, but he’s really coming into his own. We hope this season-opening goal is a harbinger of his 2025 performance.
Of course, Toronto wouldn’t let D.C. United proceed unchecked. In the 18’, Federico Bernardeschi’s shot from outside the box squeezed through the arms of Joon-Hong Kim, but thankfully, the ball squibbed just right of the net for a corner.
Jonathan Osorio found Toronto’s equalizer in the 27’. Kim wasn’t able to corral the cross, and it clipped off Aaron Herrera before it ricocheted off Osorio into the goal.
The Black-and-Red clapped back to quickly regain the lead. Jacob Murrell took possession on the right wing and sent a perfect cross into the box, where Benteke headed it past Sean Johnson to make it 2-1 in the 35’.
Try as they might, Toronto couldn’t find an equalizer before the whistle. D.C. United kept the home crowd bolstered despite the chilly temps with their first-half lead.
The second half seemed to be going D.C.’s way until Brandon Servania fouled Richie Laryea in the 68’, rewarding the Reds with a penalty. Bernardeschi neatly converted the penalty to bring the Reds level, much to the home crowd’s chagrin.
Christian Benteke reflected on the impact of the penalty, saying, “I think we have to learn about those moments, those important moments…where we can control the game. I feel at times, we rush, and we have to learn to be comfortable when we need, because if they didn’t score, the game would have been 2 to 1, and we still win. So, we have to know how to manage those games because it’s going to be so important, especially when we are at home.”
Head coach Troy Lesesne acknowledged during the preseason that D.C. United would be working toward a revamped style of play. And indeed, the Black-and-Red look much different, and it’s not just due to new names on the roster. Lesesne has prudently slowed things down a touch on the pitch, relying on better use of space than simply a speedy attack and high press.
“I thought that we had some good control over building from the first level into the second level, but then…in that final third, we didn’t have enough of it tonight,” Lesesne said. “We certainly want to have the ball more; we want to be under control, but we want to generate opportunities. We don’t want to have it just to have it. But again, it’s a work in progress, and at the same time, I didn’t think we lost any of our intensity.”
D.C. United next faces Chicago Fire on March 1st at Soldier Field.
Three Takeaways
- Are the results of the rebuild finally starting to show? The Black-and-Red have battled through a long period of transition, going through multiple coaches and systems in just a few short years. We’re finally seeing a period of relative stability under Troy Lesesne and are hopeful for what comes next.
- Still some settling in to do. D.C. United needs time to settle into their new system and find cohesion with the new players. The question is, how much time?
- In the end, last season’s mistakes created opening-day heartache. While the team looked better in possession, the turnovers in the midfield that plagued them last season led to both Toronto goals and made this draw feel like one where points were lost.
Watch the highlights from D.C. United vs. Toronto FC
Box Score
MLS Regular Season – Game 1
D.C. United: 2 Boris Enow 8’, Christian Benteke (Jacob Murrell, Lucas Bartlett) 35’
Toronto FC: 2 Jonathan Osorio 27’, Federico Bernardeschi (P) 70’
Lineups
D.C. United (4-2-3-1): 1-Joon-Hong Kim; 28-David Schnegg, 15-Kye Rowles, 3-Lucas Bartlett, 22-Aaron Herrera; 6-Boris Enow, 23-Brandon Servania (14-Dominique Badji 80’); 10-Gabriel Pirani (11-Randall Leal 71’), 17-Jacob Murrell (18-Derek Dodson 71’), 77-Hosei Kijima; 20-Christian Benteke (c)
Toronto FC (4-4-2): 1-Sean Johnson; 22-Richie Laryea, 17-Sigurd Rosted, 5-Kevin Long, 2-Henry Wingo (28-Raoul Petretta 62’); 71-Markus Cimermancic, 20-Deybi Flores,14-Alonso Coello, 10-Federico Bernardesci; 21-Jonathan Osorio (c), 7-Theodor-Alexander Corbeanu (Deandre Kerr 80’)
Misconduct Summary
D.C. United: Rowles 90+2’, Benteke 90+4’
Toronto FC: Long 17’, Rosted 60’, Flores 78’
It’s one game, and at the beginning of the season, cut everyone some slack… yes, I agree.
We were, nonetheless, outperformed at home by the consensus preseason pick for last place. Not drastically outperformed, no, but Toronto was to my eye better organized and definitely much more advanced with their passing combinations. I saw nothing to dissuade me from the sense that ownership has hamstrung management and forced the deployment of an MLS 1.0 team in a league where that simply cannot work anymore.
Still rooting for Mackay and Lesesne to overcome the handicaps and make a silk purse here. The team will naturally improve as all the new ppl bed in; the unfortunate reality is that everyone else’s new ppl will improve as they bed in also.
Unfortunately what I saw on Saturday was much like last year: couldn’t hold a lead; simple mistakes that cost dearly, a central midfield that was porous; lost points at home; and the high press leading to open attacking space for the opposition.
Some observations. I don’t get what the coach sees in Enow. Okay, he scored a goal and this will probably give him a good rating but he was atrocious defensively. Snegg was getting torched continuously in the first half and did better in the second half. The goalkeeper looks fantastic despite the early jitters. Pirani tried hard and has talent but was marked out of the game. He doesn’t seem to be able to pass the ball quickly to get out of trouble. Benteke is Benteke and I pray he doesn’t get injured. Kijima looks bright, especially in the first half.
I couldn’t see any of the preseason touted improvements in the defense after the high press compared to last year.
The team had several missing players last night, but they need to figure out how to prevent so much scoring or the team will repeat last year’s fate.
The team is really in need of a talented playmaker and probably will not improve until they get one (which at this point seems unlikely). They have a designated player slot available and we can always hope things work out.
This was not a promising start to the season. We will see how it goes from here.
I only managed to watch the first half, but a tie seemed a fair result. It will be interesting to see who manages to lock down their places in the squad. Anyway, here’s my thoughts:
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