MLS: Mason Toye offers the summit of the East to CF Montreal

SEATTLE – Mason Toye scored his first two MLS goals in nearly 11 months and was the star of CF Montreal’s valuable 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night at Lumen Field.

Named starter by head coach Wilfried Nancy, Toye thanked him in the most beautiful way by moving the ropes first in the 18th minute, then in the 62nd minute. On each occasion, Toye hit the target following passes from Kei Kamara.

By far the most threatening player in the Sounders, Jordan Morris, early in the first half, scored the only goal against Sebastian Breza, who was particularly vigilant late in the game.

With this win, CF Montreal (9-6-2) moved up to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

The Montreal team totals 29 points, the same number as the Philadelphia Union, but its two more victories give it the advantage in the tiebreaker.

CF Montreal’s journey on the American West Coast will continue on Monday night when they visit the Galaxy in Los Angeles.

A first half of quality

From the first to the 45th minute of play, CF Montreal delivered one of its best performances in the first half in ages.

During this first half, on the ground of a team in full possession of its means for a few weeks and which played a fifth consecutive game at home, Wilfried Nancy’s troops controlled the ball more than 57 percent of the time. and fired seven shots on goaltender Stefan Frei compared to two for the Sounders on Breza.

The only negative moment of this first half for the Montreal team came during the third minute of play.

Morris took advantage of a long pass from Cristian Roldan to show up in the penalty area and, although Mathieu Choinière marked him tightly, beat Breza with a low shot into the bottom left corner.

But around 15 minutes later, Toye brought both clubs back to square one with a quality left-footed shot into the right corner of the opposition’s net after a two-on-one push with Kamara.

For Toye, it was his first MLS goal since August 4, 2021, against Atlanta United.

It was the Sounders who were the most incisive after the break, however, and Roldan tested Breza with an awkward shot from the penalty area, which Breza managed to block.

After this interesting start to the second half for the Sounders, the CF Montreal players regained their colors and, above all, the lead in the match.

Once again, the Kamara-Toye duo united their efforts, and Toye scored his second double in the Montreal uniform by deflecting a precise pass from his new accomplice behind Frei.

With almost 30 minutes left to negotiate, CF Montreal reacted well to the attacks of its opponents and held on to start its journey on the American west coast.