D.C. United fell 2-1 to Toronto FC on Wednesday night at BMO Field, moving to 7-13-12 in the 2026 MLS regular season. The Black-and-Red put together a strong first half, highlighted by midfielder Andre Dozzell scoring his first goal with the club, before the hosts rallied with two second-half goals. D.C. United remains 13th in the Eastern Conference with 33 points and two matches left in the regular season.
Head coach René Weiler made three changes to the 4-4-2 that started Saturday’s match against FC Cincinnati, bringing forward Nathan Ordaz, midfielder Jared Stroud and midfielder Matti Peltola into the starting XI. Weiler made two substitutions, introducing midfielder Brandon Servania for Ordaz in the 80th minute and defender Sean Nealis for Stroud in the 89th minute.
D.C. United created an opportunity inside the opening two minutes when a long ball from defender Lucas Bartlett found defender Keisuke Kurokawa, whose early effort from distance tested Toronto FC goalkeeper Luka Gavran. In the 21st minute, Stroud sent a header into the box that Ordaz flicked on to forward João Peglow, who challenged Gavran as the goalkeeper attempted to clear and nearly created another chance. The early pressure paid off in the 29th minute. A give-and-go between defender Silvan Hefti and Peltola sent Hefti into the box, where he picked out Dozzell, who calmly finished into the far corner to give D.C. United a 1-0 lead. The goal was Dozzell’s first in a D.C. United jersey, and Hefti’s assist was his fifth of the season.
Toronto FC increased the pressure after the break. In the 47th minute, Bartlett redirected a shot from forward Dániel Sallói wide to keep the Black-and-Red in front. A near-post corner from Kurokawa was headed just over by defender Kye Rowles in the 59th minute as D.C. United looked to extend the lead. Toronto FC found the equalizer in the 64th minute, when a corner from midfielder Djordje Mihailović was met by a header from forward Josh Sargent and midfielder Jonathan Osorio got the final touch to level the match at 1-1.
D.C. United nearly reclaimed the lead in the 85th minute. A dangerous in-swinging corner from Kurokawa forced Gavran into a punch before Servania connected on a header at the back post. Toronto FC found the decisive goal in the 86th minute, when forward Theo Corbeanu struck the post and Sargent converted the rebound to give the hosts the 2-1 win.
Despite the result, D.C. United registered eight shots and seven corners and completed 80.2 percent of its passes, with contributions from across the lineup generating opportunities in the final third. Kurokawa and Hefti were particularly active going forward. Dozzell earned the highest D.C. United player rating of the night, completing 96.4 percent of his passes with seven passes into the final third and five defensive contributions across 90 minutes.
D.C. United will look to carry the positive elements of Wednesday’s performance into its final away match of the regular season when the Black-and-Red travel to face the Columbus Crew at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field on Saturday, October 31. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
