Pep Biel scored the winner in the second half, leading Charlotte FC to a 2-0 victory over host Toronto FC on Saturday night.
Patrick Agyemang also scored for Charlotte (8-8-1, 25 points), which earned its second win in eight matches (2-6-0).
Keeper David Bingham made two saves to preserve the clean sheet for Charlotte, which won for the second time on the road this season. Charlotte’s only other away victory also came north of the border — a 1-0 win over Montreal on April 12.
Toronto (3-10-4, 13 points) has dropped three straight and suffered its fourth defeat in five matches (1-4-0). The Reds have just one win at home this season (1-7-2).
Biel one-touched Liel Abada’s cross past keeper Sean Johnson (six saves) in the 56th minute for his fifth of the season.
Prior to the Charlotte goal, Toronto had a pair of glorious chances to get on the board.
Captain Jonathan Osorio had an excellent look in the 53rd minute but put his right-footed shot from just outside the area over the bar.
A minute later, Ola Brynhildsen ran down a loose ball and had a chance to open the scoring, but Bingham came out to challenge and made the save.
Charlotte took a 2-0 lead in the 90th minute as Agyemang cut around defender Alonso Coello and beat a diving Johnson for his team-leading sixth goal.
Charlotte controlled possession for much of the opening 45 minutes and had four shots on target before the first-half whistle.
The visitors’ first good chance came in the 16th minute as Abada’s right-footed shot from inside the box rolled just left of the goal.
Two minutes later, Biel’s strike was saved by Johnson and Toronto defender Raoul Petretta was able to block Agyemang’s attempt on the rebound.
Saturday was the first of the teams’ two MLS regular-season meetings. Toronto visits Charlotte on July 26 to conclude the season series.
–Field Level Media
