TFC Republic Weekly: September 7-13
It's going to be a busy week for Toronto FC with two matches in four days vs. teams that sit above it in the Eastern Conference.
Welcome to the latest edition of TFC Republic Weekly, an email newsletter that will land in the inbox of both paid subscribers and free members of TFC Republic every Monday.
This newsletter will look at what's in store over the next seven days for Toronto FC, and also get a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.
So, without further ado...
Toronto FC leaves it late to extend unbeaten run to 6
Josh Sargent’s first MLS hat trick looked to be for naught before Derrick Etienne Jr came off the bench to score in injury time and help Toronto FC secure a 4-4 draw vs. the Chicago Fire on Saturday at BMO Field.
Ultimately, Sargent’s heroics were squandered by Toronto (5-7-11) who extended its unbeaten streak to six games but dropped one place to 11th in the Eastern Conference, two spots and one point below the playoff line with 11 games remaining in the regular season. TFC also wasted fabulous showings by Djordje Mihailovic and Alonso Coello, who each had a pair of assists.
"It's bittersweet. Very happy to get the hat trick, but at the end of the day, we want to win. We're here to win games, and it's an important time to start winning games now. Of course, very happy, very pleased I could score those goals, but we need to find ways to win those games," Sargent stated.
Once again Toronto put itself in a hole and was forced to dig itself out in order to gain a result. The club's resilience can't be questioned. But coach Robin Fraser is tired of seeing his team continually have to come from behind.
"You have to be able to stop good teams, and I didn't think we were good enough in that aspect. ... The work and the character and the fight that we see every week, [I] can't say enough about it. But we can't wait 'till we're down to show that sort of urgency, and I think we're too good to be in a hole every week, and we show how good we are because we kind of climb our way out of it," Fraser
John Molinaro
Josh Sargent breaks out with hat trick vs. Chicago
This was the version of Josh Sargent that everybody had been dying to see ever since his arrival in MLS.
That includes Sargent’s three young children, who kept bothering him about his goal scoring record with Toronto FC prior to Saturday's breakout performance.
“My kids have been waiting for this moment. They've been pestering me, saying, ‘You didn't score today. You didn't score today.’ So, very happy about it, of course, and they're gonna be very excited when I go see them,” Sargent told reporters after his man-of-the-match effort.
A lot has been said and written about the American international’s solid but unspectacular tenure with Toronto ahead of this weekend. Prior to this game, Sargent had four goals and two assists in 15 league appearances (13 starts) for TFC. Not bad numbers by any stretch of the imagination. But not spectacular either.
Certainly not numbers that you’d expect from a DP striker who is one of the league’s highest-paid players ($5.2 million US) and who commanded one of the biggest transfer fees (reportedly $27 million plus add-ons) in MLS history.
And while Sargent has been quite rightly lauded in recent weeks for his excellent work ethic off the ball, especially on the defensive side of things, forwards will always be judged by how many goals they score. Sargent has shown brief flashes of brilliance since coming to Toronto. But Saturday marked his coming out party.
John Molinaro
GM Jason Hernandez made moves before window closed
The MLS secondary transfer window closed last week, but not before GM Jason Hernandez made some last-minute roster moves.
Toronto FC traded for Scottish forward Lewis Morgan from San Diego FC in exchange for a 2026 international roster slot. Morgan made his club debut when he came off the bench in the second half vs. Chicago.
TFC also acquired winger Alejandro Piedrahita from Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia on loan through the 2027 MLS Sprint season, with an option to purchase. The Colombian is expected to join up with the team this week.
The Reds also moved forward Deandre Kerr to AVS Futebol SAD (Portugal's second division) on a permanent transfer, while retaining a future sell-on percentage.
John Molinaro
TFC and the MLS roster free date
The 2026 MLS roster freeze date is Oct. 9, at which time clubs must submit their final 30-man roster for this season.
Team rosters can't be changed from that date through to the day after the MLS Cup final, subject to the league's "extreme hardship" rule.
The MLS secondary transfer window closed on Sept. 2. which means clubs can't make any transfer signings, trade for players with other MLS teams, or arrange any loan deals for incoming players.
However, teams can still loan or sell a player to a non-MLS club, subject to the receiving club's applicable federation transfer window, provided such moves take place before Oct. 9.
MLS teams can also still sign free agent players who are unattached. So, for instance, if there was a player who was out of contract with his European or South American club, he could still sign with an MLS team because there would be no transfer fee involved.
Also, MLS teams can still make trades with each other that don't involve players – draft picks, international roster spots, general allocation money (GAM) and other assets – even though the transfer window has closed.
John Molinaro
Two games vs. Eastern Conference rivals in 4 days
It's going to be a busy week for Toronto as it has two matches in four days against teams that sit above it in the Eastern Conference table.
TFC will host Nashville SC on Wednesday in the first meeting of the season between the clubs. Nashville (16-2-5) sits atop the Supporters' Shield standings and is currently riding a six-game unbeaten streak which includes a 1-1 road draw vs. New York City FC last week.
Toronto then travels to Florida on Saturday for its first encounter of the campaign against Orlando City in a match that has big implications on the playoff race. Orlando (8-11-4) sits eighth in the East, three spots and two points above Toronto, so the Reds could potentially find themselves above the playoff line by the end of the weekend should they win on Saturday.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
Looking to bolster the attack and give Josh Sargent some support, GM Jason Hernandez pulled off an interesting trade last week in acquiring veteran attacker Lewis Morgan in exchange for an international roster slot. Injuries sidelined Morgan for most of the 2025 campaign and he only had two assists in 13 MLS games (six starts) this season before being traded to Toronto. But he has scored with regularity in the past – 14 goals in 2022 and 13 goals in 2024 for the New York Red Bulls. Morgan debuted for TFC when he came off the bench this past weekend vs. the Chicago Fire and he is expected to speak to local media for the first time this week. Look for my feature story on Morgan in the coming days.
Other stories that will be published this week include:
- A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.
- A piece on the four stories to watch for this week.
- A story on Robin Fraser and his working relationship with GM Jason Hernandez.
- An audio piece looking back on Deandre Kerr's time with TFC.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's match vs. Nashville SC.
- An audio interview piece with Valair Shabilla of SixOneFive Soccer about Wednesday's road game vs. Nashville.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's match vs. Orlando.
- A new audio interview piece with Mike Gramajo of WESH 2 News ahead of Saturday's road game vs. Orlando.
- The latest edition of the reader mailbag.
- The weekly TFC 2 report.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" news stories throughout the week.
- And much more!
TFC Republic mailbag
TFC Republic will feature a regular reader mailbag column where I answer questions from subscribers about Toronto FC and Canadian soccer in general.
I'll answer the best questions submitted to me by TFC Republic readers, so feel free to drop me an email at jmo1897@gmail.com. You can also reach out to me via Twitter.
TFC Republic subscribers can get up to a 25% discount on ticket prices for Toronto FC home games during the 2026 MLS regular season and the 2026 Canadian Championship. To receive the special promo code, email me at jmo1897@gmail.com
(Please don't share promo code with non-TFC Republic subscribers).
