Toronto FC beaten 3-2 by Houston Dynamo

Toronto FC fell to a 3-2 defeat against Houston Dynamo in preseason action in Florida on Thursday night despite twice taking the lead with goals from Jacob Peterson and Dwayne De Rosario. Cam Weaver’s 69th minute goal won the match for the Dynamo.

"I am satisfied about a lot of things from the game but we also know there is still a lot that we have to work on," said Toronto FC Head Coach and Technical Director Aron Winter. "We didn’t play badly tonight but we made some mistakes. We still have plenty of time in preseason and I am convinced that we will do well. We have only had a few weeks so far working with a new system so I am happy about the progress we are making."

Facing MLS opposition for the first time this preseason in the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, Toronto took an early lead when Peterson scored from a tight angle in the seventh minute following a through ball by Nick LaBrocca. The Dynamo pulled level just three minutes later when Lovel Palmer crossed to Geoff Cameron who fired past
Stefan Frei.

Toronto regained the lead just before the half hour when trialist Jamal Gay was brought down in the penalty area by Andrew Hainault. De Rosario stepped up to take the penalty and scored his first goal of preseason to make it 2-1. The Dynamo fought back again to tie the game for a second time two minutes before the break when Brad Davis scored with a free kick, curling the ball into the top left corner from just outside the
penalty area.

Chances were at a premium for both sides after half time, but Houston found a winner in the 69th minute as Weaver scored from a Danny Cruz cross.

Toronto FC will return to action on Saturday, February 26 against Orlando City at 6:00 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on the club’s official website, TorontoFC.ca.

Scoring Summary:

Toronto FC: Jacob Peterson 7′, Dwayne De Rosario (pen) 30′
Houston Dynamo: Geoff Cameron 10′, Brad Davis 43′, Cam Weaver 69′

Toronto FC (4-3-3): Stefan Frei, Demitrius Omphroy (Dan Gargan 46′), Adrian Cann, Nana Attakora (Matt Stinson 46′), Mikael Yourassowsky, Ivo de Heus, Nick LaBrocca (Nick Soolsma 46′), Dwayne De Rosario (Oscar Cordon 60′), Javier Martina (Gianluca Zavarise 46′), Jacob Peterson (Joao Plata 69′), Jamal Gay (Maicon Santos 60′)

Houston Dynamo (4-4-2): Tally Hall (Tyler Deric 60′), Mike Chabala (Jordan Graye 62′), Andrew Hainault (Bobby Boswell 46′), Eddie Robinson (Jermaine Taylor 46′), Kofi Sarkodie (Hunter Freeman 46′), Geoff Cameron, Lovel Palmer (Alex Dixon 62′), Corey Ashe (Josue Sotu 64′), Brad Davis (Danny Cruz 46′), Brian Ching (Will Bruin 23′, Navas Cobo 87′), Jason Garey (Cam Weaver 46′)

Toronto FC 2011 Preseason Results (1-2-1):

February 2 – Tied 1-1 vs. Partizan Belgrade, Nana Attakora 6′
February 6 – Won 1-0 vs. Red Star Belgrade, Matt Stinson 41′
February 10 – Lost 3-1 vs. Dinamo Zagreb, Gianluca Zavarise 46′
February 24 – Lost 3-2 vs. Houston Dynamo, Jacob Peterson 7′, Dwayne De Rosario (pen) 30′