ALTIDORE, TFC MAKE THEIR POINT
Reds rally to tie Atlanta and set an MLS record for most points in the regular season
Jozy Altidore scored the first of two second-half goals for Toronto FC as the Reds twice rallied to tie their final regular-season game and earn the point that gave them 69 for the season, one more than the record set by the L.A. Galaxy in 1998. Sebastian Giovinco had the other goal.
ATLANTA— Toronto FC set a Major League Soccer points record.
Atlanta United broke a pair of attendance marks.
Now, it’s on to the playoffs for both teams.
Sebastian Giovinco scored his 16th goal of the season on a brilliant free kick in the 84th minute Sunday, giving Toronto FC a 2-2 tie that broke a 19-year-old MLS record for points in a season.
Having already clinched the Supporters’ Shield and a first-round playoff bye, Toronto (20-5-9) reached 69 points on the final day of the regular season. That edged the previous MLS record of 68 set by the Los Angeles Galaxy in 1998.
“It’s rare for an MLS team to go through a season and not hit a down point,” Atlanta defender Michael Parkhurst said. “They just didn’t.”
Acrowd of 71,874 packed MercedesBenz Stadium, eclipsing Atlanta United’s previous single-game record of 70,425 for a September match against Orlando City.
The expansion team also set a season record with an average of 48,200 a game, easily breaking the mark of 44,247 set two years ago by MLS’s flagship franchise in Seattle.
A victory would have pushed United to second in the Eastern Conference — good enough to avoid the single-game knockout round.
But Giovinco, with a set piece from just outside the penalty area, launched the ball over the wall, caught the bottom of the crossbar and slipped it past leaping goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
Jozy Altidore tied it up in the 60th minute. Drew Moor won the ball in midfield and passed ahead to Alti- dore, who outdueled Michael Parkhurst for possession and flicked a shot past Guzan to end the Atlanta keeper’s shutout streak at 542 minutes.
An Atlanta fan threw a beer at Altidore as he celebrated the goal — and Giovinco silenced the crowd when he picked up the cup and drank from it. Of course, it had TFC fans chirping on Twitter.
“To be honest, I’m going to remember this day more for Seba drinking the tossed beer than the points re- cord,” tweeted fan Casey Telford.
Atlanta got a boost from the return of star midfielder Miguel Almiron, who entered in the 61st after missing four games with a hamstring injury. He orchestrated the play that led to a goal by Josef Martinez.
Giovinco’s pinpoint shot silenced the raucous crowd again.
“That was probably the only place it could go in,” Guzan said with a shrug. “That’s why he’s a world-class player. He’s got that ability.” With files from Alanna Rizza