By CALEB SONNELAND
Fredy Montero was back to his goal-scoring ways when he whipped a 90th minute free kick into the upper corner of the Toronto net for the 1-0 win and all three points at BMO Field in Toronto.
Coming off their respective draws the week before, Toronto and Seattle were looking to bounce back with a win and get their campaigns back on track. Earlier in the season, the Sounders mauled the Reds 3-0 at Qwest Field, but with Seattle making its way out East, the hosts were looking to return the favor.
The all-important goal came in the 90th minute from about 22 yards out after Mauro Rosales was felled outside the Toronto area to give Seattle a free kick. Up stepped the DP to curl the ball into Stefan Frei's net to put his team on top and pole position for all the spoils. The goal was the first by a Sounders FC forward in 713 minutes and Montero's third of the season, having been held in his last seven matches.
After a relatively lifeless first half of play, the match seemed to take a turn when Seattle's Jhon Kennedy Hurtado was sent off with a second yellow. The big defender brought down Stevanovic in the opening stages of the second half to throw coach Sigi Schmid's half-time game plan into the trash as Schmid then brought on defender Zach Scott.
Toronto attempted to take advantage of its numerical edge as it pushed further up the field searching for a goal. The hosts came within inches of doing exactly that when Javier Martina was found unmarked at the far post but the Dutchman could only put his effort off the inside of the post and out of the goal mouth.
Despite being reduced to 10, Seattle actually founds itself pushing up the field on a number of occasions, chiefly through Mauro Rosales and DP Alvaro Fernandez, who subbed in to make his first appearance since the mid-May game against Sporting Kansas City. The Uruguayan had a handful of chances to get his side off the mark but the Toronto back line held firm until the 90th minute winner from Montero.
TFC midfielder Nathan Sturgis welcomed his old club to Toronto and got the start in midfield before eventually being replaced at the break. Sturgis was selected in the 2008 Expansion Draft by Seattle before eventually making his way to Vancouver and then Toronto.
It wasn't all good news for Seattle, however, as midfielder Brad Evans was forced from the field with an ankle contusion in the second half following a clash with a Toronto defender. News on the severity of the injury is yet to be known.
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Did you think Hurtado deserved the red? What did you think of Montero's goal? What does the result mean for Toronto FC?
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