CF Montreal defeats Toronto FC in a penalty shootout in Telus Canadian Championship

By Canadian Press on April 30, 2025.

TORONTO — CF Montreal finally had something to celebrate Wednesday, defeating Toronto FC in a penalty shootout in Telus Canadian Championship preliminary-round play.

Goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois was the hero, stopping Tyrese Spicer and Ola Brynhildsen as Montreal won the shootout 3-2.

Kobe Franklin and Alonso Coello scored for Toronto in the shootout. Theo Corbeanu ballooned his kick over the crossbar.

Joel Waterman, Dante Sealy and Dominic Iankov scored for Montreal. Tom Pearce also fired high.

The game went to the shootout after it finished deadlocked at 2-2 in regulation time, thanks to Montreal substitute Giacomi Vrioni’s spectacular goal in the 88th minute. The Italian-born Albanian international forward, a designated player who had seen just 22 minutes of action previously this season, went airborne in volleying a cross past Luka Gavran.

Corbeanu scored and set up a goal by Spicer for Toronto, which led 1-0 and 2-1.

Waterman also scored for Montreal, which at 0-7-3 has yet to win in MLS play in 2025. Toronto, at 1-5-4, isn’t much better but had gone unbeaten in four games (1-0-3) prior to its weekend 1-0 loss to visiting New York City FC.

Montreal had not won a game since Oct. 19 when it blanked visiting NYCFC 2-0 in league play. It has been outscored 14-4 in MLS play this season and came into the game scoreless in its last three outings.

With Toronto depleted in attack due to injury, Corbeanu’s offence was timely.

The shifty winger put Toronto ahead in the 29th minute, coming off his wing and leaving Waterman in his wake before hitting a shot that deflected off Samuel Piette and looped over Sirois. The goal was better than the celebration, which saw Corbeanu fall over trying to slide on his knees towards the corner flag in front of a crowd of 20,265 at BMO Field.

Montreal pulled even in the 70th minute via Waterman on a play that started with a corner. The defender knocked home a Luca Petrasso cross after Toronto forward Dekwon Barrow’s attempted clearance was a swing and a miss.

Corbeanu played provider in the 74th minute, beating Waterman down the flank and then sending in a cross that eluded a sliding defender en route to Spicer, who beat Sirois.

Toronto had been blanked in three of its five previous matches and outscored 14-8 in its 10 league outings to date this season. Corbeanu’s strike ended TFC’s 378-minute scoring drought at BMO Field, dating back to Deandre Kerr’s 11th-minute goal in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Fire on March 15.

Toronto has not won at BMO Field since Sept. 14, a 2-1 league triumph over Austin FC.

Montreal will face either the Canadian Premier League’s Forge FC or Halifax Wanderers FC, who meet May 7, in the two-legged quarterfinals.

The 15-team tournament opened Tuesday with CPL champion Cavalry FC blanking League1 Alberta champion Edmonton Scottish FC 6-0 and CPL-leading Atletico Ottawa downing League1 Ontario champion Scrosoppi FC 2-0.

Defending champion Vancouver got a bye to the final eight.

The Canadian Championship winner hoists the Voyageurs Cup and earns a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the elite club tournament in North and Central America and the Caribbean, as well as $50,000.

Toronto coach Robin Fraser made six changes to the lineup that lost 1-0 to NYCFC with Italian star Lorenzo Insigne returning after starting on the bench on the weekend.

But fellow Italian Federico Bernardeschi was a late scratch with a club spokesperson saying he had not recovered from a knock in Saturday’s game.

With Kerr, Derrick Etienne Jr. and Charlie Sharp also unavailable and Brynhildsen starting on the bench after an injury absence, Toronto was low on healthy forwards. So low that it signed Barrow, a TFC II forward, to an MLS short-term agreement and started the 21-year-old from Toronto up front. Barrow has three goals in 28 appearances for Toronto’s reserve side.

Things got worse in the 18th minute when Toronto lost captain Jonathan Osorio to an apparent shoulder injury after falling awkwardly in a tangle with teammate Lazar Stefanovic and Montreal’s Victor Loturi. Insigne took over as captain.

Interim Montreal coach Marco Donadel made five changes from the side that lost 1-0 at the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

Prince Owusu, who led Toronto in scoring last season but was not retained by the club, and Petrasso, another ex-TFC player, started for Montreal.

Both teams had six Canadians in their starting 11, double the minimum required under cup rules.

Toronto has won the Canadian Championship eight times — more than anyone else — and finished runner-up six times. But it has not lifted the Voyageurs Cup since 2020.

Montreal has won the tournament five times, most recently in 2021, and made the final on three other occasions.

Toronto was also missing injured defenders Richie Laryea, Zane Monlouis and Henry Wingo. Montreal was without injured midfielder Bryce Duke.

Up next, Toronto hosts the New England Revolution in league play Saturday while Montreal welcomes the Philadelphia Union.

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press