D.C. United lets halftime lead slip in 2-1 loss at Toronto FC

D.C. United carried a 1-0 lead into halftime at BMO Field on Wednesday night and left Toronto with nothing, falling 2-1 to Toronto FC after conceding twice in the second half.

The loss dropped D.C. United to 7-12-13 with 33 points through 32 matches. Toronto FC improved to 9-12-11 with 39 points.

Second-half turnaround

D.C. United did the hard part first, taking the lead before the break in a match it played without the ball for long stretches. Toronto held 60.8 percent of possession and completed 392 of 457 passes, while D.C. United completed 218 of 290 and leaned on 58 long balls to get up the field.

The visitors still generated their share of looks. D.C. United finished with 10 shots to Toronto's nine and earned seven corners to the hosts' five. Both teams put two shots on target, but the difference was what happened with them: Toronto goalkeeper Luka Gavran made one save, and D.C. United made none, meaning both of Toronto's shots on target ended up in the net.

D.C. United coach René Weiler saw a performance that deserved more.

"And the game, a bad result after a good performance. 60 minutes a very good performance, but at the end a bad result," Weiler said after the game.

He credited the team's shape for keeping Toronto quiet for much of the night.

"I think we played very compact. Everybody helped each other. We tried to play higher. Don't give them any space to create anything offensively and that we did very well the first half and even the second half. But at the end, they don't need many goal scoring chances to score a goal," Weiler said.

By the numbers

Kye Rowles was D.C. United's busiest player on both sides of the ball, leading the team with 31 accurate passes and 13 defensive interventions. Lucas Bartlett led D.C. United with two shots.

D.C. United's defensive work showed up across the sheet: 18 tackles with 12 effective, 17 interceptions and 14 clearances. The physical approach also came with 15 fouls, more than double Toronto's seven. Each side picked up three yellow cards, and there were no red cards.

For Toronto, Josh Sargent led all players with four shots, Benjamín Kuscevic completed 69 passes and Matheus Pereira had 10 defensive interventions.

"I think we played a good game. The game was open but they scored the goal and we didn't," Weiler said.

Where things stand

D.C. United sits 13th in the 15-team standings table with 33 points and a minus-18 goal difference, ahead of Atlanta United FC (30 points) and CF Montréal (25). Toronto FC is 11th with 39 points.

Up next

D.C. United stays on the road to face the Columbus Crew on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. ET.