Nick DeLeon spun to evade defenders, dribbled around the top of the box and then struck — a forceful kick that sent the ball sailing into the top left corner of the net, out of reach for Atlanta United keeper Brad Guzan. The 78th-minute goal handed Toronto FC a 2-1 victory in Wednesday night’s Eastern Conference final at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Toronto will advance to MLS Cup to face the Seattle Sounders, who stunned top-seeded Los Angeles FC 3-1 in Tuesday’s Western Conference final. See match stats and a full recap of the game here.
It took just four minutes for the home team to bring the crowd to its feet Wednesday night. Gonzalo “Pity” Martínez raced up the field with the ball, beating two defenders and drawing out TFC goalkeeper Quentin Westberg before laying it off to teammate Julian Gressel for an easy tap-in that put Atlanta United up 1-0. See a replay of his goal below.
Atlanta had a chance to take a 2-0 lead inside the first 10 minutes, but Westberg saved a penalty kick taken by Josef Martinez. Toronto then evened the score in the 14th minute with a strike from Nicolas Benezet.
4′ Gressel opener
We go hard from the first whistle 🔥
Pity Martínez ➡️ @JulianGressel. What a goal! pic.twitter.com/znzIcdEJmw
— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) October 31, 2019
14′ Nico equalizer
How’s that for a response?@NicolasBenezet | #TFCLive pic.twitter.com/rOIsijsMw0
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) October 31, 2019
78′ DeLeon go-ahead goal
Just sit back and admire it. 🚀@NickDeLeon7 | #TFCLive pic.twitter.com/aOL4hK9nih
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) October 31, 2019