Prince Owusu scored the only goal in the 66th minute to lead Toronto FC to a 1-0 victory against the visiting New England Revolution on Saturday night.
Toronto (4-4-1, 13 points) didn’t take a corner and only had 32.9 percent possession for the game, but head coach John Herdman’s side found its lone goal in the 66th minute following a failed clearance by a New England defender.
The ball was headed toward the six-yard box by Toronto winger Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, and Owusu put his body on the line to beat two defenders, get his foot to the ball and tuck it in the bottom right corner.
The goal was Owusu’s third in his last two matches and fourth overall. This is Owusu’s first full season with Toronto after signing with the team last fall.
Toronto FC’s lead almost doubled less than 10 minutes later after a shot from Marshall-Rutty struck the hand of New England defender Andrew Darrell in the box. Frederico Bernardeschi stepped up to take the penalty, but his shot was saved by Revolution keeper Henrich Ravas to keep the score at 1-0.
Saturday’s win was an encouraging sign for the Toronto defense, which came into the contest having given up at least three goals in each of its last three matches.
New England (1-6-1, 4 points) sits last in the Eastern Conference table, three points below Nashville.
The Revolution lost Saturday’s match despite holding leading in shot attempts (16-15) and corner kicks (8-0). Toronto put more shots on goal, however, 8-5.
New England has scored five goals total so far this season.
–Field Level Media