Mihailovic scores twice as Toronto FC closes season with win

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TORONTO — Toronto ends its Major League Soccer season with a smile on its face and some hope for the future after beating Orlando City 4-2 on Saturday.

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There is still a lot of improvement to be made after the team finished 12th in the Eastern Conference in a 6-14-14 season that included just three wins at home. But Saturday's performance was a welcome pick-me-up, ending a bizarre 11-game winless run that included a league-record eight draws.

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Djordje Mihajlovic scored twice and captain Jonathan Osorio and DeAndre Kerr added solo goals for Toronto, whose record was three goals the previous season. TFC came into the game 29th in the league in attack, having scored 33 goals in 33 previous games.

Orlando had a 31-12 shot advantage (10-6 in shots on target), but was unable to capitalize on the advantage as Toronto's defenders repeatedly put their bodies on the line to block 12 shots.

“It's been such a difficult season in so many ways. I'm thrilled to finish the season this way and see them rewarded for their hard work,” said first-year Toronto coach Robin Fraser.

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“This is something to look forward to next season,” added Osorio.

The win, Toronto's first since July 16, was a positive end to a rollercoaster season with beautiful goals at one end and goalkeeper Sean Johnson making big saves at the other. TFC entered the season finale tied for eighth in the league in defense, conceding an average of 1.27 goals per game.

However, for the fifth year in a row, we are watching the playoffs from the sidelines. TFC finished last season with an 11-19-4 record under John Herdman.

Saturday's final drew a crowd of 21,013 to BMO Field on Fan Appreciation Night, where it was cloudy at the start of the match with temperatures of 18 degrees Celsius.

Toronto has been inactive since a 2-0 loss to Los Angeles on Oct. 8, which resulted in a league-record eight straight draws.

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Toronto had the ball from the start and took the lead in the seventh minute with a well-judged team goal from Richie Laryea's blistering strike. A sequence of nine passes ended with Jose Cifuentes setting up Osorio to fire a left-footed shot from the edge of the box into the top corner, eluding the diving Pedro Gallese.

It was Osorio's fourth goal of the season and his 69th goal for TFC in all competitions.

Orlando began to find their game and unsuccessfully bid for a penalty in the 23rd minute when Duncan McGuire was beaten in a challenge by Sigurd Rosted. Referee Fotis Bazakos waved his hand to continue the game, and the video assistant referee agreed with him.

Johnson made an impressive one-handed save to deny Argentine star Martin Ojeda's shot in the 27th minute. Soon the veteran Toronto goalkeeper parried a long-range missile shot from Ivan Angulo.

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Mihailovic made it 2-0 in the 34th minute with an elegant free kick that curled over the wall and beat Gallese. And unmarked, Mihailovic scored his 13th goal of the season three minutes into the second half, his shot bouncing off Gallese's foot.

David Brekalo pulled one back for Orlando in the 54th minute, eluding Kerr to set up Marko Pasalic's goal.

Johnson's paid saves preserved TFC's lead and Kerr, left unmarked by Orlando's defensive disarray, made it 4-0 in the 61st, his fourth of the season.

McGuire cut the lead to 4–2 in the 92nd minute, making the final seven minutes of stoppage time nerve-wracking.

Johnson made a season-high eight saves, becoming the fifth goalkeeper in MLS regular season history to make 1,300 saves, joining Nick Rimando (1,701), Kevin Hartman (1,474), Stefan Frey (1,342) and Joe Cannon (1,331).

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There was much more at stake for Orlando on Saturday.

Orlando (14-9-11) finished seventh in the Eastern Conference, already securing a playoff spot. But being three points below fourth-place Charlotte and two points above ninth-place Columbus, the team needed points to avoid getting into the play-in zone.

The loss, coupled with Columbus' 3-1 win over the New York Red Bulls, sent Orlando into the wild card game.

Fraser spent several seasons in one, inheriting an unsuccessful team with outstanding Italians Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi. Toronto allowed 12 goals to start the season 0-4-1 and lost its first eight games (0-4-4).

On July 1, Toronto parted ways with the Italians, buying their contracts. A month later, he acquired a new cornerstone in Mihailovic in a trade with the Colorado Rapids.

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With Theo Corbeanu, Maxime Dominguez and Cifuentes here on loan, and 14 other players on expiring contracts albeit with team options, general manager Jason Hernandez has a lot of decisions to make.

Unbeaten at home (1-0-5) since May 31, TFC has won at BMO Field since June 28 (3-0 over Portland). It's Toronto's worst home record since 2012, when it went 3-9-5 at BMO Field.

Fraser made four changes to his starting line-up, with Osorio, Larrieu and Derrick Etienne Jr returning from international duty, and Kerr replacing Jules-Anthony Wilson in the top spot.

Toronto was missing the suspended Alonso Coelho and the injured Dominguez, Nixoen Gomis, Henry Vingo and Zane Monlouis.

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