TORONTO – Toronto FC are the 2017 Supporters' Shield champions.
In front of a packed house at BMO Field, TFC became the first Canadian club to be crowned the best team in the MLS regular season, with a 4-2 win over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night.
“It's a proud moment,” said coach Greg Vanney post-match. “The Supporters' Shield, for the traditional soccer fan, is an important trophy. It tells you which team is the best team over the long haul, the deepest team, been able to be the most consistent over the course of a season. We're very proud to win it, to win it for our fans who have gone through a lot over the years.”
Michael Bradley called it a "huge accomplishment."
“When we started the season, we talked about this idea of going for it every single weekend,” he said. “Not taking any nights off, not tossing games away; thinking we could coast through parts of the season. The only way to grow, improve, and take the club in the direction we wanted was to treat every game like it was the most important; to step on the field every weekend and go for it. That sounds simple, but in a long season, especially in our league, [it's not].“
Justin Morrow, who scored a hat trick on the night, said, “It's hard to put into words. It's so special for the fans, so special for the club.”
With the Supporters' Shield in tow, Toronto can now attack the two remaining games this season confident that one of their objectives has been achieved.
“We've guaranteed that the last game we play this season will be in this stadium,” said Bradley. “Whether that's MLS Cup or the second leg of a playoff series, our season will end in this stadium. Every single one of us likes our chances of playing here, in front of our fans, with our season on the line.”
Though Toronto will revel in the recognition, the job is far from done.
“We wanted to win the Supporters' Shield badly,” stressed Bradley. “To wrap it up tonight, do it in our stadium, in front of our fans.... It's a big accomplishment for every guy in here, for the club, and we're going to enjoy it. But starting tomorrow everybody understands there is one more trophy still to be passed out this year and we want to make sure that we're the ones who they are giving it to.”
Adding the shield to the Voyageurs Cup from the 2017 Canadian Championship, TFC are one more away from completing a rare treble.
“We have one big one left in front of us,” reminded Vanney. “While we're celebrating, it's been semi-muted because we know we've got two of the three and the third one is the biggest one.”
Morrow echoed those sentiments. “We're not going to celebrate too much tonight," he said. "We have another one... to make up for last year.”
That they have shown the rest of the league what they knew all season breathes a wind into the team's sails at this crucial spell.
“We showed that we are the best team in the competition,” said Victor Vazquez, who netted the clinching penalty kick to put the game out of New York's reach. “Finally we got it. We have to be happy; enjoy it for a few days. And then think on the next one because we want the MLS Cup and we will be the best one in the history of MLS. We have to do it.”
Making his return to the side after an injury spell, Jozy Altidore was instrumental in three of the four goals.
Post-match he spoke of the targets the side set for themselves this season. “Having the best record in the league was one of them, showing that we're the best team in the league," he said. "It's one thing to say it, [another] to show it. We showed it this season.”
“Now it's a whole other mini-season in the playoffs,” added Altidore. “We're all excited to have home field advantage in the playoffs; to get back here come Dec. 9.”
