Toronto FC left Chicago with three points and a huge sigh of relief.
Alex Bono made a club-record 13 saves and Toronto got goals from Yeferson Soteldo and Nick DeLeon, hanging on for a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday that extended its unbeaten record under interim coach Javier Perez to four games.
After going behind in the second minute, Chicago roared back and attacked a makeshift Toronto defence with Bono forced to make save after save. The teams exchanged late goals to make for a tense finale, with the Fire looking for the equalizer.
Chicago outshot Toronto 31-8 (14-3 in shots on target), fired in 41 crosses to Toronto’s two and had a 13-1 edge in corners as TFC lived dangerously at Soldier Field.
“We bent a lot,” said Bono, whose club record for wins in all competitions now stands at 56. “We were bending, bending and bending but we really didn’t break.”
Bono’s career-high 13 saves erased the club single-game mark of 10 set twice by Greg Sutton (in April, 2007, at Chivas USA and August, 2008, at Colorado Rapids). While the Toronto goalkeeper was sharp, Chicago’s finishing often left something to be desired.
Toronto now has two wins and two ties under Perez, who took over after Chris Armas was fired July 4 with the team mired in a six-game losing streak at 1-8-2.
Toronto hosts Nashville SC next Sunday at BMO Field.
Los Angeles FC 2, Whitecaps 2
Jose Cifuentes volleyed home a goal with 15 minutes to play to lift Los Angeles FC to a 2-2 draw with the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday evening in a Western Conference match. The Whitecaps have picked up five points in their past three games (a win and two draws). Vancouver is winless in 13 straight away matches (four draws, nine losses).
New England 2, CF Montreal 1
Gustavo Bou scored twice for his team-leading eighth and ninth goals of the season to lead the New England Revolution past visiting CF Montreal 2-1 on Sunday night. CF Montreal falls to 6-5-4.
-with files from The Associated Press and Reuters