TORONTO — Wednesday’s contest between Toronto FC and the Philadelphia Union marks the Reds’ first home post-season match in franchise history.
However, there is one current TFC star who has played a Major League Soccer playoff game before at BMO Field—the biggest playoff game of all, in fact. BMO Field staged the 2010 MLS Cup final between the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas. Back then Toronto defender Drew Moor played for the Rapids, and he started and played the full 120 minutes (the game went to extra time) as Colorado beat Dallas 2–1 to win its first and only MLS Cup to date.
Hoisting the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy remains one of the highlights of Moor’s MLS career. It’s that memory that motivates him for the challenge ahead of helping TFC navigate the 2016 MLS playoffs and win this year’s MLS Cup.
“It was awesome. Being champions is always fun. I remember [the day of the 2010 final] being very cold and windy coming off the lake, but it was a special memory. Every time I walk out onto that field now I think about it, and it certainly makes me hungry to want to win another one,” Moor said this week.
To say Moor has been a central figure in TFC’s defensive renaissance in 2016 would be a massive understatement. Last season, the Reds conceded 58 goals, tied for the worst defensive record in MLS. In the aftermath of an embarrassing first-round playoff loss to the Montreal Impact, TFC president Bill Manning, general manager Tim Bezbatchenko and coach Greg Vanney all said that addressing the team’s defensive issues was the top priority in the off-season.
Toronto was in desperate need of a veteran who could anchor and quarterback the defence, as well as provide leadership along the back line. Moor fit the bill as a veteran of 13 MLS seasons, with 336 regular-season games and 11 playoff matches under his belt with both Colorado and Dallas, where he began his MLS career back in 2005. As a free agent, Moor became one of TFC’s biggest off-season targets, and he signed with the team in mid-December.
The results? With Moor at the heart of the defence this season (he’s played in 32 games), Toronto coughed up just 39 goals, tied for the second-best defensive record in the league.
“He’s been a key part of our ability to tighten up things this year defensively. He’s been steadfast and present in just about every game of ours, and he does a nice job of organizing and controlling things on our back line,” Vanney said.
“He’s been extremely solid, and I think that’s the main thing about being a centre back—to be solid every single day, do your job and be able at the highest level to help and communicate, and work with the guys around [you]. I think Drew is as good at that as anybody.”
Moor has also proven to be pretty versatile, as he’s partnered with a number of different players in the centre of defence (youngsters Eriq Zavaleta and Nick Hagglund foremost among them), and in different formations, including a 3-5-2 and a diamond-shaped 4-4-2.
Which system does he prefer?
“Whichever one we can win in,” Moor quipped. “No, I think it’s good, and we’ve done that throughout the season, which is huge because you have to be able to adapt at times, whether it’s through injuries or who we’re playing against. Certainly, we always want to set the tone ourselves, but to be able to adapt and to change around a little bit is very big and we’ve been able to do that. We’ve been successful in any formation we’ve put out there.”
More important than that, it’s TFC’s newfound resilience—they dealt with major injury crises throughout the campaign to no less than five starters and still managed to set a club record for points in a season with 53—that will serve them well in the playoffs, according to Moor.
“To stay in games, to keep things close; we’ve had a lot thrown at us here the past couple of weeks and I think that we’ve proven we can grind [it out] and that’s extremely important in the playoffs,” the defender said.
So far, it’s all worked out well on the pitch for Moor, who took a bit of a gamble in coming to Toronto—he had a good thing going and was a firm fan favourite in Colorado, to say nothing of the fact that TFC’s track record of dysfunction prior to this season should have raised a big red flag. He has no regrets about the move to Toronto, where his wife recently gave birth to their son, Joseph, the couple’s first child.
“Obviously, I had a nice little home in Colorado and loved it there. I was there for so long and I got married there and it was special place to me, and to choose to leave, that was a very hard decision. But to come here, at an organization like this, a city like this with a fan base like this, it’s been a fun first nine months. I’m hoping this next month and a half will be just as fun,” Moor enthused.
Described by Vanney as “low maintenance,” Moor is generally considered to be one of the true nice guys on the TFC roster, famous for his gentle way and welcoming smile, and his incredibly friendly demeanour.
“Drew is one of those players in our league who year in and year out is one of the best defenders. Not only that, I don’t think you could find a better person. Anyone who has come across Drew or his family… knows that he’s really one of the best individuals in this game and that this league has ever had,” Bezbatchenko offered.
Sportsnet’s Soccer Central podcast (featuring James Sharman, Thomas Dobby, Brendan Dunlop and John Molinaro) takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues.
Listen now || iTunes || Podcatchers