Toronto FC’s won’t lose Joao Plata for quite as long as originally feared. The club announced before Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Colorado that the Ecuadorean rookie midfielder would only be available for two of his country’s three pre-Copa America friendlies in the coming weeks. He’ll be eligible to face Canada at BMO Field June 1 and Greece in New York June 7. But he won’t be released for the May 28 friendly against Mexico in Seattle.

If, next week, the players wearing the red of Toronto FC hoist the Voyageurs’ Cup over their heads, the Vancouver Whitecaps will rue a second half filled with missed opportunities in the opening leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championships. The final scoreline on Wednesday read 1-1. But, make no mistake, Vancouver will feel it deserved not just to win the game, but win it handily.

Toronto FC has left a number of points on the table at BMO Field this season, taking just 10 of a possible 21 points from its seven home matches. No home result was a bigger giveaway, however, than Saturday's 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire. The Reds went from a comfortable 2-0 lead through 62 minutes to barely hanging on for the single point. "Around the 60th minute we thought this game was over," said TFC goalkeeper Stefan Frei. "It's just laziness. You can be confident with a 2-0 lead after the 60th minute, there's nothing wrong with that, but you can't get lazy. It's embarrassing if you're up two goals after 60 minutes and you almost end up losing. It's all about hard work and not being lazy."

With time ticking down in the first half, a long free kick was lobbed into a giant scrum of players in the penalty area. Several went to ground. But, referee Yader Reyes signalled for a penalty kick, singling out TFC defender Adrian Cann for having a hold of George John. Daniel Hernandez, who took the initial free kick, buried the penalty.

Former Toronto FC coach Nick Dasovic, who had been scouting for the team, has left the club. Toronto FC announced that Dasovic and the club had “mutually” come to an agreement to part ways.

Only one member of Toronto FC is expected to be named to Canadian national team coach Stephen Hart’s roster for the upcoming Gold Cup. Hart confirmed that he has only one Red on his list during a conference call Tuesday.

The shortest player in Major League Soccer has made a major impact. Toronto FC became the eighth separate team in eight weeks to have an MLS Player of the Week, as the North American Soccer Reporters gave the honour to Joao Plata, the Ecuadorean midfielder selected 49th in this year’s SuperDraft.

Toronto FC still has a ways to go before it perfects the attacking, pass-heavy, Total Football-esque style that Aron Winter has tried to implement in his first few months as the club's head coach. Saturday's 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo, however, is the clearest example yet that Winter's style may be starting to take hold with his team.

After breezing past FC Edmonton on Wednesday in Nutrilite Canadian Championship play, Toronto FC has quickly shifted its focus to Saturday when the club takes on Houston Dynamo. “I think that mentally we are all focused on this Saturday’s game and going in there we have to visualize how we play with one another beside us,” said Cann. “It’s very crucial that we get the three points so that’s our main objective going forward.”

With a three-goal gap separating Toronto FC and FC Edmonton going into the second leg of their Nutrilite Canadian Championship tie, there wasn't much drama as to who was advancing to the tournament final. Wednesday's match therefore became a test for both sides to exorcise some recent demons and, to that end, both teams were happy with their performance in the 1-0 TFC victory.