MLS is at that cocoon stage; it was nurtured in a controlled environment filled with salary caps, allocations and draft orders. It beat the odds, as pro soccer hasn’t been a survival industry on this continent. But, soon it will be ready to fly away; commissioner Don Garber has repeated this over and over — that MLS will be one of the world’s top leagues in 10 years.

“Darren O’Dea went back to Toronto to finalize a transfer. As per club policy we will not discuss terms and cannot provide any further information at this time."

"Generally a team has to really work hard to score goals against us… Three goals, I'm extremely disappointed about. We haven't conceded three all season and that hurts me horrendously. But that's the best team in the East."

"It was just the bounce of the ball just didn't quite roll into the back of the net," said striker Jeremy Brockie. "It was one of those days when we had by far the more chances and we probably should've won there."

"We knew the level of the job we had ahead of us.. The quality sides in this league are constructed over a period of time. We're still at the early stages," said TFC assistant head coach Fran O'Leary.

The 2-1 scoreline would hold, and TFC’s hopeful glimmers from the start of the season have given way to the reality that, more and more, this feels like a Mo Johnston team. What is TFC? Players from the lower English divisions and an Argentine that we don’t know a lot about, but there’s high hopes he can do something. (We’ve seen that script before.)

"It's not a jinx, not a hoax or anything like that. We need personalities to go and clear the ball or win the ball," Nelsen said. "Strong personalities in the back. Every successful team in the world has had one or two defenders that the ball seems to go like a magnet to their head since they want to win it so much."

But, if you’re lamenting lost points, you need to take a step back and look at the game as whole. If not for TFC keeper Joe Bendik, who put in a performance that’s worthy of Player of the Week votes, the Union would have won this match by three or four goals.

For the second straight game, Darel Russell was the key figure behind the final goal of a 2-2 Toronto FC draw. This week, however, Russell exchanged goat horns for what may be an MLS Goal of the Week award by scoring a spectacular equalizer in the 90th minute to steal a point for his side against first-place FC Dallas.

Darel Russell has only been a member of Toronto FC for a few weeks, but he joins an ever-growing list of Reds’ players whose late-game mistakes have cost the team points.