Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin was right. If they could keep a zero and get the first goal the floodgates would open.
The Union defense kept Toronto in check early and rode a dominant performance from Reds-killer Sergio Santos to three first half goals. Santos drew a penalty from Toronto goalkeeper Alex Bono with his pace getting behind and added a goal of his own after Jakob Glesnes opened the scoring with a no look backwards header.
Dániel Gazdag scored his first goal for the Union from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute after his corner kick found the head of Glesnes in the 12th minute and José Andrés Martínez completed the first half onslaught against a sluggish Toronto with a splitting past to set up a breakaway goal for Santos.