Toronto FC will be participating in the IMG Suncoast Pro Classic tournament in Bradenton, Florida beginning on February 18th. TFC is in group A alongside OKC Energy FC, HB Koge, and the New York Red Bulls.
Toronto FC will first match up against the OKC Energy FC, a USL PRO Western Conference side on February 18th at 7:30pm ET. OKC, in their inaugural season last year, finished 10th in the USL PRO and did not qualify for the playoffs. The club is affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of the MLS. Michael Thomas, former TFC midfielder, is on their current roster.
TFC will then take on HB Koge, a club from Denmark's first division which is just below the Superliga. The match will be played on February 20th at noon. The team currently sits in 8th place with 18 points after 17 matches played. Currently, the squad is trying to fight off relegation.
In the final match of the group stage, Toronto FC will take on Eastern Conference foe, the New York Red Bulls. This match will take place on February 25th at 7:30pm ET. In the head to head matches last year, TFC went 1-1-1 against the Red Bulls. Toronto FC won the first match at BMO on May 17th by a score of 2-0. Next, they drew NYRB 2-2 on June 27th at Red Bull Arena. Finally, TFC lost to New York by a score of 3-1 on October 11th, which practically ended the Reds season. NYRB is led by Golden Boot Winner Bradley Wright-Phillips. This also will be a special game for TFC striker Jozy Altidore as he matches up with his former club whom he played for from 2006-2008.
After the completion of the group stage, TFC, depending on how they finish, will play in either one of the two consolation matches, a third place game, or the championship match. All four of those matches will take place on February 28th.
All matches will be streamed live on the IMG Academy website.
The second group is made up of Columbus Crew SC, Philadelphia Union, Costa Rica U23 Men's National Team, and TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Toronto and Philadelphia are the only MLS teams in this preseason tournament who did not qualify for the 2014 MLS Playoffs.
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