TORONTO — He was the missing piece to a team that went to MLS Cup in 2016, and on Saturday night Victor Vazquez proved yet again why he is one of the top playmakers in the league as Toronto FC won MLS Cup, beating the Seattle Sounders, 2-0.
He played a simple pass to Sebastian Giovinco on Jozy Altidore's opening goal, as he was involved in an incisive counterattack for the home side that finally opened the scoring after 187 minutes of scoreless soccer over two MLS Cups.
"Seba, Jozy and myself, we have the quality to change the game in two seconds and we did it again," said a jubilant Vazquez after the match.
He was also able to get on the scoresheet himself in the dying moments of the final. With Seattle stretched out and chasing an equalizer, Nouhou Tolo turned the ball over, leading to a counterattack that resulted in an open net for Armando Cooper. The Panamanian failed to hit the back of the net, but Vazquez was able to bundle in the icing goal after Cooper's shot hit the post.
The goal was the cherry on top of a match in which Vazquez showed his quality throughout the 90 minutes. The Spaniard completed 69 passes, the most of any player in the match, and had four chances created. This included a cross-field laser through ball that found an open Giovinco, who forced the Sounders into some last-ditch defending.
"Victor was all over the field tonight," said defender Drew Moor. "He just kept popping up in those areas where he had five or six yards and when you give him that much space on the ball and time, he's going to pick out a good pass. He's been a beast all season."
The match and the championship was the capper to an impressive debut season for the 30-year-old. He was second in MLS with 16 assists during the regular season, in addition to his eight goals, and added two goals and an assist in the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs, including Saturday's tally.
"I do my job. I try to help my teammates, I don't play for myself," Vazquez said. "I like to do always the best for my team, to give an assist, to try to score and to [leave on the field] everything that I have inside myself -- for Toronto. I hope I can be here more years, because this made me so happy, to win these kinds of things here."
