Kobe Franklin's First Career MLS Goal Salvages Wild 3-3 Draw for Toronto FC Against Austin FC

Six goals, three equalizers, two lead changes, a red card that turned yellow and a right back scoring the first MLS goal of his career with two minutes of regulation left. Saturday afternoon at a soggy BMO Field had a little bit of everything except a winner.

Toronto FC and Austin FC drew 3-3, with Kobe Franklin's 88th-minute equalizer rescuing a point for the Reds after Austin had scored twice in four minutes to flip the game. Toronto stretched its unbeaten run to six matches, while Austin left Canada still searching for a win that has not come since the first day of March. Nobody got the ending they wanted, which is probably the most honest result possible.

Stuver Against the World

Toronto came out flying. Inside the first two minutes, Brad Stuver made three saves in rapid succession, denying Josh Sargent, Derrick Etienne Jr. and Franklin, and Dániel Sallói had a fourth attempt blocked in the same sequence. Toronto's recap timed the triple save at eight seconds. Austin's captain spent the rest of the afternoon playing like a man who had seen the script.

The first big swing came in the ninth minute, when Nicolás Dubersarsky caught Raheem Edwards with a challenge. According to Toronto FC, referee Drew Fischer initially showed a straight red before a VAR review downgraded it, and ESPN's feed logs the review as no red card, with Dubersarsky booked in the 11th minute. Austin lived to fight with 11 men.

Then Austin did the thing visiting teams dream about. In the 29th minute, Jon Bell struck off a long throw-in, beating Luka Gavran with a left-footed shot through the middle of the goal to make it 1-0. Gavran, who had already denied Facundo Torres in the 19th, stopped Myrto Uzuni in the 34th to keep it at 1-0, while Stuver turned away Sargent again in the 38th and Sallói deep in first-half stoppage time.

The Second-Half Shootout

Toronto drew level in the 52nd minute, when a José Cifuentes delivery deflected into Sallói's path and he finished from very close range. Toronto said it was Sallói's third goal since arriving in February, the most on the team.

Robert Taylor came on for Jayden Nelson in the 57th minute, and within three minutes his cross had Jon Gallagher heading at Gavran, who saved. But it was Toronto who struck next. Richie Laryea pounced in the middle of the box in the 67th minute, lashing a left-footed shot into the top left corner after a Sallói ball into the area deflected his way, per Toronto, for a 2-1 lead. The club said it was Laryea's second goal of the season and his 15th for his hometown team.

Austin's bench then changed the game. Taylor teed up Torres in the 78th minute for a left-footed finish into the bottom right corner, his first goal "in Verde," as Austin put it. Four minutes later, substitute Christian Ramírez, on since the 71st, buried another left-footed shot into the bottom right corner. In the space of four minutes, Toronto went from leading to trailing 3-2.

The Turning Point: Off the Post, Into History

Toronto had six minutes left and no intention of going quietly. In the 88th, Sallói swung in a cross and substitute Malik Henry headed it off the right post. The rebound fell to Franklin on the right side of the six-yard box, and he drove it into the bottom right corner, through Stuver's legs according to Toronto.

It was the 22-year-old homegrown's first career MLS goal, per Toronto and MLS, and it earned him the league's Energy Moment of the Matchday honors.

"Definitely a proud moment for me and my family, something I've been working towards a long time, obviously," Franklin told reporters, per MLS.

There was still time for chaos. Alonso Coello was booked in the 89th minute, the fourth official added 10 more, Emilio Aristizábal picked up a yellow in the last of them, and Lazar Stefanovic headed a corner wide in the 97th minute. Nobody found a fourth.

Star Watch

Stuver was the best player on the field, and it was not especially close. He made eight saves against a Toronto attack that put 11 of its 18 shots on target, and the only reason the Reds needed a late equalizer at all is that he kept swatting away everything else.

Sallói was Toronto's engine, scoring once, providing the cross that led to Laryea's goal according to Toronto, and swinging in the cross that started the sequence for the late equalizer. Sargent put three of his four shots on target and had nothing to show for it, thanks to Stuver.

For Austin, Bell's opener came on his only shot, Torres led the visitors with four attempts, and Taylor delivered the kind of bench impact coaches show in film sessions for weeks.

Franklin, meanwhile, kept it real about the point: "Very exciting to get as an equalizer, but it would've been a bit sweeter if it was the winner."

Stats That Matter

• Shots on target: Toronto 11, Austin 6.
• Saves: Stuver 8, Gavran 3.
• Possession: Austin 54.2 percent, Toronto 45.8 percent.
• Fouls: Toronto 18, Austin 11.
• Cards: Toronto picked up five yellows to Austin's two.

What It Means

Toronto moves to 3-3-2 with 12 points and is unbeaten in six, with three wins and three draws since March 8. The club also noted the Reds are now unbeaten in 12 straight home matches at BMO Field, a run dating to June 25, 2025. Robin Fraser's side hosts the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Austin sits at 1-4-3 with 7 points. The Verde & Black are now six league games without a win, a run that started after a 1-0 victory over D.C. United on March 1. Austin visits the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. CT.

Closing Take

This one played out like a group chat where everyone keeps typing and nobody gets the last word. Austin will hate how close it came to snapping its drought, and Toronto will hate needing a rebound off the post to stay unbeaten. Franklin is the only person in the building with zero complaints, and honestly, good for him.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by MLS (mlssoccer.com); additional match details from Toronto FC (torontofc.ca) and Austin FC (austinfc.com).