Toronto (3-5-1)
-New York (5-2-2)
The injury-riddled New York Red Bulls hope to overcome the absence of Clint Mathis and rebound from a difficult loss Wednesday when they visit short-handed Toronto FC for the first time.
Mathis, tied for the team lead with Juan Pablo Angel at four goals, will serve a one-game suspension after being issued a red card Saturday when his elbow made contact with the neck of Kansas City's Kerry Zavagnin.
With Mathis ejected in the first half, New York (5-2-2) squandered a one-goal lead and lost 3-2 to the Wizards behind Eddie Johnson's second consecutive hat trick.
"We had the go-ahead goal and we played with 10 (players), we came into the locker room knowing what we could expect," Red Bulls midfielder Dave van den Bergh said. "Thirty seconds in, it ended up in the back of our net and that kind of took it out of us.
"We need to regroup as fast as possible. We need to learn from the mistakes we made tonight and we need to get better Wednesday and get ready for Toronto."
Angel, who opened the scoring against the Wizards in the eighth minute, also has two assists in four games with the Bulls since joining them from Aston Villa of the English Premier League on April 17.
The Colombian international appears to be excelling with Mathis playing behind him in a supporting role. Angel could fill Mathis' playmaking spot himself Wednesday with John Wolyniec and Jozy Altidore up top.
Defensively, the Red Bulls continue to deal with a number of injuries, with Jeff Parke being added to the injured list as probable with tightness in his left hamstring. The defender was hurt in the first half against Kansas City and replaced by Taylor Graham.
If Parke can't play, Graham might partner Carlos Mendes in the center of the makeshift back line with midfielders Dema Kovalenko and van den Berg filling in on the right and left sides, respectively, for Hunter Freeman (left ankle sprain) and Todd Dunivant (right quadriceps strain).
Backup goalkeeper Jon Conway, who has allowed six of the team's league-low seven goals, is likely to get his fifth consecutive start with Ronald Waterreus questionable due to a left ankle sprain again.
Toronto (3-5-1) is facing its own issues with absent players as three members of the club, including goalkeeper Greg Sutton, are with the Canadian national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Five other players are with the Canada under-20 squad for a friendly match with the United States on Wednesday.
The expansion team will have Carl Robinson back after he played in Wales' scoreless draw with the Czech Republic on Saturday.
"You can count on one hand how many guys we've got," Toronto coach Mo Johnston told the team's official Web site.
Toronto was able to overcome the absences Saturday, beating Colorado 2-1 on first-half goals by Danny Dichio and Andrew Boyens.
Dichio, who could find himself contending with the 6-foot-4 Graham, has netted goals in consecutive games and leads Toronto with three in five contests.
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MLS 7-10 Jun
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TOTW/F/M Award(s): 2
