Josh Sargent and Derrick Etienne Jr. scored three minutes apart in the second half as Toronto FC held on to beat Inter Miami 2-1 on Saturday night.
Neither side managed to score in the opening half before rookie Sargent put Toronto ahead in the 59th minute. Dániel Sallói and Etienne provided assists on Sargent's fourth goal of the season. The assist was Sallói's seventh of the season, while Etienne recorded his third.
Etienne then doubled Toronto's advantage three minutes later, scoring his third goal of the season without an assist. The goal helped Toronto secure its first-ever victory in Miami.
Lionel Messi pulled one back for Inter Miami in the 82nd minute, scoring his 14th goal of the season and the 64th of his career in 71 appearances. Rodrigo De Paul and Maximiliano Falcón were credited with assists.
Luka Gavran made two saves for Toronto (5-7-9).
Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair did not make a save as Miami (11-4-6) extended its winless run in August to four games, going 0-2-2.
Toronto has gone unbeaten in its last four matches at 2-0-2 and is 2-1-4 since July 1.
Inter Miami defeated Toronto 4-2 in their previous meeting in May and continues to lead the all-time series 9-3-2.