|
TORONTO - Joao Plata, who leads Toronto FC with four goals in the Champions League, has agreed to terms for a multi-year contract with the Canadian club, the team announced Wednesday.
Other details of the contract for the 19-year-old Ecuadorian forward, who completed his first season in Major League Soccer after being drafted 49th overall in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft, were not disclosed.
"Re-signing Plata was a high priority for our club during the offseason," Toronto FC coach Aron Winter said in a press release from the club. "Plata wanted to remain in Toronto and we wanted to keep him."
The 5-foot-2 (1.57-meter) Plata had a pair of two-goal games in the Champions League, helping Toronto to a 2-1 win in the Preliminary Round over Real Esteli, and leading the Reds to a 3-0 victory over Dallas in their last Group Stage match to send them to the quarterfinals.
Toronto will face the LA Galaxy in the knockout round March 7 in Toronto and March 14 at The Home Depot Center.
Plata scored three goals in 21 MLS games this past season as well as another in Toronto's 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on July 2, which clinched a third straight Nutrilite Canadian Championship and berth in the Champions League.
Along with three assists in four games, Plata was awarded the George Cross Memorial Trophy as the Canadian championship's most valuable player.
