TORONTO, ON- JUNE 28: Justin Morrow wears a tracking vest during his team's morning practice on June 30, 2015. The vests are part of a new system the club is using to help track player movement, total distance and velocity. The technology will help the team gain insight into player development, injuries and overall performance leading up to games. Brian B. Bettencourt/Toronto Star (Brian B. Bettencourt/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

With a offseason that saw some new faces enter, and some older one’s exit, TFC will begin their 2016 pre-season tonight as they take on the University of California Irvine.

After a season that saw TFC make the playoffs after a nine-year drought, and then suddenly lose in the first round, the Reds will start their preparations tonight when they take on the University of California Irvine. This will be Toronto FC’s first pre-season match as they are currently in Los Angeles preparing for the upcoming season.

Their opponent, UCI, currently plays out of the Big West Conference in the NCAA first division. Last year, the Reds where in Orlando taking on clubs like Danish first division club HB Koge, NASL’s OKC Energy, the highly touted IMG Academy and the New York Red Bulls. This year, after starting the pre-season in LA, they will also be heading to Tampa Bay, to be apart of the Suncoast Invitational hosted by the Tampa Bay Rowdies. This will be a good chance for the younger player, as well as the veterans, to return back to match fitness and form new relationships with the new players.

The club is currently without star players Jozy Altidore and captain Michael Bradley who are both part of the USMNT camp, Luke Moore who is still in England, and newly acquired Canadian international Will Johnson who is currently with the Canadian national team.

Even with those players out of action, this still allows the club to see how their youngsters will fare against opponents like UCI, California State, Ventura County and the LA Galaxy. Already players like Chris Mannella and Jay Chapman have impressed, but others like Skylar Thomas, Wesley Charpie, Luca Uccello, Raheem Edwards and Molham Babouli cannot go unnoticed.

University of California Irvine

As mentioned, UCI are in the NCAA Div I. However, last season didn’t go so well for the Anteaters. The team finished third in the South region of the Big West Conference, last in the conference all together. The University also is the alma-matter of USMNT defender Brad Evans who went to school their from 2003-2006.

Their best players, Eduardo Calzada and Jamie Phillips have just recently graduated. Calzada lead the team in goals with six and was one of three players that started each game. Phillips lead the team in assists and also had five goals, good enough for third on the team.

Even with their two best players gone, UCI still should not be taken lightly. Recently turned Junior, Ivan Canales had a pretty impressive freshman season, scoring five goals and five assists in 20 games. Midfielder Luis Leon is also one to watch out for.

Toronto FC

TFC will likely be starting a young lineup tonight against UCI. The teams website put out a projected lineup, and a few TFC II players have made the cut to start. Other like Daniel Lovitz and Ashtone Morgan will get the start, seeing they didn’t start many games last season. Starting Lovitz is interesting since the projected lineup has him slotted in as a right-back. Meaning we may have another player who isn’t suited to playing as a right back playing that position. But with the addition of Steven Beitashour and hopefully the return of Mark Bloom, this is a move to just see if Lovitz can play as a full back when needed.

Others like Jonathan Osorio and Marco Delgado will also get the start so the Reds don’t have a completely unexperienced team. This match will also feature first round pick Tsubasa Endoh, who will likely make his TFC debut playing as a winger. Up top we have Jordan Hamilton, who as mentioned before on our site, has to make big strides this year if he wants to one day be with the first team.

The match will kick off at 7 p.m EST/4 p.m PST. Due to the match not being streamed, you can follow along on Toronto FC’s twitter for updates.