It was around this time last year that Nick DeLeon and Richie Laryea both found themselves on the outside looking in after their respective clubs declined to pick up their contract options for the 2019 season.

DeLeon, a seven-year veteran with D.C. United, had been a reliable starter for his first five seasons in Washington but was called on for just 15 appearances, 12 of them starts, in 2018. Laryea never made the impact he had hoped for after Orlando City selected him seventh overall in the 2016 SuperDraft. He had just 21 appearances, three starts, over three seasons.

“I was kind of lost, I didn’t know what was going to happen ... just waiting to hear something and see where I could potentially go,” Laryea recalled.

Article Continued Below

Both players landed in Toronto. The Reds picked up DeLeon, 29, in last December’s re-entry draft and added Laryea, a 24-year-old Toronto native, after a pre-season trial. Their comeback stories — and their roles as super subs in the playoffs — have helped TFC reach the MLS Cup final for the third time in four years.

DeLeon and Laryea can provide a one-two punch as the opposition tires, Toronto coach Greg Vanney said after bringing the two on as substitutes in three straight post-season games. Laryea has the ability to beat an opponent one on one and get the ball across the face of goal, while DeLeon gives Toronto another option up front, a valuable asset as Jozy Altidore deals with a quadriceps strain. He holds the ball up well and can beat opponents on the dribble.

Laryea scored the game-winning goal in Toronto’s opening round match against D.C. United and drew the penalty that Alejandro Pozuelo scored on to beat New York City FC in the conference semifinals. DeLeon scored an insurance goal against D.C. and the winner against Atlanta, a screamer into the top corner.

“When you come off the bench, you need to uplift the team,” DeLeon said. “For me, personally I want to bring a spark, I want to bring in energy, just to pick up some of the guys who are out there grinding.”

Article Continued Below

It is easier to bring that energy when things are going well. Laryea has found a new opportunity in Toronto, playing one fewer game for TFC this year than he did in three years with Orlando. DeLeon had six goals in the regular season, third on the team behind Pozuelo and Altidore.

Click to expand

Their offensive production has been particularly crucial in the post-season with Altidore out. The striker was working with a trainer on Saturday and Vanney hopes he will join the main group in the next few days but what role he could play in Sunday’s final remains up in the air.

“When you’re missing somebody of that stature, other people have to pick up the pieces and I think we’ve done well as a group to do that,” DeLeon said.

The MLS Cup is the main objective, but it will be a positive year for DeLeon and Laryea no matter what happens in Seattle next Sunday.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” DeLeon said. “A lot of tough years, a lot of just grinding and hard work and I think this is kind of the reward, fulfilment, accumulation of all that hard work.”

There is joy in that hard work for Laryea, something that was missing in the past.

“Probably this year was the first time I’ve started enjoying football since I left college, to be completely honest with you,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve felt myself.”