It's MLS First Kick weekend around the league, but with a bye week in an unbalanced schedule, Toronto FC will be out of action.



Not much of a vacation for the Reds. TFC will depart for California on Sunday to begin its west coast preparations for the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against LA Galaxy (Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET on Sportsnet One).



Toronto feels it let LA off the hook in the first leg after taking a 2-0 lead in the opening 17 minutes at the Rogers Centre. The MLS league and Cup champions chipped away for a 2-2 draw, with a workmanlike Landon Donovan equalizer in the final moments of regulation time from a set-piece.



“We played a very good game,” head coach Aron Winter said after training Friday. “We are very optimistic, have full faith that we are going to go (to LA) for a good result.”



TFC can advance to the CCL semifinals with an outright win in regulation time in Carson. They can also move on with a 3-3 or greater draw inside 90 minutes that would see them through on away goals.



Winter dressed 17 players in last Wednesday’s fixture. The club will have more depth available in Carson with midfielder Julian de Guzman and forward Nick Soolsma available after each serving a one game suspension for cumulative yellow cards.



RELATED: Aron Winter (video) | Toronto 2-2 Los Angeles



Video: Julian de Guzman | Nick Soolsma | Luis Silva

“It was sad not being a part of the team,” de Guzman told GOL TV Canada on Friday. “If you look back at all the games we played against LA, the performance has always been good on our side. Only thing missing now is a victory.”



Toronto and LA have drawn the last five matches they’ve played in MLS and CCL. The Reds beat Los Angeles twice in 2008. LA returned the double in 2009. The Galaxy holds a head-to-head edge with an extra win in TFC’s inaugural 2007 season.



Like de Guzman, Soolsma admitted he was “disappointed that (he) couldn’t play the first match” but if given a chance to play on March 14, he is ready.



“We go there to go for the goal. We have the qualities to beat LA.”



Viewing Party



The match is on a weeknight with a 10 p.m. start, but that won’t stop TFC loyalists from hosting viewing parties at homes and establishments wherever they are. In Toronto, the club will be hosting the match at Real Sports Bar & Grill.



Pregame Show



GOL TV Canada will broadcast a live pregame show prior to kickoff. If technology allows, I will report live from the Home Depot Center on Wednesday ahead of the match, with Lee Godfrey and Adrian Serioux hosting from our GOL studios in Toronto. As always, leading up to the match we will have player and coach interviews on Toronto FC TV.



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