Chris Pontius and Hamdi Salihi scored second-half goals and D.C. United beat Toronto FC 2-0 on Saturday, relegating the Reds to the worst start in MLS history at 0-8-0.
Toronto broke the record of 0-7-0 set by Kansas City in 1999. The league record for the longest overall losing streak is 12 by the New York-New Jersey MetroStars in 1999.
''We can't go on like this. I can't go on like this,'' Toronto forward Ryan Johnson said. ''It's eating me up inside. I can't handle it any more. ... It's embarrassing, I think. It's embarrassing that the fans come to watch us and we're just playing so defensive.
You saw the frustration for me because I felt we were on our heels the whole time just waiting for them to play the ball. We were just sitting in our half the whole time. We did that the last game against Montreal and it was the worst.''
Pontius curled a left-footer past the diving Milos Kocic in the 55th minute, and Salihi scored in the 75th after Toronto failed to clear a corner kick. D.C. United improved to 5-3-3.
Toronto's lone victory this season came March 14 against Los Angeles in CONCACAF Champions League play. Overall in MLS, CONCACAF Champions League and Canadian Championship play, Toronto is 1-9-3.
''We're walking on eggshells,'' Toronto midfielder Julian de Guzman said. ''Once they crack, everything just falls apart. I don't think that should be happening. Especially at home when you have your fans behind you.''
