Music: {allcanada} TORONTO FC SUFFERS RECORD SEASON-OPENING EIGHTH STRAIGHT LOSS

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TORONTO -- Chris Pontius and Hamdi Salihi scored second-half goals for a 2-0 D.C. United victory Saturday afternoon that relegated Toronto FC to the worst start in MLS history.

The 1999 Kansas City Wizards (0-7-0) are officially off the hook. At 0-8-0, Toronto FC is by itself in the record book.

TFC continues to swirl -- alone -- around the league drain. Manager Aron Winter faces another tough week.

Toronto, playing with a stacked defence, survived the first half before 18,364 on a sunny day at BMO Field.

And Reggie Lambe saved the home side in the 54th minute on a corner, clearing the ball off the goal-line for the second game in a row. Replays showed it went off his arm but Toronto went unpunished.

But not for long as D.C. United (5-3-3) struck right back.

Justice was served a minute later when Pontius curled a left-footer past a diving Milos Kocic from just outside the box.

Things went from bad to worse in the second half when Toronto captain Torsten Frings seemed to injure his collarbone or shoulder in a collision. Eventually he hoofed the ball out of bounds in the 66th minute, tossed away the captain's armband and walked immediately to the tunnel.

Jeremy Hall, making his debut after previously being sidelined by a sports hernia, replaced him.

Substitute Albanian striker Salihi made it 2-0 in the 75th after Toronto failed to clear a corner properly.

The record adds to Toronto's tale of woe in the league record book.

The team already holds the record for most consecutive minutes without scoring a goal (824 in 2007) and consecutive minutes without scoring to start a season (384, 2007).

Toronto's lone victory this season came March 14 in a 2-1 victory over Los Angeles in CONCACAF Champions League play.

Toronto's combined record this season in MLS, CONCACAF Champions League and Amway Canadian Championship is 1-9-3 (outscored 28-13 coming into the game).

The league's longest losing streak is 12 games, set by the 1999 New York-New Jersey MetroStars.

The game marked the return of former Toronto captains Dwayne De Rosario and Maicon Santos. For De Rosario, who captained D.C., it was his fourth straight game against a former team (New York, Houston and San Jose).

Toronto tightened its defence, essentially playing Frings and four others in the back when D.C. was on attack. And midfielder Julian de Guzman shadowed De Rosario.

At times, D.C. seemed just a pass away from breaking through but was unable to unlock the Toronto defence. TFC, meanwhile, looked to counter-attack when possible.

D.C. had 62.7 per cent possession in the first half, showing just how far Winter has moved from his base strategy to secure points.

It was all part of TFC's somewhat unfortunately named bid to "keep the zero" -- get a clean sheet -- as it did in midweek in a drab 0-0 tie in Montreal in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal.

But Toronto seemed at odds on the field Saturday, and Ryan Johnson made his frustration clear several times, both with his teammates and Winter on the sideline.

Joao Plata came on for Luis Silva to start the second half as Toronto looked to exploit makeshift fullback Andy Najar. United, meanwhile, moved De Rosario further forward.

The game came at the end of a nasty week for United, which hosted Houston last Saturday (a 3-2 win) before playing in San Jose on Wednesday (5-3 loss).

D.C. United started brightly, stroking the ball around but was unable to unlock the Toronto defence with a final pass.

Toronto's first chance came in the 18th minute when a D.C. defender stepped in front of Silva to head away a Johnson cross at the back post.

The game opened up as the first half wore on.

Bill Hamid was called into action in the D.C. goal in the 35th minute after fullback Ashtone Morgan found himself behind the visitors' defence. Rather than take a shot, he sent the ball back to goal and Hamid saved a hard Johnson shot.

At the other end, Kocic handled a Santos shot on the ensuing rush.

Both teams made changes after playing in midweek.

Winter reinstated fullback Richard Eckersley, shifting Doneil Henry inside in place of Adrian Cann. Silva came in for Terry Dunfield in the midfield.

Forwards Danny Koevermans (groin) and Nick Soolsma (hamstring) did not make the bench.

United started with its two designated players on the bench: Montenegro midfielder Branko Boskovic (returning from knee surgery) and Salihi.

The visitors were also missing three injured centre backs. And coach Ben Olsen inserted Hamid in goal for Joe Willis after his team conceded seven goals in its last two outings. Hamid, part of the failed U.S. Olympic qualifying bid, had not played for United since the season opener.

Toronto hosts the Montreal Impact on Wednesday in the second leg of their Amway Canadian Championship semifinal. They don't play again until May 19 when they visit D.C. United.