New York City FC coach Nick Cushing knows there are going to be bumps in the road.
And his club has had plenty on the road.
NYCFC (4-5-2, 14 points) has won just once away from home in 23 matches in all competitions since the start of last season heading into Saturday night's match at Toronto FC (6-4-1, 19 points).
The lone victory in that 1-13-9 streak was 1-0 over CF Montreal last July.
"Progress is demotivating, progress is disappointing. You have to take the punches and go back and figure out how you continue to progress and improve a young team, a new team, to continue to win football games," Cushing said.
NYCFC had a five-match undefeated streak (3-0-2), including three straight victories, snapped with a 2-0 loss at home to Colorado last Sunday.
"When you win ... you feel like you're on top of the world," Cushing said. "And then you lose one, and you feel like you fell off the edge of a cliff.
"This team is on a journey, and it's making progress."
Santiago Rodriguez leads NYCFC with four goals and is one of three players with a team-leading two assists.
Toronto, meanwhile, has won three matches in a row, including 3-1 over visiting FC Dallas last Saturday as Federico Bernardeschi scored twice and had an assist.
"I really enjoy working with Fede; there are so many different layers to him," Toronto FC coach John Herdman said. "I asked him to stay focused on his leadership. As I keep telling him ... good things happen to good leadership, and the universe turns, and that's what happened."
With a victory Saturday, Toronto FC can equal its points total from last season (22) when it finished last overall in MLS.
NYCFC has won three straight matchups against Toronto, including 2-1 at home on March 16.
More must-reads: