ANOTHER LEG OF TRILLIUM CUP PRESENTED BY SCOTTS ...
The Crew and Toronto FC battle on Saturday for the second of three meetings in 2014 to decide the Trillium Cup, presented by Scotts ... Toronto secured a 2-0 victory at Crew Stadium in April in the first match of the regular-season series ... Trillium is the provincial flower of Ontario and the state wildflower of Ohio and Scotts joined as the presenting sponsor of the award ahead of the 2013 series ... the trophy was first awarded in 2008.
... AND THE CUP IS ON THE LINE
Following Toronto FC’s 2-0 victory over the Crew on April 5, the Crew heads to Toronto in need of a result to keep its Trillium Cup chances alive in 2014 ... a victory for Toronto would capture the trophy even with an August 9 meeting still on the schedule ... the Crew has secured the Trillium Cup five times ... 2008 marked the first year
the award was up for grabs and the Crew held the trophy from 2008-2010 before a Toronto regular-season series victory gave the Reds the Cup for 2011 - Toronto’s only Trillium Cup victory ... the Crew regained the award in 2012 with three victoies over Toronto and retained it in 2013 with a 2-1-0 record against the Reds.
FIRST TRIP NORTH OF THE BORDER IN 2014, 15th OVERALL FOR CLUB
Saturday’s trip to Toronto is the Crew’s first of two trips to Canada in 2014 and 15th overall regular-season match north of the border ... although the Black & Gold fell to Toronto on July 27, 2013, the Crew has secured points in 11 of the 14 previous meetings up North and is 5-3-6 in those Canadian-hosted matches ... Columbus is 3-1-5 in nine matches at Toronto FC, has a 1-1-0 record at Vancouver and is 1-1-1 in Montreal ... additional Ohio ties to Canada include Assistant Coach Pat Onstad ... Onstad’s extensive Canadian ties are available on his bio at TheCrew.com.
BACK AT TFC & LOOKING TO RETURN TO BMO FIELD WINNING WAYS
The Crew suffered its first loss in Toronto on its last trip to BMO Field and looks to rebound in 2014 ... the Black & Gold are 3-1-5 in their first nine visits to BMO Field in Toronto dating back to 2007.
PIPA LOVES THE REDS BUT IS OUT SATURDAY
Toronto FC gets a break from Federico Higuain this weekend while the Argentine serves a one-match suspension for yellow-card accumulation ... Higuain has been lethal against Toronto and has recorded five goals and two assists in just six meetings with Toronto FC ... he recorded a two-goal performance on August 18, 2013, assisted Dominic Oduro on the game-winning goal on May 18, 2013 and the Crew playmaker recorded a brace in the final meeting between the two teams in 2012 on October 28 ... Pipa has been quite efficient against the Reds, as he’s scored all five goals on just seven shots on goal in 525 minutes.
