Columbus Crew SC’s clash with Toronto FC at BMO Field this Sunday marks the third and final meeting of the regular season between the teams, and Final Leg of the 2016 Trillium Cup. With the first two legs finishing with both sides level on points, the Third Leg leaves everything to play for.
Simply put: Win on Sunday, raise the trophy. In the least complex of all scenarios, the winner of the final leg will win the Trillium Cup.
But, after a scoreless draw in Toronto on May 21 and a 1-1 draw at MAPFRE Stadium on July 13, there is a possibility of a tie on points in the Trillium Cup. In the result of a third draw, there is a tie-breaking procedure to follow in order to determine Eastern Conference side claims the Trillium Cup.
The first tie breaker is which team possesses the greater goal difference (goals-for minus goals-against) in Trillium Cup matches. If Crew SC and Toronto hold the same goal differential, then the next tie breaker would see the title awarded to the team scoring the greater number of total goals in Trillium Cup matches.
If still tied, the first two procedures described are applied only to a per-game average of all Trillium Cup matches played on the road. If winner of the Trillium Cup has still not yet been determined, then the next procedures described is to use the same per-average described before, but of all Trillium Cup games played at home.
If the Reds and the Black & Gold are still tied, the fifth tie breaking procedure is the fewest combined team disciplinary points in Trillium Cup matches. Disciplinary points are calculated using a point-value system for each disciplinary action, with fouls being one point, a yellow card and a second yellow card are three points each, a straight red card and a coach dismissal are each seven points, and any other supplemental discipline is worth eight points.
The final Trillium Cup tie breaker is if Crew SC and Toronto FC are still tied, then the club currently in possession of the Trillium Cup from the previous year retains it for another season.
With that being said, here are the results that will allow the Black & Gold to take home the hardware for the third straight year:
* = A scoreline of 2-2 would result in a tiebreaker of fewest combined team disciplinary points in Trillium Cup matches, which would not be calculated until the completion of the match.
