The Black & Gold return home for the first leg of the Trillium Cup against Toronto FC on April 15 for an 8 p.m. kickoff at MAPFRE Stadium. The match is the first Trillium Cup meeting of the year in the regular-season series that determines the victor of the trophy. The two teams will play on May 10 at MAPFRE Stadium before a May 26 clash at BMO Field. The Black & Gold have won the Trillium Cup six out of the nine years it has been contested. The two clubs began battling for the trophy during the 2008 campaign and the Black & Gold were victorious in the regular-season series for the first three years of Trillium Cup action.

LAST MATCH RECAP

STEFFEN MATCHES CAREER-HIGH IN SAVES IN CHICAGO

Crew SC's three-match unbeaten streak came to an end in Saturday's road contest against the Chicago Fire. In what was a closely-contested affair, a 22nd-minute goal by Chicago forward Nemanja Nikolic proved to be the difference. Hector Jimenez made his season debut, starting for the Black & Gold and playing the entire 90 minutes against the Men in Red. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen made four saves against Chicago, including a MLSsoccer.com’s Save of the Week-nominated stop on a free kick by Bastian Schweinsteiger, tying his season and MLS career-high number of saves.

CREW SC & TORONTO FC AT A GLANCE

Columbus Crew SC regular-season record: 12-6-10 (42 GF, 34 GA)
Home games: 8-3-4
Road games: 4-3-6

LAST 3 REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS

CREW SC FACES TFC FOR 1ST OF 3 TRILLIUM CUP MATCHES

This weekend’s match marks the 29^th all-time regular-season meeting between the two clubs, with the Black & Gold holding a 12-6-10 record against Toronto. This match will also be the first of three meetings in 2017 to determine the Trillium Cup winner. Currently, Crew SC holds an 8-3-4 record against Toronto when playing at MAPFRE Stadium.

LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING

On July 31, 2016, Crew SC played Toronto FC at BMO Field. The match was to decide the winner of the 2016 Trillium Cup following two draws. Two first-half goals by Sebastian Giovinco and Tsubasa Endoh and a second-half goal by Jozy Altidore gave Toronto a 3-0 win and the 2016 Trillium Cup.

COACHES

Gregg Berhalter (40-37-31, Columbus Crew SC: ‘14 - Present)
vs.
Greg Vanney (32-30-21, Toronto FC: ‘14 - Present)

WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN

Saturday’s contest kicks-off at 8 p.m. ET and is set to be televised regionally on e CW Columbus, Spectrum Sports and BCSN2. Neil Sika (play- by-play), Dwight Burgess (analyst) and Marisa Contipelli (sideline) are set to have the call of the match. Coverage on The CW Columbus begins at 8 p.m. ET. Exclusively on Spectrum Sports and BCSN2, “Crew SC Matchday,” the pre-match show, begins at 7:30 p.m. ET, with “Crew SC Post-Match” immediately following the action. Locally, the contest is available via the radio in English on CD102.5 FM and in Spanish on La Mega 103.1 FM. The English radio broadcast also is set to stream live on ColumbusCrewSC.com. The Spanish radio calls are also set to be streamed in Spanish on the LaMega1 App and via Tunein Radio as WVKOFM. The game can be watched internationally via the following: Abu Dhabi Sports (Middle East and North Africa), Le Sports (China), StarHub (Singapore), BeIN Sports Asia (Asia), and Sportscast (Taiwan).

THOUGHTS ON THE MATCH

On the take-aways from the match against Chicago

“I praised the guys for their effort. I think they put a lot into this game. The goal was disappointing to give up but it’s a learning experience.”

►Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter

On the second half of the match against Chicago

“I think later in the game they had tired legs and pockets where we were moving well. We had the hunger to keep going. I’m proud of the guys and we gave it our all on the field.”

►Midfielder Justin Meram

STEFFEN NOMINATED FOR SOTW

Black & Gold goalkeeper Zack Steffen’s 76th-minute save against the Chicago Fire this past Saturday was nominated for MLSSoccer.com’s Save of the Week. Steffen dove to his left to save a free-kick by Bastian Schweinsteiger that was headed for the upper corner of the goal. This is the second time that the goalkeeper has earned a nomination for MLSsoccer. com’s Save of the Week. His previous nomination came from a save he made against D.C. United on March 18, 2017.

IRON MEN

Through six regular-season matches this year, two players lead the club when it comes to minutes played: Goalkeeper Zack Steffen and defender Nicolai Naess have all played 450 minutes to date, playing every minute of every match for the club in the 2017 MLS season.

TRILLIUM CUP: A HISTORY

The Trillium Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the annual three-match series between Columbus Crew SC and Toronto FC. The Cup is given to the team that earns the most points from the series at the end of the season. If both teams are tied on points, the winner is determined based on away goals. If the teams are still tied after that, then the team with the largest overall goal differential at the end of the third match is named the winner. The Trillium Cup is named after the trillium flower, which is the offcial wild flower of Columbus’ and Ontario’s respective state and province. The first Trillium Cup match was played at MAPFRE Stadium on March 29, 2008, with the Black & Gold winning 2-0. Crew SC also went on to win the first edition of the Trillium Cup following two subsequent draws at BMO Field: 0-0 on May 17, 2008 and 1-1 on September 13, 2008.

To date, Crew SC leads Toronto FC, having won the Trillium Cup on six of the nine occasions it has been contested.

TRAPP LEADS MLS IN PASSING CATEGORIES

Through six matches in the 2017 MLS regular season, Wil Trapp leads the League in attempted passes (470), successful passes (431) and successful passes in the opponent’s half (200). Additionally, Trapp leads MLS in passing accuracy for players who have attempted 200 or more passes (91.7%).

TRAPP ON THE VERGE OF 100^TH REGULAR-SEASON APPEARANCE

Midfieelder and Crew SC Captain Wil Trapp is on the verge of making his 100^th regular-season appearance for the Black & Gold following his appearance against the Chicago Fire on April 8. Should he make an appearance at home against Toronto on April 15, Trapp would become one of only 27 players to have made 100 or more appearances for the Black & Gold. The Crew SC Academy product signed as a Homegrown Player for the club on December 13, 2012, at the age of 19 and was named Vice-Captain of the team in 2014. Trapp is currently in his fifth season with the Black & Gold and was named Captain of the club ahead of the 2017 MLS season.

UNDEFEATED AT HOME IN 2017

Through three home matches in the 2017 MLS season, Crew SC is undefeated at MAPFRE Stadium. Following a 1-1 draw against Chicago during Opening Match (March 4), presented by MAPFRE Insurance, the Black & Gold recorded two back-to-back wins at home against Portland (March 25) and Orlando (April 1). Additionally, six of Crew SC’s nine goals this season have come at MAPFRE Stadium, with the club scoring in each of its three home matches.

TRILLIUM CUP WINNER BY YEAR

HIGUAIN: LEADING VS. TORONTO

When it comes to regular-season matches against Toronto FC, midfielder Federico Higuain leads Crew SC in multiple categories. The Argentine playmaker has the most goals (7), game-winning goals (3), assists (4), game-winning assists (2), shots (40) and shots on target (15) for the Black & Gold against the Canadian side. Higuain last scored against Toronto on October 17, 2015 at BMO Field in Crew SC’s 2-0 win against the Reds, while also providing the assist on the Black & Gold’s other goal.

PASSING TO THE TOP

Five matches into the 2017 MLS season, Crew SC leads the League in touches (4,165), passes (3,095), completed passes (2,555) and passing accuracy percentage (82.55%) according to Opta. The Black & Gold also lead the League in passes in the opponent’s half (1,728) and successful passes in the opponent’s half (1,323). Per Opta, Wil Trapp has attempted and completed the highest number of passes for the Black & Gold (431 out of 470) for a passing accuracy percentage of 91.7%, the highest on the team. He also leads the way when it comes to completed passes in the opponent’s half, having completed 200. On the defensive end, Crew SC is one of only seven teams to have made over 350 recoveries (359).

MERAM PERFORMING AT HOME

Midfielder Justin Meram has been performing well at home this season, playing a pivotal role in the Black & Gold’s two home wins. With three goals and two assists to his name through the first six matches, the midfielder has been particularly successful at home, as all three of his goals and one of his assists have come while playing at MAPFRE Stadium. Meram has tallied an assist or a goal in each of Crew SC’s three home matches: he assisted Ethan Finlay’s goal against Chicago on Opening Match (March 4), he scored the opening goal against Portland (March 25), and he recorded a brace against Orlando (April 1).

TACKLING: BY THE NUMBERS

Crew SC players have attempted a total of 90 tackles through five regular-season matches in 2017, winning 63 of them. Midfielders Wil Trapp and Artur lead the pack, having won 10 tackles each. Behind the midfield duo are defenders Jonathan Mensah and Jukka Raitala, who have won six tackles each. Out of players who have had three or more attempted tackles, defender Jukka Raitala has the highest success rate with 85.7%, having won six of his seven attempted tackles.