The Black & Gold continue the busy month of May by hitting the road to take on Toronto FC in the Trillium Cup finale at BMO Field on Friday, May 26, for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff — their third and final matchup in the 2017 Major League Soccer regular season.
LAST MATCH RECAP
KAMARA SCORES 7TH GOAL IN NEW ENGLAND
This past Sunday, the Black & Gold traveled to Gillette Stadium to take on the New England Revolution. Forward Ola Kamara put Crew SC ahead in the 20th minute when he volleyed the ball past goalkeeper Cody Cropper after receiving a ball over the top from Wil Trapp. Diego Fagundez then leveled for the Revolution in the 24th minute before putting his team ahead with a second goal in the 34th minute. With his goal in the match against the Revs, Kamara brought his 2017 MLS regular-season goal total to seven. Trapp’s assist was his first of the season and his 10th regular-season assist for Crew SC in 106 appearances (103 starts).
CREW SC & TORONTO FC AT A GLANCE
Columbus Crew SC regular-season record: 13-7-10 (45 GF, 37 GA)
Home games: 9-4-4 (31 GF, 23 GA)
Road games: 4-3-6 (14 GF, 14 GA)
LAST 3 REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS
<p>07/31/2016</p> |
<p>CLB 0 at TOR 3</p> |
<p> L</p> |
<p>BMO Field</p> |
<p>04/15/2017</p> |
<p>CLB 2 vs. TOR 1</p> |
<p> W</p> |
<p>MAPFRE Stadium</p> |
<p>05/10/2017</p> |
<p>CLB 1 vs. TOR 2</p> |
<p> L</p> |
<p>MAPFRE Stadium</p> |
CREW SC FACES TORONTO FC FOR 3RD & FINAL TRILLIUM CUP CONTEST
This weekend’s match marks the 31st all-time regular-season meeting between the two clubs, with the Black & Gold holding a 13-7-10 record against the Reds. This match will be the third and final Trillium Cup match of 2017 and will determine this year’s winner. Both teams have a win each in this season’s series.
LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING
On May 6, 2017, Crew SC hosted Toronto FC at MAPFRE Stadium. Midfielder Federico Higuain put Crew SC ahead after converting a penalty kick in the 29th minute. Tosaint Ricketts then scored for the Reds in the 81st minute and in the 90th minute to give the visitors a 2-1 win and tie the Trillium Cup regular-season series, with one win per club through two matches.
COACHES
Gregg Berhalter (43-41-31, Columbus Crew SC: ‘14 - Present)
vs.
Greg Vanney (38-31-22, Toronto FC: ‘14 - Present)
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Friday’s contest kicks-off at 7 p.m. ET and is set to be televised regionally on The CW Columbus, Spectrum Sports and BCSN2. Neil Sika (play-by- play) and Dwight Burgess (analyst) are set to have the call in English. Coverage on e CW Columbus begins at 7 p.m. ET. Exclusively on Spectrum Sports and BCSN2, “Crew SC Matchday,” the pre-match show, begins at 6:30 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: FOX Sports Latin America, TVN (Panama), Abu Dhabi Sports (Middle East and North Africa), Fuji TV (Japan), Starhub (Singapore). BeIN Sports (Australia, Asia)
THOUGHTS ON THE MATCH VS. TORONTO FC
On preparing for Friday’s match against Toronto FC...
“We will watch a bunch of tape and prepare to go up there and to play a good game. They are a good team with only one loss — but that loss is from us. So we know that we can hurt them. Now we just need to come up with the gameplan to do that.”►Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter
On the upcoming two matches against 2016 MLS Cup finalists
“We know these next two teams are good teams, but every team in MLS is a good team. We know we want to be dominant and to control the game.”►Midfielder Niko Hansen
BLACK & GOLD COULD CLINCH TRILLIUM CUP
Crew SC could secure this year’s edition of the Trillium Cup by winning against Toronto FC in Friday night’s match at BMO Field. After splitting the season series — Columbus won 2-1 at MAPFRE Stadium on April 15 and Toronto won 2-1 on May 10 at MAPFRE Stadium — both sides are even on goals scored and goals allowed. Most importantly, the Eastern Conference rivals are even on series points through two matches with three apiece. The Trillium Cup is awarded to the team with the most head-to-head points in a single season (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss) li s the cup. To date, Crew SC leads Toronto, having won the Trillium Cup on six of the nine occasions the trophy has been contested.
TRILLIUM CUP TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURES
The team awarded the Trillium Cup will be the team with the greatest number of points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss) a er the conclusion of the regular season series between the two clubs. In the event that the two teams finish the season series with an equal number of points, the following system will be used to break the tie:
- The team with the greater goal difference (goals-for minus goals-against) in Trillium Cup matches shall be the winner.
- If still tied, it shall be the team scoring the greater number of total goals in Trillium Cup matches.
- If still tied, the procedures described in 1 and 2 shall be applied only to a per-game average of all Trillium Cup games played on the road.
- If still tied, the procedures described in 1 and 2 shall be applied only to a per-game average of all Trillium Cup games played at home.
- If still tied, it shall be the team with the fewest combined team disciplinary points in Trillium Cup matches.
- If still tied, the team that is currently in possession of the Trillium Cup from the previous year retains it for another season.
KAMARA SCORES 7TH GOAL OF THE SEASON
Forward Ola Kamara tallied his seventh goal of the season and his 23rd goal for Crew SC in 38 regular-season appearances (32 starts) by scoring in Sunday’s match against the New England Revolution. This was the third consecutive regular-season match against the Revs in which Kamara scored a goal. Kamara has made 13 appearances (12 starts) this season and is currently tied for first place with Justin Meram in goals scored (7) for the club in the 2017 MLS regular season.
KAMARA NOMINATED FOR GOAL OF THE WEEK
Ola Kamara’s goal against the New England Revolution this past Sunday was nominated for MLSsoccer.com’s Goal of the Week. The forward tallied his seventh goal of the season in the 20th minute of the match when he received a long ball over the top from Wil Trapp at the edge of the box before ring a volley past goalkeeper Cody Cropper. Kamara is the second Crew SC player this season to be nominated for MLSSoccer.com’s Goal of the Week.
TRAPP NOTCHES 10TH CAREER ASSIST
Midfielder Wil Trapp recorded his first assist of the season and his 10th regular-season assist for Crew SC in 106 appearances (103 starts) by providing the helper in Ola Kamara’s goal against the New England Revolution. Trapp’s last assist came in a home contest against New York City FC last season (August 13). So far in 2017, Trapp has started in each of the Black & Gold’s 13 regular-season matches.
IRON MAN: ZACK STEFFEN
Through 13 regular-season matches this year, one player leads the club when it comes to minutes played: Zack Steffen. e goalkeeper has played 1,170 minutes to date, playing every minute of every match for the club in the 2017 MLS season.
NAESS REACHES MILESTONE WITH CREW SC
Defender Nicolai Naess reached a milestone in Sunday’s match against the New England Revolution, as he made his 25th regular-season appearance (all starts) for Crew SC since joining the club on July 21, 2016. This season, Naess has made 12 appearances (all starts), featuring in all but one regular- season match for the club.
JIMENEZ NEARING 50TH START FOR CREW SC
Midfielder Hector Jimenez made his 49th start for Crew SC in Sunday’s match against the Revolution and would reach his 50th start for the club with his next start. Jimenez, who joined the Black & Gold ahead of the 2014 MLS season, has made 76 appearances (49 starts), scored one goal and notched 10 assists for the club to date.
HIGUAIN ON VERGE OF 40/40 CLUB
Federico Higuain is on the verge of becoming one of only three players in Crew SC history to have recorded at least 40 goals and 40 assists or more for the club in regular-season action. Since joining the club in 2012, Higuain has made 135 regular-season appearances (130 starts) for the Black & Gold, recording 43 goals and 39 assists. To date, only two other players have achieved this feat: Jeff Cunningham (64 goals, 44 assists) and Brian McBride (41 goals, 39 assists).
MERAM IS 3RD IN AUDI PLAYER INDEX
Justin Meram is currently in third place in the Audi Player Index standings. The Audi Player Index tracks and evaluates nearly 90 components and 2,000 player movements for every MLS match to calculate each player’s individual score. At the end of each season, Audi honors the player with the highest Index score with the Audi Player Index Award.
