On the heels of Saturday night’s scoreless draw with Real Salt Lake, the Columbus Crew has its first midweek match in league play on Wednesday night when it faces Toronto FC in the Trillium Cup.
Three Things to Know
3 – The Black & Gold enter Wednesday’s matchup unbeaten in their last three matches. They’ve also earned points in their last two road matches. On Saturday night, they tamed RSL, the second-place team in the Western Conference. Before that, the Crew beat Atlanta United FC, 2-1, on May 28, thanks to goals from Jonathan Mensah and Erik Hurtado.
5 – Beginning in the 68th minute on Saturday night against RSL, Crew head coach Caleb Porter deployed a lineup that consisted of five players 22 years old or younger. In addition to Aidan Morris (20) and Sean Zawadzki (22) starting, Will Sands (21), Jacen Russell-Rowe (19) and Mohamed Farsi (22) were all on the pitch when the match ended. In 2021, the Black & Gold missed the MLS Cup Playoffs by a point and struggled to generate results when they relied on squad rotation. If the draw with RSL was any indication, Porter is comfortable utilizing younger players throughout the lineup.
2 – If the Crew is able to earn at least a point from Wednesday’s matchup with Toronto, the club will win the Trillium Cup for the first time since 2018. The Trillium Cup is the annual rivalry between Columbus and Toronto, named after the trillium – the state wildflower of Ohio and Ontario’s provincial flower. Between 2008 and 2015, Columbus claimed the Trillium Cup on six occasions. Momentum has shifted, however, as Toronto has won the cup on five of the last six occasions. The Crew are hoping reclaim bragging rights for the first time since 2018, when the Black & Gold won, 5-3, on aggregate.
When They Last Met
The Crew earned a 2-1 victory over TFC on March 12 at Lower.com Field. Despite conceding first, Columbus earned the three points thanks to second half goals from Lucas Zelarayán and Derrick Etienne Jr.
Match Overview
Who: Columbus Crew at Toronto FC
When: Wednesday, June 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: BMO Field
How to Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports App (stream), ESPN+ (Out of Market)
How to Listen: 97.1 The Fan (English), ColumbusCrew.com (Spanish)
Current Standings: Crew – 12th in Eastern Conference; Toronto FC – 11th in Eastern Conference
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