Crew SC continues its jam-packed month of May by hosting Toronto FC on May 10 in the second 2017 Trillium Cup match of the year. A Black & Gold win at MAPFRE Stadium would see them raise their seventh Trillium Cup in the 10 competitions.

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LAST MATCH RECAP

KAMARA SCORES 6^TH GOAL IN WIN OVER NEW ENGLAND

This past Saturday, the Black & Gold hosted the New England Revolution at MAPFRE Stadium. Forward Ola Kamara put Crew SC ahead in the 13^th minute when he sent a ball over goalkeeper Cody Cropper after receiving a pass from Justin Meram. Kamara was involved in the second goal as well, as he assisted Federico Higuain’s 53^rd-minute goal to give the hosts a 2-0 win against the Revs. It was Higuain’s 42^nd regular-season goal with the Black & Gold and his third goal of the season. Crew SC Captain Wil Trapp made his 100^th start for the club, while defender Josh Williams made his 75^th appearance for the Black & Gold.

CREW SC & TORONTO FC AT A GLANCE

Columbus Crew SC regular-season record: 13-6-10 (44 GF, 35 GA)
Home games: 9-3-4 (30 GF, 21 GA)
Road games: 4-3-6 (14 GF, 14 GA)

LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS 

CREW SC FACES TFC FOR THE 2^ND TRILLIUM CUP CONTEST

This weekend’s match marks the 30^th all-time regular-season meeting between the two clubs, with the Black & Gold holding a 13-6-10 record against Toronto. This match will also be the second of three meetings in 2017 to determine the Trillium Cup winner. Currently, Crew SC holds a 9-3-4 record against Toronto when playing at MAPFRE Stadium.

LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING

On April 15, 2017, Crew SC hosted Toronto FC at MAPFRE Stadium for the first Trillium Cup match of the year. Toronto took a lead in the 21^st minute when Jozy Altidore scored, assisted by Victor Vazquez. Crew SC equalized with an Ola Kamara goal, assisted by Niko Hansen in the 37^th minute. In the 44^th minute, Justin Meram put the hosts ahead after receiving a helper from Alex Crognale, giving the Black & Gold a 2-1 win.

WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN

Saturday’s contest kicks-off at 7:30 p.m. ET and is set to be televised regionally on MyTV Columbus, Spectrum Sports and BCSN2. Neil Sika (play- by-play), Dwight Burgess (analyst) and Clay Hall (sideline) are set to have the call in English. Coverage on MyTV Columbus begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. Exclusively on Spectrum Sports and BCSN2, “Crew SC Matchday,” the pre- match show, begins at 7 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.

TRAPP MAKES 100^TH START FOR CREW SC

Midfielder and Captain Wil Trapp made his made his 100^th regular-season start for the Black & Gold in Saturday night’s match against New England. With his appearance against the Revs, the midfielder became the first Crew SC Homegrown Player to make 100 regular-season starts. Trapp has 103 regular-season appearances to his name after making his MLS debut in 2013. Since then, he has made 103 appearances (100 starts) while scoring one goal and notching nine assists.

WILLIAMS MAKES 75^TH APPEARANCE FOR COLUMBUS

Defender Josh Williams made his 75^th appearance (67^th start) for Crew SC in Saturday’s match against the Revs, playing the entire 90 minutes. In 2017, Williams has made four regular-season appearances (two starts) for the club. In his MLS career, Williams has made a total of 107 appearances (95 starts).  On Williams’ start against New England, Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter had the following quote: after the match:

“Josh [Williams] is a guy that’s been solid all year. We brought him here for a reason, that he could play an important role in what we do and today was an example of him having an excellent game, I thought.”

IRON MAN: ZACK STEFFEN

Through 10 regular-season matches this year, one player leads the club when it comes to minutes played: Zack Steffen. The goalkeeper has played 810 minutes to date, playing every minute of every match for the club in the 2017 MLS season. 

ONE WIN AWAY FROM TRILLIUM CUP

The Trillium Cup is awarded to the team that wins the most points from the series at the season’s end. If Crew SC wins the match against Toronto FC on Wednesday, it would win the trophy for the seventh time. The trophy has been contested on 10 occasions dating back to 2008.

KAMARA SCORES 6^TH GOAL, 1^ST ASSIST OF 2017

Forward Ola Kamara tallied his sixth goal of the season and his 22^nd goal for Crew SC in 35 appearances (30 starts) by scoring the Black & Gold’s first goal in Saturday’s match. He also provided the helper on Federico Higuain’s goal, which was his first assist of the season. Kamara has made 10 appearances (all starts) this season and is the club’s leading scorer through ten matches in the 2017 MLS regular season.

HIGUAIN ON VERGE OF 40/40 CLUB…

Federico Higuain — who scored his third goal of the season in Saturday’s contest against the New England Revolution — 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. To date, only two other players have achieved this feat: Jeff Cunningham (64 goals, 44 assists) and Brian McBride (41 goals, 39 assists). Since joining the club in 2012, Higuain has made 132 regular-season appearances (127 starts) for the Black & Gold, recording 42 goals and 39 assists. Higuain almost joined the club last Saturday, but Opta rescinded his secondary assist because “it was decided that the pass didn’t produce a clear scoring chance because of the distance that Meram covered for the final pass”.

…MERAM ON WAY TO 30/30 CLUB

Justin Meram registered his 30^th career regular-season assist for Crew SC in Saturday’s night match against the Revs by providing the helper on Ola Kamara’s goal and is now on the cusp of joining the 30/30 Club. With 28 goals and 30 assists in the regular season, Meram needs only two more goals to become one of only six Crew SC players to have registered at least 30 goals and 30 assists in the regular season for the club. 

MERAM PERFORMS WELL AT HOME

With four goals and four assists to his name through the first 10 matches of the season, midfielder Justin Meram has had a great start to the year. He has been particularly successful at home, as all four of his goals and three of his assists have come while playing at MAPFRE Stadium. Meram has tallied at least one assist or one goal in each of Crew SC’s six home matches: he assisted Ethan Finlay’s goal against Chicago on Opening Match (March 4); he scored the opening goal against Portland (March 25); he recorded a brace against Orlando (April 1); he scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC (April 15); he assisted Federico Higuain’s goal against New York City (April 29); and he assisted Ola Kamara’s goal against the New England Revolution (May 6). To date, Meram has made 164 regular-season appearances (112 starts), scored 28 goals and provided 30 assists.

STEFFEN RECORDS 3^RD SHUTOUT

Goalkeeper Zack Steffen recorded his fifth MLS career win and third MLS career shutout in Saturday night’s 2-0 win over New England. The 22-year-old also tied his season and MLS regular-season career-high number of saves in a single match with five stops on the night. Steffen has started in all five of the Black & Gold’s wins this season, recording 33 saves in total on the year. On whether the performance against the Revs was his best performance of the season, Steffen gave the following quote after the match:

“It’s tough to say, but I do feel comfortable and I felt really good tonight. In warm-ups too, I felt very sharp and awake and it was good and I think it relates to the game and I’m happy with my performance.”

STEFFEN AMONG TOP GK IN MLS

Through 10 matches in the 2017 MLS season, Zack Steffen is fourth when it comes to saves (33) amongst all goalkeepers in the League, per Opta. Similarly, Steffen has faced the second-highest number of shots (130) and fourth-highest number of shots on target (46).  The 22-year-old is also the youngest goalkeeper in the League this season to have made more than five appearances, have faced at least 100 shots, have faced at least 20 shots on target and have made at least 15 saves.

CREW SC SCORES AT MAPFRE STADIUM

Crew SC has scored in every regular-season home match in 2017. The Black & Gold scored one goal in a 1-1 draw against Chicago (March 4), three goals in a 3-2 win against Portland (March 25), two goals in a 2-0 win against Orlando (April 1), two goals in a 2-1 win against Toronto FC (April 15), two goals in a 3-2 loss against New York City FC (April 29) and two goals in a 2-0 win against the New England Revolution (May 6) for a total of 12 goals at home. Crew SC’s 12 goals at home rank third best in MLS this season. Additionally, the club has now scored in each of its last 17 regular-season home matches, dating back to a 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls last season (June 25).

CREATING CHANCES

Through 10 matches in the 2017 MLS season, Crew SC has created 84 scoring chances (including assists), according to Opta. Leading the way is midfielder Federico Higuain, with 17 chances created in nine matches played — a little more than 20 percent of the Black & Gold’s total chances. Behind Higuain are midfielder Justin Meram, who has created 15 chances in 10 matches, and defender Jukka Raitala, with 11 chances created through nine matches.