The Trillium Cup is an annual rivalry cup between Major League Soccer clubs Columbus Crew and Toronto FC. The Trillium Cup is named after the trillium, which is both the official flower of the Canadian province of Ontario, and the official wildflower of the U.S. state of Ohio. The rivalry draw on the teams’ similarities: the teams are geographically adjacent; near the Great Lakes that border the United States and Canada, and each play home matches in their respective soccer-specific stadium. The cup is awarded to the team that wins the most points from the series at the season's end. In the event of a draw on points, the first tiebreak is determined by the away goals rule, then by the team with the largest overall goal differential at the conclusion of the Major League Soccer season.
 | |
| Location | Great Lakes region |
|---|---|
| First meeting | March 29, 2008 MLS regular season CLB 3–1 TOR |
| Latest meeting | September 18, 2024 MLS regular season TOR 0–2 CLB |
| Stadiums | BMO Field, Toronto Lower.com Field, Columbus |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 46 |
| Most wins | Columbus (10 series wins, 20 individual wins) |
| All-time series | CLB 20–14–12 TOR |
| Largest victory | TOR 5–0 CLB MLS regular season (May 26, 2017) |
History
editThe Trillium Cup was instituted in 2008, the second season of Toronto FC's play in Major League Soccer (MLS). The inaugural game of the Trillium Cup was played on March 29, 2008, at Columbus Crew Stadium.[1]
The initial rivalry between the Trillium teams was supported by the mayors of the respective cities. In 2008, Mayor Michael B. Coleman of Columbus and Mayor David Miller of Toronto started a small wager on their respective team for the first installment of the Trillium Cup – the mayor of the losing team was required to wear the winning team's jersey.[2]
The rivalry became more intense when Toronto FC fans bought 2,500 tickets to the inaugural game at Columbus Crew Stadium, with buses organized for fans from Toronto heading to Columbus for the first game on March 29, 2008.[3] The Crew won 2–0 over their new rival. The second and third meetings, at Toronto's BMO Field, were draws; 0–0 and 1–1, respectively. The Crew claimed the inaugural Trillium Cup with a 5–2 score on points earned.
In 2011, Toronto defeated Columbus 4–2, recording their first ever win against the Crew and securing their first Trillium Cup.[4]
In 2017, Toronto and Columbus met for the first time in the MLS Cup Playoffs, in the Eastern Conference Finals, as Toronto advanced to the MLS Cup Final 1–0 on aggregate.[5]
In 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 travel restrictions imposed by the Canadian Government forced Toronto to play rivalry matches in Pratt & Whitney Stadium in Connecticut in 2020 followed by Orlando SC's Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida in 2021 where Toronto played home matches in these stadiums as the home team. This marked the first time that the rivalry matches were played on neutral ground. In 2020, Toronto won their only meeting in 2020 with Columbus 3–1 in September 2020.[6] The next year Toronto won the first leg of the rivalry match in 2021 with a score of 2–0.[7] Columbus Crew would later win the second leg of the rivalry in 2021 on the last rivalry match to be taken place at the Historic Crew Stadium before the Columbus Crew moves to Lower.com Field in July 2021. Columbus won the match 2–1.[8]
Winners by year
edit| Year | Winner | Aggregate score |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Columbus Crew | 3–1 |
| 2009 | Columbus Crew | 5–4 |
| 2010 | Columbus Crew | 4–2 |
| 2011 | Toronto FC | 5–3 |
| 2012 | Columbus Crew | 5–2 |
| 2013 | Columbus Crew | 4–2 |
| 2014 | Toronto FC | 8–4 |
| 2015 | Columbus Crew SC | 7–3 |
| 2016 | Toronto FC | 4–1 |
| 2017 | Toronto FC | 8–3 |
| 2018 | Columbus Crew SC | 5–3 |
| 2019 | Toronto FC | 3–2 |
| 2020 | Toronto FC | 3–1 |
| 2021 | Toronto FC | 3–2 |
| 2022 | Columbus Crew | 4–2 |
| 2023 | Columbus Crew | 3–1 |
| 2024 | Columbus Crew | 6–0 |
Series results
editColumbus win Draw Toronto win
| Winners by year | Individual results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competition | Year | Winners | Aggregate score | Venue | Date | Score | Recap | |
| Columbus | Toronto | |||||||
| Major League Soccer | 2007 | Columbus Crew | 6–3[note 1] | Columbus Crew Stadium | May 26, 2007 | 2 | 2 | |
| Columbus Crew Stadium | July 22, 2007 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| BMO Field | September 22, 2007 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Major League Soccer | 2008 | Columbus Crew | 3–1 | Columbus Crew Stadium | March 29, 2008 | 2 | 0 | [1] |
| BMO Field | May 17, 2008 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| BMO Field | September 13, 2008 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Major League Soccer | 2009 | Columbus Crew | 5–4 | Columbus Crew Stadium | March 28, 2009 | 1 | 1 | |
| BMO Field | May 2, 2009 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Columbus Crew Stadium | July 25, 2009 | 3 | 2 | |||||
| Major League Soccer | 2010 | Columbus Crew | 4–2 | Columbus Crew Stadium | March 27, 2010 | 2 | 0 | |
| BMO Field | October 16, 2010 | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Major League Soccer | 2011 | Toronto FC | 5–3 | BMO Field | April 23, 2011 | 1 | 1 | [2] |
| Columbus Crew Stadium | September 10, 2011 | 2 | 4 | [3] | ||||
| Major League Soccer | 2012 | Columbus Crew | 5–2 | BMO Field | March 31, 2012 | 1 | 0 | |
| Columbus Crew Stadium | August 22, 2012 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Columbus Crew Stadium | October 28, 2012 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Major League Soccer | 2013 | Columbus Crew | 4–2 | BMO Field | May 18, 2013 | 1 | 0 | [4] |
| BMO Field | July 27, 2013 | 1 | 2 | [5] | ||||
| Columbus Crew Stadium | August 17, 2013 | 2 | 0 | [6] | ||||
| Major League Soccer | 2014 | Toronto FC | 8–4 | Columbus Crew Stadium | April 5, 2014 | 0 | 2 | [7] |
| BMO Field | May 31, 2014 | 2 | 3 | [8] | ||||
| Columbus Crew Stadium | August 9, 2014 | 2 | 3 | [9] | ||||
| Major League Soccer | 2015 | Columbus Crew SC | 7–3 | Mapfre Stadium | March 14, 2015 | 2 | 0 | [10] |
| Mapfre Stadium | July 25, 2015 | 3 | 3 | [11] | ||||
| BMO Field | October 17, 2015 | 2 | 0 | [12] | ||||
| Major League Soccer | 2016 | Toronto FC | 4–1 | BMO Field | May 21, 2016 | 0 | 0 | [13] |
| Mapfre Stadium | July 13, 2016 | 1 | 1 | [14] | ||||
| BMO Field | July 31, 2016 | 0 | 3 | [15] | ||||
| Major League Soccer | 2017 | Toronto FC | 8–3 | Mapfre Stadium | April 15, 2017 | 2 | 1 | [16] |
| Mapfre Stadium | May 10, 2017 | 1 | 2 | [17] | ||||
| BMO Field | May 26, 2017 | 0 | 5 | [18] | ||||
| MLS Cup Playoffs | Toronto FC | 1–0[note 2] | Mapfre Stadium | November 21, 2017 | 0 | 0 | [19] | |
| BMO Field | November 29, 2017 | 0 | 1 | [20] | ||||
| Major League Soccer | 2018 | Columbus Crew SC | 5–3 | BMO Field | March 3, 2018 | 2 | 0 | [21] |
| Mapfre Stadium | June 2, 2018 | 3 | 3 | [22] | ||||
| Major League Soccer | 2019 | Toronto FC | 3–2 | Mapfre Stadium | August 17, 2019 | 2 | 2 | [23] |
| BMO Field | October 6, 2019 | 0 | 1 | [24] | ||||
| Major League Soccer | 2020 | Toronto FC | 3–1 | Pratt & Whitney Stadium[note 3] | September 27, 2020 | 1 | 3 | [25] |
| Major League Soccer | 2021 | Toronto FC | 3–2 | Exploria Stadium[note 4] | May 12, 2021 | 0 | 2 | [26] |
| Historic Crew Stadium | May 29, 2021 | 2 | 1 | [27] | ||||
| Major League Soccer | 2022 | Columbus Crew | 4–2 | Lower.com Field | March 12, 2022 | 2 | 1 | [28] |
| BMO Field | June 29, 2022 | 2 | 1 | [29] | ||||
| Major League Soccer | 2023 | Columbus Crew | 3–1 | BMO Field | March 11, 2023 | 1 | 1 | [28] |
| Lower.com Field | August 26, 2023 | 2 | 0 | [29] | ||||
| Major League Soccer | 2024 | Columbus Crew | 6–0 | Lower.com Field | July 6, 2024 | 4 | 0 | [30] |
| BMO Field | September 18, 2024 | 2 | 0 | [31] | ||||
+ Points based on wins (3), draws (1) and losses (0)
– Tiebreakers: 1) away goals for, 2) goal differential, 3) previous year winners
Statistics
edit- As of September 18, 2024
| Competition | Matches | Wins | Draws | Goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLB | TOR | CLB | TOR | |||
| MLS regular season | 44 | 20 | 11 | 13 | 68 | 57 |
| MLS Cup playoffs | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 68 | 58 |
See also
edit
- Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup, a preseason match played between FC Dallas and Columbus Crew
- MLS rivalry cups
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "FIRST TRILLIUM CUP MATCH". columbuscrewsc.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ^ "FC fans paint Columbus red". The OSA News Bulletin. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
- ^ Campbell, Morgan (March 30, 2008). "FC fans paint Columbus red". The Star. TheStar.com. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
- ^ Merz, Craig. "Reds run rampant in goalfest win over Crew". Major League Soccer. MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
- ^ "Toronto FC beats Columbus 1-0 to return to MLS Cup final". CTV News. November 29, 2017.
- ^ "TORvsCLB 09-27-2020 | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer.
- ^ "TORvsCLB 05-12-2021 | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer.
- ^ "Recap: Columbus Crew 2, Toronto FC 1 | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.