The Crew returns home this Wednesday, August 22, to face Toronto FC in the second leg of the Trillium Cup series at Crew Stadium. The match was originally scheduled for August 11, but was postponed to allow Crew players and staff to attend funeral services for Kirk Urso who unexpectedly passed away on August 5.
The Black & Gold (8-8-6, 30 pts.),enters the match on the heels of the thrilling 2-2 draw at Houston (Aug.19), that saw Eddie Gaven tally his fifth goal of the season, Cole Grossman record his first MLS goal and Designated Player Federico Higuaín mark his debut with an assist.
Wednesday’s game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and be televised live regionally in high definition on FOX Sports Ohio, with Dwight Burgess and Duncan Oughton calling all the action and Ashleigh Ignelzi reporting from the sidelines. The game can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN and on-line at TheCrew.com with Neil Sika and John Bluem on the call, and in Spanish on La Mega 103.1, with Carlos Cordova and Benny Pietrangelo behind the microphones.
This is the second of three meetings between the clubs with the Crew taking the first match of the season 1-0 at BMO Field last March 31, behind a goal by Bernardo Anor. Toronto FC (5-13-5, 20 pts.) went through many changes since facing the Crew at the beginning of the season.
Former England International Paul Mariner replaced Aron Winter as head coach on June 7. In addition, TFC parted ways with Designated Player Julian de Guzman, trading the midfielder to FC Dallas in exchange for 22-year-old forward Andrew Wiedeman in mid-July.
Toronto also acquired Designated Player Eric Hassli from Vancouver to replace Danny Koevermans who suffered a season ending injury on July 14, and Irish center back Darren O’Dea, who was a part of Ireland’s Euro 2012 roster.
The Trillium Cup is an annual competition between the two teams, 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 draws on the teams’ similarities and proximity. Both teams are geographically near the Great Lakes that border the United States and Canada and both teams also play in soccer-specific stadiums that have been built in the central city, as opposed to other MLS clubs that have built their stadium mainly in the suburbs. The final leg of the Trillium Cup series will be the Crew’s regular season finale on Sunday, October 28 at 4 p.m. at Crew Stadium.
The Crew will only have a three day turnaround as it continues its seven-game 21-day stretch with a home contest against the New England Revolution on Saturday, August 25, at 7:30 p.m. at Crew Stadium.
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