Trillium Cup

The Trillium Cup is an annual rivalry between Columbus Crew SC 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 rivalries draw on the team's similarities: two teams are geographically near the Great Lakes that border the United States and Canada and both teams also play in a 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 match.

Teams
First meetingCLB 3–1 TOR
Major League Soccer
(March 29, 2008)
Latest meetingTOR 1–0 CLB
Major League Soccer
(October 6, 2019)
Next meetingCLB v TOR
Major League Soccer
(TBD 2020)
StadiumsBMO Field, Toronto
Mapfre Stadium, Columbus
Statistics
Meetings total34
Most winsColumbus (7 series wins, 12 individual wins)
All-time seriesCLB 7–5 TOR
Largest victoryTOR 5–0 CLB
Major League Soccer
(May 26, 2017)

The 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]

A white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), the provincial flower of Ontario and the state wildflower of Ohio

Winners by year
Year Winner Aggregate Score
2008 Columbus Crew3–1
2009 Columbus Crew5–4
2010 Columbus Crew4–2
2011 Toronto FC5–3
2012 Columbus Crew5–2
2013 Columbus Crew4–2
2014 Toronto FC8–4
2015 Columbus Crew SC7–3
2016 Toronto FC4–1
2017 Toronto FC8–3
2018 Columbus Crew SC5–3
2019 Toronto FC3–2

Series results

  Columbus win   Draw   Toronto win

Winners by year Individual results
Competition Year Winner 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
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
Columbus Crew Stadium September 10, 2011 2 4
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
BMO Field July 27, 2013 1 2
Columbus Crew Stadium August 17, 2013 2 0
Major League Soccer 2014 Toronto FC 8–4 Columbus Crew Stadium April 5, 2014 0 2
BMO Field May 31, 2014 2 3
Columbus Crew Stadium August 9, 2014 2 3
Major League Soccer 2015 Columbus Crew SC 7–3 Mapfre Stadium March 14, 2015 2 0
Mapfre Stadium July 25, 2015 3 3
BMO Field October 17, 2015 2 0
Major League Soccer 2016 Toronto FC 4–1 BMO Field May 21, 2016 0 0
Mapfre Stadium July 13, 2016 1 1
BMO Field July 31, 2016 0 3
Major League Soccer 2017 Toronto FC 8–3 Mapfre Stadium April 15, 2017 2 1
Mapfre Stadium May 10, 2017 1 2
BMO Field May 26, 2017 0 5
MLS Cup Playoffs Toronto FC 1–0[note 2] Mapfre Stadium November 21, 2017 0 0
BMO Field November 29, 2017 0 1
Major League Soccer 2018 Columbus Crew SC 5–3 BMO Field March 3, 2018 2 0
Mapfre Stadium June 2, 2018 3 3
Major League Soccer 2019 Toronto FC 3–2 Mapfre Stadium August 17, 2019 2 2
BMO Field October 6, 2019 0 1
Major League Soccer 2020 Mapfre Stadium TBD 2020
BMO Field August 8, 2020

+ Points based on wins (3), draws (1) and losses (0)
– Tiebreakers: 1) away goals for, 2) goal differential, 3) previous year winners

Statistics
As of October 6, 2019
Matches Wins Draws Goals
CLB TOR CLB TOR
371410135249

See also

Notes
  1. These games were played before the Trillium Cup was created.
  2. These playoff results do not count towards the Trillium Cup.

References
  1. "FIRST TRILLIUM CUP MATCH". columbuscrewsc.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  2. "FC fans paint Columbus red". The OSA News Bulletin. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  3. Campbell, Morgan. "FC fans paint Columbus red". The Star. TheStar.com. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  4. Merz, Craig. "Reds run rampant in goalfest win over Crew". Major League Soccer. MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  5. "Toronto FC beats Columbus 1-0 to return to MLS Cup final". CTV News. November 29, 2017.
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