TORONTO, ON – Jacen Russell-Rowe had a memorable game with his hometown team, Toronto FC. The Brampton native delivered two assists for Colombus Crew SC. As a result, Columbus won both games against Toronto this year and also won the Trillium Cup.
Jacen Russell-Rowe gets two assists against his hometown team in a 2-1 win
Three keys to the game
Full Game Summary:#TFCLive created chances for themselves but did not take advantage of those opportunities.#Crew96 and Brampton native, Jacen Russell-Rowe, got two assists today.
Columbus Crew SC made some good defensive plays.#TORvCLB | 1-2 | #TrilliumCup
— Last Word on Soccer (@LastWordSC) June 30, 2022
First half
Kosi Thompson’s shot was stopped in the third minute, thanks to a great pass from Alejandro Pozuelo. Columbus played good defence in the fifth minute. Pedro Santos’ shot was way off in the sixth minute of play. Jason Russell-Rowe almost scored in the seventh minute. Jayden Nelson made a nice pass to Pozuelo. However, Pozuelo from a bad angle had his shot stopped.
18' Big congrats to #Crew96’s Sean Zawadzki, who scored his first-ever MLS goal! The goal was assisted by Jacen Russell-Rowe. #ColumbusCrewSC#TORvCLB | 0-1 | #TrilliumCuppic.twitter.com/b6M2vR607K
— Last Word on Soccer (@LastWordSC) June 30, 2022
What was noticeable was that Columbus counter-attacked and took advantage of their opportunities. They would get their first goal in the 18-minute thanks to a nice pass from Jacen Russell-Rowe to Sean Zawadzski (small correction on Tweet above). TFC though, despite giving up a goal, kept pressing Alejandro Pozuelo in the 29-minute to Kosi Thompson, whose shot was stopped smartly by Columbus’ Eloy Room.
30' Great teamwork leads to Darlington Nagbe’s goal for #Crew96! Lucas Zelarayán was the one who set up the goal and Jacen Russell-Rowe was credited with the assist. #ColumbusCrewSC#TORvCLB | 0-2 | #TrilliumCuppic.twitter.com/quqMADh3Yd
— Last Word on Soccer (@LastWordSC) June 30, 2022
Unfortunately, despite the positive play, Toronto gave up the second goal. Lucas Zelarayán was the one who set up the play. He passed the ball to Russell-Rowe, who ended up finding Darlington Nagbe for the goal. Kosi Thompson found Jayden Nelson, but Nelson could not convert in the 45+2-minute of play.
Second half
54’ #TFCLive gets one back! Alejandro Pozuelo continues his terrific form today as he finds Jesús Jiménez with a cross, whose header goes into the back of the net. #MajorLeagueSoccer#TORvCLB | 1-2 | #TrilliumCuppic.twitter.com/6odSxvuKW3
— Raheem (@bashirra) June 30, 2022
Derrick Etienne Jr. got behind TFC’s defence but was unable to score. Toronto won a corner in the 73-minute of play. Michael Bradley made a great drive in the 77-minute, but his shot was off-target. Pozuelo’s shot was stopped in the 79-minute. Alejandro Pozuelo with terrific foot skills, get past Columbus’s defence, but his shot missed and went past a diving Columbus goalkeeper. Shaffelberg could not get to the ball in the 86-minute. Michael Bradley drew a yellow card in the 90+2-minute of play.
Toronto FC did not convert and games coming up
In the 45+2-minute of play. Kosi Thompson found Jayden Nelson, but Nelson could not convert inside the box. This is just one example of many opportunities that Toronto failed to convert. Toronto, especially in the first half, was able to get inside Columbus’s box. This was thanks to deliveries by Pozuelo and Bradley. Unfortunately, they were unable to convert on those scoring opportunities and it resulted in a loss and Columbus winning their eighth Trillium Cup.
TFC will now go up against the Seattle Sounders FC, one of Toronto FC’s biggest rivals. The game will take place on July 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET at BMO Field. It will be televised nationally on TSN and also be shown on Fox13+. This is while Columbus will play on July 3 at Lower.com Field. That game is at 7:30 p.m. ET, and it will be shown on Bally Sports Great Lakes and PHL17.
Three Takeaways as Jacen Russell-Rowe shines
Quite the homecoming 🙌 pic.twitter.com/rcXqIlVtkB
— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) June 30, 2022
Jacen Russell-Rowe and Sean Zawadzski had memorable games. Russell-Rowe probably had the game of his life with Columbus. The Brampton native started with Toronto FC III and Toronto FC II. He then got a second chance to get to MLS with Columbus this year. His performance of getting 11 goals in 11 games with Columbus Crew 2 helped him get into the starting lineup today. Lastly, Zawadzski, in just his second game, scored his second-straight goal.
Columbus Crew SC made important ground in the MLS playoff race. With the win, Columbus is three points ahead of Toronto with a game in hand. More importantly, for a playoff spot, they are only three points behind FC Cincinnati and the New England Revolution. Both teams have played one game more than Columbus.
Columbus Crew SC wins its first Trillium Cup since 2018. This is Columbus’ eighth Trillium Cup. This is also the first time that Columbus won all the games in one year. They won earlier this year, 2-1 at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio.
Photo Credit: Columbus Crew SC on June 29, 2022.
