Portland Timbers–Seattle Sounders rivalry

Portland Timbers–Seattle Sounders rivalry

Portland Timbers Seattle Sounders FC
Other names	Cascadia Cup
Location	Pacific Northwest
First meeting	May 2, 1975 NASL Portland 0–1 Seattle
Latest meeting	September 2, 2023 MLS regular season Seattle 2–2 Portland
Next meeting	May 12, 2024 MLS regular season Portland v Seattle
Statistics
Meetings total	138
Most wins	Seattle (65)
All-time series	65–56–17 (Seattle)
Largest victory	Portland 1–6 Seattle WACS (July 3, 1985)
Largest goal scoring	Portland 2–6 Seattle MLS regular season (August 15, 2021)[1]
Postseason history
1975 NASL quarter-finals: Portland won 2–1. 2004 A-League conference semifinals: Seattle won 3–2 on aggregate. 2005 USL–1 quarter-finals: Seattle won 3–0 on aggregate. 2013 MLS conference semifinals: Portland won 5–3 on aggregate. 2018 MLS conference semifinals: 4–4 on aggregate, Portland won 4–2 on penalties.

The Portland Timbers–Seattle Sounders rivalry is a

On June 30, 1979, Seattle defeated Portland 5–1 in the Kingdome in front of a season high 34,000 spectators. Until the 1980s, it would stand as the largest victory in the derby, and is the largest victory by either side in the top tier of American soccer. In the 5–1 victory, Seattle's Derek Smethurst netted a hat trick.

At the end of the 1982 North American Soccer League season, the Portland Timbers franchise was forced to fold, once team expenditures outpaced club income. Consequently, the 1–0 Sounders victory over the Timbers on August 22, 1982 ended up being the final meeting between the two sides in the North American Soccer League. It would not be for nearly 30 years, in 2011, the two sides would meet against one another in the top flight of American soccer.^[15]

NASL indoor

In the

At the end of the 1983 NASL season, the original Seattle Sounders franchise terminated, with the league itself ceasing operations ahead of the 1985 season. In 1984, a Western Soccer Alliance franchise was granted to the Seattle area for a soccer club in the area that was branded as the Seattle Storm, and went under the F.C. Seattle moniker for a while.^[18] The following year, a WSA franchise was also granted to the Portland area, where the rivalry continued through the late 1980s into the early 1990s.

USL

After an 11-year hiatus, the rivalry continued in 2001, when the newly incarnated

July 21, 2001, former U.S. National Team player, Brian Ching, would score the only goal in 1–0 Sounders victory over the Timbers, as over 11,000 would be in attendance in Portland.

Ahead of the 2004 season, supporters of both the Sounders, Timbers, and their rival up the I-5 corridor, the Vancouver Whitecaps, created the Cascadia Cup which would be given to the supporters whose team had a stronger record against the two sides. The first formal Cascadia Cup match between the two resulted in a Timbers victory, defeating the Sounders 2–0 on May 1, 2004. During the four regular season meetings during that season, the Sounders lost thrice, and had one victory over Portland. However, in the 2004 USL First Division Playoffs, their first playoff meeting since 1975, the Sounders won 3–2 on aggregate over Portland, posting a 2–0 home victory in the second leg.

On September 18, 2005, Seattle knocked Portland out of the playoffs for a second straight year, as Sounders defeated the Timbers 2–0 in Seattle.

In Seattle, Sounders defeated the Timbers 3–1 on July 22, 2006, in a hotly contested match that accumulated eight yellow cards, and one red.

On May 10, 2008, in front of over 10,000 at Qwest Field (now

A cold and rainy night on March 11, 2010, Portland defeated Seattle 1–0 in a preseason community shield charity match. The crowd of 18,606 in attendance that night at Qwest Field is one of the largest crowds to attend a preseason game between two U.S. teams in American soccer history.

In hoping to stoke the rivalry for the future 2011 Major League Soccer season — when the Timbers would be joining the Sounders in MLS — Portland unveiled a billboard displaying a Timbers crest and the words Portland, Oregon and Soccer City USA less than a mile from Qwest Field in Seattle.^[22] The billboard was broadcast to a nationwide audience on ESPN2 during halftime of the Sounders home match versus Real Salt Lake that evening.^[23]

In March 2011, the Timbers defeated the Sounders 2–0 in the preseason Cascadia Summit, a round robin game event involving the two teams and their Canadian rival,

On October 7, 2012, Seattle hosted Portland at CenturyLink Field in front of 66,452 people, the second-largest stand-alone crowd in MLS history. The Timbers had their second chance of the year to clinch their first Cascadia Cup contested by all three sides, but lost 3–0 to the host Sounders.^[24]

In the fourth round of the

From 2015 through 2021, either Portland or Seattle represented the MLS Western Conference in the MLS Cup title game. Seattle won two titles in four appearances, while Portland won one in three; the Timbers also won the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament, held during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[28] From 2018 to 2022, the home team won only one of eleven rivalry matches played during the MLS regular season.^[29] An August 2021 match at Providence Park ended in a 6–2 Sounders victory, the largest margin in the rivalry's history and the most goals conceded by the Timbers in any league competition.^[30]

On August 29, 2021, the Sounders and

A bitter rivalry between the teams' supporter groups exists. The Portland Timbers are supported by the Timbers Army, and Seattle Sounders by the Emerald City Supporters. The spirited groups have always showed a deep amount of resentment toward each other throughout the years.^[12][33] With the close proximity of the two cities, traveling fans of both sides witness hostile environments while visiting the opposing stadium. A rare moment of violence broke out in March 2010 after a preseason Timbers win in Seattle, when, three Sounders fans (who were supposedly not associated with any Sounders supporters group) assaulted a Timbers fan, choking and dragging him with his team scarf.^[34]

On March 20, 2009, at the Portland MLS expansion rally, League Commissioner Don Garber mentioned what a great region the Pacific Northwest is for soccer, and gave an example by the success of the new MLS team Seattle Sounders FC. However, his comment was met with heavy boos, and jeers coming from the Timbers Army surrounding him. Portland mayor, Sam Adams, then offered a challenge to the Seattle mayor, for when the Timbers and Sounders meet in 2011.^[35]

Attendance

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (February 2019)

Players and transfers

A large portion of the Sounders-Timbers rivalry can be seen on the soccer field itself. Before Seattle made the jump to MLS, many onfield rivalries between the players existed. As the years progressed, this would only enhance the level of competition, and intensify the matches. An example of this was the notable rivalry between Timbers defender Scot Thompson and Sounders striker Roger Levesque. Levesque played in Seattle from 2006-2012, while Thompson played in Portland from 2004 to 2010.

Another reason the rivalry intensified was the transfer of star players between the two teams. While many players transferred to the other rival city from when the Timbers resumed play in 2001, the most memorable was the signing of Portland's all time assist leader, and fan favorite Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar^[41] to Seattle in 2007. That same season, Seattle star Andrew Gregor signed with Portland, thus creating tensions on the field, as the players became familiar with each other. While playing for the Sounders in 2003, Gregor had said "A lot of the guys, we know each other from years back, and we don't get along and stuff. It's always exciting."^[3]

NASL and USL matches between the teams were intense and more physical than other teams in the leagues. Former Sounders head coach

Seattle, then Portland

Name	Pos	Seattle			Portland
		Career	Apps	Goals	Career	Apps	Goals
Roger Goldingay	FW	1974			1975–76	15	0
Hank Liotart	MF	1974–76	45	2	1976–77	28	2
David Butler	FW	1974–78	97	34	1979	20	6
John Bain	MF	1983	24	2	1989–90
Peter Hattrup	FW	1984–89			1990
Daryl Green	DF	1986–89			1990
Billy Crook	DF	1988			1990
Ian MacLean	DF	1989	1	1	1990
Scott Benedetti	FW	1990			2001–05	96	6
Chugger Adair	FW	1997	19	5	2002	20	2
Mark Baena	FW	1998–99	44	41	2001	24	13
Greg Howes	MF	2000	27	17	2001–02	40	12
Darren Sawatzky	FW	2000	28	16	2001	22	5
Rees Bettinger	FW	2001	23	5	2002	5	0
Scott Bower	MF	2001	1	0	2002	4	0
Andrew Gregor	MF	2002	46	16	2004	13	2
Alex Bengard	MF	2003	23	3	2004	24	5
Andrew Gregor	MF	2005–06	39	8	2007–08	37	8
Stephen Keel	DF	2006	10	1	2009–10	52	1
Kevin Forrest	FW	2008–09	9	0	2009	10	0
Mike Fucito	FW	2009–11	23	3	2012	12	0
Steve Zakuani	FW	2009–13	100	19	2014	20	1
Andrew Weber	GK	2012–13	6	0	2014–15	3	0
Trey Muse	GK	2019-21			2023

Portland, then Seattle

Name	Pos	Portland			Seattle
		Career	Apps	Goals	Career	Apps	Goals
John Bain	MF	1978–82	148	45	1983	24	2
David Butler	FW	1979	20	6	1983	1	0
Grant Gibbs	DF	1985–87			1988–90
Todd Strobeck	GK	1985–90			1993–95
Brent Goulet	FW	1986–87		9	1987	5	2
Scott Benedetti	FW	1986–89			1990
Joey Leonetti	FW	1988			1996
Dick McCormick	MF	1988–90			1994–96	52	6
Kasey Keller	GK	1989	10	0	2009–11	93	0
Garrett Smith	DF	1989			1990
Wade Webber	DF	1989			1990
Billy Crook	DF	1990			1994–96
Peter Hattrup	FW	1990			1994–95
Shawn Medved	FW	1990		10	1994–95		7
Darren Sawatzky	FW	2001	22	5	2002–04	67	22
Greg Howes	MF	2001–02	40	12	2007	21	5
Ben Somoza	MF	2002	21	1	2003–06	60	2
Jake Sagare	MF	2002–04	72	5	2005–06	29	0
Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar	MF	2002–06	131	10	2007–08	41	3
Andrew Gregor	MF	2004	13	2	2005–06	39	8
Adam Moffat	MF	2011	4	0	2013	6	0
Kenny Cooper	FW	2011	34	8	2014	24	6
Troy Perkins	GK	2011–2012	51	0	2015	4	0

Cups

Between 2004 and 2008, the USL Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, and Vancouver Whitecaps competed for the supporter created Cascadia Cup, to be awarded to the club who finished with the best record in each season series between the three teams. The Cascadia Cup was created to celebrate the strong rivalries between each of the three clubs. Seattle won the Cascadia Cup twice in this five-year period while Portland never won. Seattle was not involved in the 2009 or 2010 competitions, both of which were won by Portland. While both Seattle and Portland consider Vancouver to be a rival, both of the U.S. fanbases consider their rivalries with Vancouver more cordial than with one another.^[6] In a 2011 story on the rivalry by Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl, one Timbers Army member said about Vancouver fans, "It's hard to dislike them because they're so nice", and an Emerald City Supporters member added, "They're like the nice cousin that's never going to offend anyone at a party."^[43] The MLS versions of the Whitecaps, Sounders and Timbers resumed contesting the Cascadia Cup, beginning with the 2011 season.

Results

For statistical purposes, matches that went to shootouts are counted as draws. Matches ending with a shootout are denoted with an '*'.^{[44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54]}

NASL era

NASL Indoor

Alliance era

A-League/USL era

MLS era

Notable friendlies

Season	Date	Competition	Stadium	Home team	Result	Away team	Attendance	Series	Ref
2002	February 27	International Exhibition	University of Washington	Timbers Select	0–1	United States		–	[127]
	April 28	Canterbury Cup	Sammamish High School	Seattle Sounders	4–1	Portland Timbers		SEA 1–0–0
2010	March 11	Community Shield	Qwest Field	Seattle Sounders FC	0–1	Portland Timbers	18,606	Tied 1–1–0	[128]
2011	March 4	Cascadia Summit	Starfire Sports Complex	Seattle Sounders FC	0–2	Portland Timbers	3,100	POR 2–1–0	[129]
2022	January 26	Desert Showcase	Kino Sports Complex	Portland Timbers	0–0	Seattle Sounders FC	2,000	POR 2–1–1	[130]

Western Conference standings finishes

  Sounders   Timbers

• Total: Seattle with 9 higher finishes, Portland with 4.

See also

• Rivalry between the cities
•  Pacific Northwest portal

References