Portland Timbers–Vancouver Whitecaps rivalry

Portland Timbers–Vancouver Whitecaps rivalry
	Portland Timbers Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Other names	Cascadia Cup ; Port-Couver
Location	Pacific Northwest
First meeting	May 16, 1975; NASL; Portland 2–0 Vancouver
Latest meeting	June 22, 2024; MLS regular season; Portland 2–0 Vancouver
Next meeting	September 27, 2024; MLS regular season; Vancouver v Portland
Statistics
Meetings total	117
Most wins	Vancouver (49)
All-time series	Vancouver 49–47–22 (W–L–T) Portland
Largest victory	Portland 5–0 Vancouver; NASL; (May 2, 1982)

The Portland Timbers–Vancouver Whitecaps rivalry is a

North American Soccer League of the 1970s, and later carried into successor leagues through the 1980s and the 2000s, including the A-League and USL First Division, with both cities reviving expansion teams. The rivalry moved to Major League Soccer, the top division of soccer in the United States, in 2011, where it has grown into one of the largest in North American soccer.^[1]

The two clubs are part of the

North American Soccer League beginning in 1975.^[3] The rivalry regained steam as Portland and Vancouver clashed in crucial, and often physical matches during the late 2000s, with the clubs facing each other in memorable playoff duels in 2007, 2009, and 2010.^[4]

The two clubs played for the 100th time in 2017, and the rivalry is one of the most-played in US soccer history.

In the first decade of the two clubs playing in Major League Soccer together, Portland and Vancouver have a friendlier rivalry than that of other match-ups in the Cascadia Cup, such as

2015 MLS Cup. Additionally, many Whitecap players point to the Timbers being their biggest rival.^[6]

History

Statistics

As of June 22, 2024

Competition	Matches	Wins		Draws
Competition	Matches	Portland	Vancouver	Draws
NASL (1975–1982)	19	9	10	0
WSA/WSL (1987–1990)	1	0	1	0
A-League/USL-1 (2001–2010)	39	11	18	10
MLS (2011–present)	36	17	12	7
League totals – regular season	94	36	41	17
NASL playoffs	2	2	0	0
A-League/USL-1 playoffs	8	2	5	1
MLS playoffs	2	1	0	1
League totals – Playoffs	12	5	5	2
Friendlies (all formats)	11	5	3	3
All-time totals	118	47	49	22

NASL era (1975–82)

The original Vancouver Whitecaps were founded in December 1973 and began to play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1974.^[7] Portland was subsequently granted an expansion team the next year, the Timbers, and in 1975 the clubs played their first match against each other, with Portland winning 2–0 in the initial game on May 16, 1975.^[8]

Both the Timbers and the Whitecaps achieved success in the beginning years of the league, with Portland winning the regular season title in 1975 and making the Soccer Bowl while Vancouver won the championship in 1979. Due to the success of both teams and the natural proximity of the two towns, Portland and Vancouver developed a rivalry.

The rivalry got off to an auspicious start, with Portland winning the first six games. However Vancouver came straight back, winning the next five and only losing three additional times to the Timbers during the duration of NASL play.

In 1978, Vancouver was the top-ranked club in the league heading into the playoffs, with a record of 24–6. They won their first round game but were upset by the Timbers in the playoffs, who won both games in route to a 3–1 aggregate goal margin.^[9] Clyde Best scored in both games in the first playoff confrontation between the teams.

Portland folded its team at the end of the 1982 season, as player salaries outpaced team revenue.^[10] The original Vancouver Whitecaps also folded along with the NASL in 1984.

WSL/WSA era (1987–1990)

Portland regained a soccer club in 1985 with the formation of

Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, Portland joined the Western Soccer Alliance, while at the same time the Vancouver franchise was reborn in the Canadian Soccer League

(CSL), where they were immediately successful. The two clubs began to play matches against each other in 1987–with F.C. Portland becoming the second side to take the Timbers name in 1989–and continued until Portland folded in 1990.

USL era (2001–2010)

In 2001, the third incarnation of the Portland Timbers was established and the club joined the USL First Division (USL-1), which already contained the Vancouver Whitecaps.^[11] The first game between the rivals in over a decade came on June 13, 2001, with Portland's Vadim Tolstolutsky scoring in the 90th minute to salvage a tie for the Timbers after neither side scored in extra time.^[12]

In the first playoff series between the two clubs in 24 years, Portland and Vancouver faced off in the first round of the 2002 A-League playoffs. Vancouver won both games 1-0 to advance to the next round.

In 2004, fan-based organizations supporting the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps as well as the Seattle Sounders sponsored the creation of a two-foot-tall silver cup to be awarded annually to the club that finishes with the best record in the season series between the three rivals.^[13]

The Whitecaps dominated the series during the mid-2000s, not losing to the Timbers in league play for over 3 years between May 2004 and July 2007.

The Portland-Vancouver rivalry reached new heights near the end of the 2000s after Portland knocked Vancouver out of the USL playoffs in 2007, only for the Whitecaps to return the favor twice, delivering a death blow to the Timbers' postseason runs in both 2009 and 2010. In the 2009 season, Portland was the top-ranked club in the league but fell to Vancouver in a dramatic two-game series that the Whitecaps won 5-4 on aggregate.

Portland fell behind defending champions Vancouver in the first game of the 2007 USL playoff opening round 1-0. However, on the return leg, the Timbers ran right through the Whitecaps, advancing with a 3-0 win and a 3-1 total goal advantage on aggregate. This was the first time Portland had advanced past the first round of the A-League or USL playoffs, in what was described as "an intense and offensive contest between the Northwest rivals".^[14]

In 2009 and 2010, supporters of the Timbers and Whitecaps decided to continue the Cascadia Cup without the Sounders while playing in the USL, after Seattle moved to Major League Soccer in 2009. Timbers and Whitecaps supporters voted to only included regular season USL-1 matches played between the teams and Portland won the cup for the first time.

Portland and Vancouver faced each other once again in the 2009 USL playoffs, this time in the second round. Portland was the top overall team in the league in 2009, compiling a 16-4-10 W-L-D record, while Vancouver was the lowest-seeded team to make the playoffs. Vancouver won the first game of the two-game playoff series 2-1 at

PGE Park

, and the Timbers never scored again, giving Vancouver the win 5-4 on goal aggregate.

In 2010, the final year of both clubs playing in USL, they met again in the playoffs, this time in the first round with Portland as the 4th seed and Vancouver as the 5th seed. On October 7, 2010, in the first leg of the matchup,

Martin Nash added a 13th minute strike to give the Whitecaps a 2-0 win at Swangard Stadium. Three days later, on the return leg in Portland, James Marcelin

scored for the Timbers in the 49th minute, but Portland was not able to find the equalizer, and Vancouver advanced to the next round with a 2-1 aggregate win, their second straight season eliminating Portland in the playoffs.

MLS era (2011–present)

The Vancouver franchise was granted status on March 18, 2009 by MLS Commissioner Don Garber as the seventeenth franchise of Major League Soccer. The Portland Timbers were announced as the eighteenth franchise two days later, and the two Cascadia clubs joined MLS together for the 2011 MLS season.^[15] The Timbers won the initial MLS game against the Whitecaps, and it would take until 2014 for Vancouver to first win against Portland.

The two clubs met for the first time in the MLS Playoffs in a two game aggregate series in the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals. After the first game tied 0-0 at Portland's

Diego Chara, advancing to the Western Conference Finals.^[16]

The Timbers would later win the 2015 MLS Cup, becoming the first team from Cascadia to do so.

On August 10, 2019, Portland defeated the Whitecaps 3–1, placing them first in Cascadia Cup standings. Goals were scored by Sebastián Blanco, Marvin Loría, and Jeremy Ebobisse.

Due to the

cross-border restrictions imposed by the Canadian government, Vancouver played the entirety of their 2020 home matches against American teams at Portland's Providence Park in a way to easier facilitate travel accommodations.^[17] The first "home" match for Vancouver coincidentally was against the Timbers, who played as the away side in their own park.^[18] Portland won 1-0, scoring an official away goal by Felipe Mora

in the 5th minute.

In 2021, Vancouver continued to play in the United States, but at

Rio Tinto Stadium given the continuing cross-border travel restrictions that continues to prevent Vancouver from playing their home matches in Canada. Vancouver played as the home team against Portland on April 18, 2021 in Rio Tinto Stadium where they won the match 1–0.^[19]

MLS honours

As of December 1, 2023

Portland	Competition	Vancouver
Domestic
1	MLS Cup	—
—	Supporters' Shield	—
—	U.S. Open Cup / Canadian Championship	2
1	Aggregate	2
Continental and Worldwide
—	CONCACAF Champions League	—
—	Leagues Cup	—
—	Campeones Cup	—
0	Aggregate	0
1	Total aggregate	2

Supporter groups

Both clubs have a strong history of supporter groups that connect and promote the rivalry. Portland's supporting group is the Timbers Army while Vancouver's is the Vancouver Southsiders. The two groups, along with the Emerald City Supporters of Seattle, jointly created the Cascadia Cup in 2004.

Members of the supporting groups between the two clubs even jointly celebrated together after Vancouver eliminated Portland from the 2010 USL Playoffs due to the shared move to MLS the next year.^[5]

Results

Home team is listed on the left, away team is listed on the right. Home team's score is listed first.

Timbers win Whitecaps win Draw

League

North American Soccer League (1975–1982)

May 16, 1975 Portland Timbers	Empire Stadium
			Barry Powell Tony Betts	Attendance: 7,815

June 7, 1975 Civic Stadium
	Graham Day Brian Godfrey Barry Powell			Attendance: 11,335

July 3, 1975 Civic Stadium
	Chris Dangerfield Tony Betts			Attendance: 18,278

April 16, 1976 Portland Timbers	Empire Stadium
	Own Goal Gary Thompson		Tony Betts Ike MacKay	Attendance: 11,352

July 18, 1976 Civic Stadium
	Neil Rioch Tony Betts			Attendance: 17,456

April 8, 1977 Portland Timbers	Empire Stadium
	Stewart Scullion			Attendance: 10,519

August 7, 1977 Civic Stadium
				Attendance: 11,094

May 7, 1978 Portland Timbers	Empire Stadium
				Attendance: 13,155

July 21, 1978 Civic Stadium
				Attendance: 23,536

April 21, 1979 Portland Timbers	Empire Stadium
			Clyde Best	Attendance: 23,137

July 28, 1979 Civic Stadium
	Dale Mitchell Dale Mitchell			Attendance: 12,727

July 26, 1980 Civic Stadium
	John Bain Clyde Best Clyde Best			Attendance: 8,877

August 23, 1980 Portland Timbers	Empire Stadium
			Dale Mitchell Clyde Best Clyde Best	Attendance: 32,301

April 18, 1981 Civic Stadium
	Stuart Lee			Attendance: 13,153

May 27, 1981 Portland Timbers	Empire Stadium
				Attendance: 23,541

July 4, 1981 Civic Stadium
	Dale Mitchell William Donachie			Attendance: 17,318

April 24, 1982 Portland Timbers	Empire Stadium
			Ronald Futcher	Attendance: 18,346

May 2, 1982 Civic Stadium
	Ronald Futcher			Attendance: 14,144

May 29, 1982 Portland Timbers	Empire Stadium
				Attendance: 17,721

WSL/WSA (1987–1990)

May 28, 1988 Civic Stadium
	Benedetti 45'	Report	Lowther 77' (pen.) Jaskins 82'

A-League (2001–05)

June 13, 2001 PGE Park
	Tolstolutsky 90'	Report	St. Louis 73' Gbeke 108'	Attendance: 4,077

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

June 29, 2001 PGE Park
		Report	Valente 62'	Attendance: 6,013

July 15, 2001 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
	Heald 56' (pen.) Sulentic 88'	Report		Attendance: 4,062

August 10, 2001 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
	Jordan 13' Morris 69' Kindel 89'	Report	Howes 29'	Attendance: 6,118

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

June 8, 2002 PGE Park
	Afash 10' Howes 57', 60'	Report	Kindel 46'	Attendance: 4,914 Referee: Dean Ajir (USA)

June 9, 2002 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
	Jordan 100'	Report		Attendance: 4,037

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

August 10, 2002 PGE Park
	Tennyson 31', 90' Howes 35'	Report	Jordan 44', 78'	Attendance: 4,860 Referee: Jason Transtrun (USA)

September 1, 2002 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
	Clarke 35', 63' Dailly 37'	Report	Adair 22'	Attendance: 3,712 Referee: Mauricio Navarro (Canada)

May 11, 2003 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
	Jordan 11' Morris 65'	Report	Afash 54'	Attendance: 4,124 Referee: Bruce Primeau (Canada)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

May 29, 2003 PGE Park
	Alvarez 74'	Report		Attendance: 4,817 Referee: Calin Znamirovschi (USA)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

June 12, 2003 PGE Park
	Alvarez 9' Tennyson 95'	Report	Heald 60'	Attendance: 5,471 Referee: Brian Hall (USA)

July 1, 2003 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
19:00 (PDT)	Dailly 90'	Report		Attendance: 3,119 Referee: Arnar Bernhardsson (Canada)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

July 3, 2003 PGE Park
19:00 (PDT)	Alvarez 72', 81', 90'	Report		Attendance: 6,619 Referee: David Simon (USA)

August 17, 2003 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
19:00 (PDT)	Valente 61'	Report	Sagare 47' Benedetti 81'	Attendance: 5,113 Referee: Bruce Primeau (Canada)

May 23, 2004 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
19:00 (PDT)	Xausa 29'	Report	Gordon 34', 65' Alcaraz-Cuellar 41'	Attendance: 4,954 Referee: Jean-François Corrivault (Canada)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

June 12, 2004 PGE Park
19:00 (PDT)		Report	Griffiths 95'	Attendance: 5,093 Referee: Kari Seitz (USA)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

July 2, 2004 PGE Park
19:00 (PDT)		Report	Sulentic 10' Jordan 68'	Attendance: 6,007 Referee: Yader Reyes (USA)

July 16, 2004 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
19:00 (PDT)	Nash 56'	Report		Attendance: 4,492 Referee: Mark Budda (Canada)

USL (2005–10)

June 10, 2005 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
19:00 (PDT)	Nash 40' Klein 90+'	Report	Poltl 78' Miranda 90'+	Attendance: 5,337 (SO) Referee: Steve DePiero (Canada)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

July 2, 2005 PGE Park
19:00 (PDT)	Alvarez 7' Poltl 22'	Report	Jordan 37'	Attendance: 3,944 Referee: Kari Seitz (United States)

July 9, 2005 Portland Timbers	Apple Bowl
19:00 (PDT)	Clarke 34' Klein 36', 82' Gjertsen 39'	Report		Attendance: 2,440 Referee: Dave Gantar (Canada)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

July 14, 2005 PGE Park
19:00 (PDT)	Thompson 31'	Report	Klein 89'	Attendance: 5,523 Referee: Kari Seitz (United States)

April 22, 2006 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
19:00 (PDT)	Gjertsen 17'	Report		Attendance: 5,722 (SO) Referee: Steve DePiero (Canada)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

May 1, 2006 PGE Park
19:00 (PDT)	Bartlomé 21'	Report	Donatelli 53'	Attendance: 5,448 Referee: Colin Arblaster (USA)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

June 10, 2006 PGE Park
19:00 (PDT)		Report		Attendance: 6,298 Referee: Fotis Bazakos (USA)

June 30, 2006 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
19:00 (PDT)	Testo 9', 63' Donatelli 66'	Report		Attendance: 4,540 Referee: Carol Anne Chenard (Canada)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

July 19, 2007 PGE Park
19:00 (PDT)	Gregor 29' Olum 52'	Report	Nash 18'	Attendance: 7,123 Referee: Collin Arblaster (USA)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

August 11, 2007 PGE Park
19:00 (PDT)		Report	Kindel 26'	Attendance: 8,652 Referee: Ian Anderson (USA)

September 9, 2007 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
19:00 (PDT)		Report		Attendance: 5,389 (SO) Referee: Silviu Petrescu (Canada)

Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps

May 24, 2008 PGE Park
19:00 (PDT)		Report	Arze 60'	Attendance: 8,688 Referee: Yader Reyes (USA)

June 7, 2008 Portland Timbers	Swangard Stadium
19:00 (PDT)	Nash 66' Valente 90'	Report	S. Thompson 9'	Attendance: 5,288 (SO) Referee: Jonathan Lavergne (Canada)