Sounders FC is one match away from lifting its second trophy of the 2014 season as it hosts Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Friday with the Cascadia Cup on the line. While the match has major playoff implications for both sides, the opportunity to claim regional dominance is an added bonus.
“We want to win everything we’re in for,” Sounders midfielder Lamar Neagle said. “We definitely want to get the three points when it comes to the Supporters’ Shield, but getting the Cascadia Cup for our fans would be nice.”
Seattle holds a one-point edge over Vancouver in the current Cascadia Cup standings. With a victory or draw on Friday, the Sounders would win the Cascadia Cup for the second time in four seasons at the MLS level.
The Sounders went 2-0-1 against the Portland Timbers this season despite playing two of those three matches at Providence Park. In two prior matches against Vancouver, Sounders FC went 0-1-1 at BC Place. However, Seattle was able to take the lead in the standings thanks in large part to a pair of 3-0 wins by the Timbers over Vancouver.
Seattle has eight points at 2-1-2 while Vancouver has seven points from a 2-2-1 record.
“We have a chance to lock up the Cascadia Cup. That’s the second piece of silverware that we can win this year,” Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid said. “We got the U.S. Open Cup so now we want to get the Cascadia Cup. And if we get that, that keeps us in the lead moving forward on the Supporters’ Shield as well. So that’s our objective for this weekend.”
The Cascadia Cup was started in 2004 when the supporters groups for the Whitecaps, Sounders and Timbers decided to commemorate the longstanding rivalry between the three clubs. During the USL era, the Whitecaps took home the trophy three times and the Sounders won it twice before Seattle left for MLS in 2009. The Timbers won it for the first time in 2009 and were victorious again in 2010, when it was contested by just Portland and Vancouver. Then in the first season with each team at the MLS level, Seattle won it again, defeating the Whitecaps late in the season to clinch the trophy. Portland then won in 2012, and Vancouver holds it now as defending champion from 2013.
“The Cascadia Cup has been a weird animal for us because one year we play four on the road and two at home and the next year we play four at home and two on the road,” Schmid said. “For us to do it in the year that we only play two at home would be a special accomplishment.”
This season, Clint Dempsey leads all scorers in Cascadia Cup play with five goals, while Obafemi Martins and Chad Barrett have each added two goals for the Sounders. Vancouver’s top scorers in the derby clashes have been Pedro Morales and Erik Hurtado with two goals apiece.
Kickoff on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT with national television coverage on NBC Sports Network.
