For the first time in Major League Soccer history, all three Cascadia teams — the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps — have finished atop the Western Conference. Portland finished first, Seattle second and Vancouver third in what was just the second year all three teams have qualified for the playoffs.
“It’s testament to this part of the country, this part of the world being a soccer hotbed,” said Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “It’s three very ultra-competitive teams in a close geographical area and it makes really super good rivalries.”
The Pacific Northwest’s contributions to the United States and Canada’s soccer scenes have been undeniable, and the region boasts some of the league’s most successful teams. Seattle entered in 2009 and has made the postseason in each of its nine years, while Portland and Vancouver both entered in ’11 and have seven playoff appearances between them.
The Cascadia Cup, the annual trophy awarded to the franchise with the best record among the three clubs, is as prized as any other league trophy. The Timbers won Cascadia Cup this year for the fourth time and first since 2012, a fact about which Schmetzer was not thrilled.
“I saw [Timbers Head Coach] Caleb [Porter] with the Cascadia Cup and that bothered me,” Schmetzer said pithily. “I saw the photos.”
Cascadia has been especially dominant as of late, with the Timbers in 2015 and the Sounders last season the two reigning MLS Cup winners. The Whitecaps finished 2017 with the second-most points in their MLS history and are looking to dethrone Seattle, a team they could potentially face in the Western Conference Semifinals of the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs. If Vancouver defeats the San Jose Earthquakes in the Knockout Round on Wednesday, then the Whitecaps and Sounders would square off for the first time in the MLS postseason.
“I’m sure the league wants it,” Schmetzer said of the potential Cascadia playoff matches. “Caleb’s done a great job, [Whitecaps Head Coach] Carl [Robinson]’s done a great job…The scenarios are pretty tempting to the league I’m sure.”
