The Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders are set to renew their rivalry on Sunday, meeting for the first time in the 2016 Major League Soccer season. While the rivalry dates back over 41 years, the teams have only been meeting in MLS competition since 2011, when Portland joined the league, two years after Seattle made the leap.
2016 has been a disappointing season thus far for both of the Cascadia rivals, with both teams currently below the playoff red line in the Western Conference. But even with one side or the other struggling, Seattle and Portland always entertain, providing some of the most memorable matches and stadium atmospheres in all of MLS year-in-and-year-out.
So, in honor of the fifth anniversary of Portland and Seattle’s first MLS meeting, let’s take a look back at the five most memorable meetings (all competitions) between the rivals since Portland made the jump to MLS in 2011:
July 10, 2011 (Portland 2 – Seattle 3): The Timbers Army kicked off the first MLS meeting between the clubs in style, with the now-legendary “King of Clubs” tifo adorning the north end before kickoff. The sold-out crowd was raucous, and Seattle quickly realized just how hostile an environment Providence Park would be as the expansion Timbers held multiple leads at 1-0 and 2-1. But Seattle would respond with two goals after the 70th minute to take all three points in their first MLS visit to the Rose City.
November 7, 2013 (Portland 3 – Seattle 2): In Clint Dempsey’s first season back in MLS, Portland and Seattle had their only MLS playoff meeting to date. Portland won the first leg in Seattle, 2-1, for their first-ever road victory over Seattle since joining MLS, but the second leg back in Portland was among the most electric atmospheres Providence Park has ever seen. A nervous and tense crowd was finally calmed in the 29th minute when Will Johnson scored on a penalty, putting the home team up 3-1 on aggregate. Portland would go on to take a 3-0 lead before Seattle scored twice in a five-minute to set up a dramatic finish, but Portland would hold on and advance to their first-ever Western Conference Finals. Also, the play-by-play of this match was done by none other than Arlo White, who would go on to become the lead voice of the Premier League for the United States audience.
April 5, 2014 (Portland 4 – Seattle 4): In what was the highest-scoring meeting ever between the clubs, Portland and Seattle combined for eight goals and split the points in a wild game at Providence Park. Birthday boy Diego Chara scored his first goal in 2 ½ years, then added a second for good measure for Portland, but Clint Dempsey scored twice in the final five minutes to earn Seattle the draw.
June 16, 2015 (Portland 3 – Seattle 1, extra time): In what Sounders fans have come to call the “Red Wedding,” Portland and Seattle met in the Fourth Round of the US Open Cup at the Starfire Sports Complex in nearby Tukwila. While the game itself was not particularly memorable, the impact it had on Seattle’s promising 2015 campaign cannot be overstated. First, talisman striker Obafemi Martins left with a hamstring injury that would keep him out for the next two months. Then, after a second red card was issued, Dempsey ripped up the referee’s notebook earning himself a red card of his own, and a subsequent six-game suspension that carried over to the MLS season. Before the game, Seattle had the best record in the league and were favorites to win a second consecutive Supporter’s Shield (best record in the MLS regular season); after the game, Seattle would lose eight of their next nine, eventually squeaking into the playoffs before falling to FC Dallas. Portland, meanwhile, would go on to win the club’s, and Cascadia’s, first-ever MLS Championship.
June 28, 2015 (Portland 4 – Seattle 1): Seattle, dealing with the aftermath of the disastrous U.S. Open Cup game less than two weeks prior, came to Portland battered and missing a number of top players. The Timbers showed no mercy to their weary visitors, scoring four goals and equaling their largest-ever win over their rivals to the north while breaking a streak of three consecutive MLS regular season losses. Some of Portland’s most indelible images of the 2015 campaign came from this game, including the wonderful “Timbers Wonderland” tifo and Fanendo Adi celebrating his second goal of the game by grabbing Timber Joey’s chainsaw right in front of a euphoric Timbers Army. On the Seattle side, this game, along with the Open Cup game two weeks prior led many supporters to believe the “Olympic White” uniforms were cursed, and even today, fans will still grumble when it is announced the team will be wearing them.
It is always special when the Portland Timbers and the Seattle Sounders take the field together. It is near-unanimously considered the top rivalry in all of MLS, despite both clubs having been in the league less than a decade. The boisterous atmospheres at both stadiums, the large and passionate supporter’s groups on both sides, and the heated matches on the field make it a showcase event for the league whenever the two clubs share the field. In the five short years since Portland came to the league, both clubs have established themselves as among the most prestigious in all of MLS, and their rivalry should only grow as American soccer grows in popularity and world stature.
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