PORTLAND, Ore.
– U.S. Soccer announced today that the Portland Timbers could play host to Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer at PGE Park on June 30 as one of the possible third-round pairings for the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The result from the Timbers’ second-round matchup against the Sonoma County Sol of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association on June 16 at Santa Rosa High School in Santa Rosa, Calif., will determine if Portland gets the opportunity to host Seattle in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup tournament. Kickoff for the Timbers’ second-round match is set for 7 p.m.
The possible third-round meeting between the Timbers and Sounders FC would mark the first official match between the two sides since Seattle joined MLS in 2009. The Timbers’ rivalry with Seattle dates back to 1975, when the two were a part of the North American Soccer League. As members of the USL First Division, Portland and Seattle battled through nearly 30 regular-season matches over eight seasons as well as multiple playoff and U.S. Open Cup contests.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which is recognized as U.S. Soccer’s National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion for 95 consecutive years dating back to 1914. The winner will have the team’s name engraved on the historic Dewar Challenge Trophy, the oldest trophy in American team sports, which is housed in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y.
