There is no question that every Cascadia Cup match is an important one. However, when the Portland Timbers square off against the Seattle Sounders on Sunday night (7pm PT, ESPN2, 750 The Game / La Pantera 940), the stakes will be higher than usual.
Five points are all that separate the Timbers, Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS standings. In fact, only nine points separate the top eight teams in the Western Conference, which means nobody can afford to drop points.
Still, the significance of the match runs deeper. Only two points separate the three teams in the Cascadia Cup standings. After Sunday, only three Cascadia Cup matches will remain. Portland is in third place, but is also the only team that hasn’t lost, taking three points from three matches.
It gets better, though. Sunday night’s match is a nationally televised event, with an expected crowd of 67,000+ rumored to be in attendance. That would be near the highest attended MLS match in league history, as well as a top five attendance count for any soccer game played in the United States.
Should the Timbers win, they would find themselves at the top of the Cascadia Cup standings and potentially at the top of the MLS standings depending on league-wide results this weekend.
There are a lot of factors at play that could combine for a very loud, very memorable weekend. Not that Timbers fans needed any more reason to bring it for this match.
<br> |
<br><strong>Team</strong> |
<br><strong>Points</strong> |
<br><strong>Played</strong> |
<br><strong>W</strong> |
<br><strong>L</strong> |
<br><strong>D</strong> |
<br><strong>GF</strong> |
<br><strong>GA</strong> |
<br><strong>GD</strong> |
<img alt="" src="https://portland-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/vancouver_150.png" style="width: 25px; height: 37px;"> |
Whitecaps |
5 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
6 |
1 |
<img alt="" src="https://portland-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/seattle_150.png" style="width: 25px; height: 25px;"> |
Sounders |
4 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
-1 |
<img alt="" src="https://portland-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/PortlandTimbersMLSLogo.png" style="width: 25px; height: 25px;"> |
Timbers |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
Remaining Cascadia Cup Schedule:
- 10/6/13 - Vancouver vs. Portland (BC Place, ROOT SPORTS)
- 10/9/13 - Seattle vs. Vancouver (CenturyLink Field)
- 10/13/13 - Portland vs. Seattle (JELD-WEN Field, ESPN)
Scoring:
- All 9 regular season MLS matches between the three clubs will be included.
- 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw.
- Team with the MOST POINTS after all matches is the winner.
Tiebreakers:
1.) Greater number of points earned in matches between the teams concerned
2.) Greater goal difference in matches between the teams concerned
3.) Greater number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned
4.) Reapply first three criteria if two or more teams are still tied
5.) Greater goal difference in all cup matches
6.) Greater number of goals scored in all cup matches
7.) Smaller number of disciplinary points in all cup matches (yellow = 1 point, red = 2 points)
