Cascadia Cup

Cascadia Cup

The Cascadia Cup logo, designed by James Bullen
Locale Pacific Northwest
Teams Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders FC (2004–2008, 2011–present), Vancouver Whitecaps FC
First meeting 2004
Latest meeting Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2016)
Statistics
Most wins Vancouver Whitecaps FC (6 titles)

The Cascadia Cup is the name of the trophy created in 2004 by supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps, which is awarded each season to the best soccer team in the Pacific Northwest.[1] The Timbers, Sounders, and Whitecaps have roots dating to the days of the original North American Soccer League.[2] It was first contested in 2004, and was claimed by the Whitecaps. In 2011 the competition continued with the now Major League Soccer (MLS) sides Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[3]

History

In 2004, fan-based organizations supporting the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps sponsored the creation of a 2-foot-tall silver cup to be awarded annually to the club that finishes with the best record in the season series between the three rivals.[4] From 2004 to 2006, the Cascadia Cup competition included all scheduled regular season A-League and later USL-1 matches played between the Sounders, Timbers, and Whitecaps.[5][6][7]

In 2007, the Virginia Beach Mariners folded just before the season started, leaving the USL 1st Division to scramble to fix the season schedule. The result was an unbalanced schedule, and as such it was decided to adjust the Cascadia Cup format for that season. Fans of all three Cascadian teams agreed to make only the last home and last away matches between constituent clubs count toward the Cup.[8]

In 2008 the clubs reverted to playing each other an equal three times each. The Cascadia Cup competition once again included all scheduled regular season USL-1 matches played between the three rivals.[9]

The Seattle Sounders of the USL-1 were made defunct in 2009 due to the introduction of the MLS expansion franchise of the same name. In 2009, it was announced that expansion teams would be allotted to Vancouver and Portland. Both teams were named after their predecessors, ensuring the continuation of the rivalry.[10] Supporters of the Timbers and Whitecaps decided to continue the Cascadia Cup without the Sounders for two years while playing in the USL. In 2009, supporters of the Timbers and Whitecaps only included regular season USL-1 matches played between the teams and Portland won the cup for the first time.[1] Some Sounders supporters wished to include a preseason victory over Vancouver and a US Open Cup match win at Portland for consideration in the cup standings while others believed that the Cascadia Cup competition should be suspended until 2011. Portland won the Cup for a second consecutive year in 2010.[11]

The 2011 MLS season marked the first season since 2008 in which all three teams would be in the same league. Seattle claimed their third title by going undefeated in Cascadia Cup play – coming from behind to win both of their road games in Portland and Vancouver while earning draws at home.[12]

For the 2012 MLS season the league changed to an unbalanced schedule. As a result, each team will play the other two Cascadia club three times each. Portland had four games at home while Vancouver and Seattle had three and two, respectively. It was decided by the supporters groups to count all matches equally.[13] Portland won the cup in Vancouver on October 21, 2012, with their only away win of their 2012 season. It was the Timbers' third time hoisting the cup, and the first with the Sounders in the competition.[14]

Trademark dispute

In December 2012, MLS filed a trademark claim for rights to the name "Cascadia Cup".[15] This caused an immediate reaction from the three main supporters groups that had created the original competition and prompted them to form a legal entity called the Cascadia Cup Council,[16] whose sole purpose was to obtain and retain the legal rights to the name "Cascadia Cup". Releases by MLS indicate that their trademark plan was an altruistic attempt to protect the Cascadia Cup from abuse by third parties,[17] a claim that was disputed by the contest-organizing fan groups. Those same groups later had discussions with MLS leadership in an attempt to resolve the issue, and in July 2013 both MLS and the supporters groups announced an agreement that the Council would own the trademark and no monetization would occur without the agreement of all parties.

Scoring

The winner each year is decided by these criteria, in order:[18]

Previous seasons

Team Total Wins MLS era
Vancouver 6 3
Seattle 4 2
Portland 3 1

Year by Year Results:

2004
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Vancouver Whitecaps 13 8 4 3 1 7 6 +1
Portland Timbers 12 8 4 4 0 10 11 −1
Seattle Sounders 10 8 3 4 1 9 9 0
2005
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Vancouver Whitecaps 12 8 2 0 6 10 5 +5
Portland Timbers 9 8 2 3 3 10 15 −5
Seattle Sounders 8 8 1 2 5 7 7 0
2006
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Seattle Sounders 14 8 4 2 2 13 10 +3
Vancouver Whitecaps 12 8 3 2 3 10 8 +2
Portland Timbers 6 8 1 4 3 6 11 −5
2007
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Seattle Sounders 8 4 2 0 2 7 4 +3
Vancouver Whitecaps 3 4 0 1 3 2 3 −1
Portland Timbers 3 4 0 1 3 2 4 −2
2008
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Vancouver Whitecaps 13 6 4 1 1 9 6 +3
Seattle Sounders 8 6 2 2 2 5 5 0
Portland Timbers 4 6 1 4 1 4 7 −3
2009
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Portland Timbers 6 3 2 1 0 3 1 +2
Vancouver Whitecaps 3 3 1 2 0 1 3 −2
2010
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Portland Timbers 8 4 2 0 2 6 4 +2
Vancouver Whitecaps 2 4 0 2 2 4 6 −2

Major League Soccer

2011
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Seattle Sounders FC 8 4 2 0 2 9 6 +3
Portland Timbers 7 4 2 1 1 6 5 +1
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1 4 0 3 1 4 8 −4
Bringing the Cascadia Cup Home
2012
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Portland Timbers 11 6 3 1 2 7 7 0
Seattle Sounders FC 9 6 2 1 3 9 5 +4
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3 6 0 3 3 4 8 −4
Cascadia Cup at CenturyLink Field
2013
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 9 6 2 1 3 13 9 +4
Portland Timbers 7 6 1 1 4 7 7 0
Seattle Sounders FC 7 6 2 3 1 6 10 −4
2014
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 10 6 3 2 1 8 11 −3
Seattle Sounders FC 8 6 2 2 2 12 10 +2
Portland Timbers 7 6 2 3 1 15 14 +1
2015
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Seattle Sounders FC 12 6 4 2 0 9 8 +1
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 8 6 2 2 2 6 7 −1
Portland Timbers 5 6 1 3 2 7 7 0
2016
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 9 6 3 3 0 11 10 +1
Portland Timbers 9 6 3 3 0 14 14 0
Seattle Sounders FC 9 6 3 3 0 10 11 -1

2016

As in 2014 and 2015, the 2016 Major League Soccer season contains nine Cascadia Cup matches: each team will play both others three times in an unbalanced schedule. Each team will host three of their six Cascadia Cup matches at home. The Portland–Seattle series will have two matches in Portland and one in Seattle; the Portland–Vancouver series will have two matches in Vancouver and one in Portland; and the Seattle–Vancouver series will have two matches in Seattle and one in Vancouver.

2016 results summary
Team Pts Pld W L D GF GA GD
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 9 6 3 3 0 11 10 +1
Portland Timbers 9 6 3 3 0 14 14 0
Seattle Sounders FC 9 6 3 3 0 10 11 -1

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cascadia Cup.

References

  1. 1 2 Walker, Ian (September 30, 2009). "Vancouver Whitecaps underdog against Portland". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on October 6, 2009.
  2. Dreier, Fred (March 14, 2011). "North by Northwest". Sports Business. Sports Business Daily. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  3. Wahl, Grant (May 23, 2011). "A Pacific Passion Play: Big-time clubs left Portland, Seattle and Vancouver 30 years ago, but their fans never did. Now the teams are back in MLS, and their reborn rivalries are turning the region into a hotbed of the sport". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  4. "Soccer fans creating Cascadia Cup". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. March 31, 2004. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
  5. "2004 Cascadia Cup Results". Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  6. "2005 Cascadia Cup Soccer". Home.comcast.net. Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  7. "2006 Cascadia Cup Champions". Home.comcast.net. Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  8. "2007Cascadiacup". Home.comcast.net. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  9. "2008 Cascadia Cup Champions". Home.comcast.net. Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  10. "MLSsoccer.com". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  11. Kesgard, Kip (July 24, 2010). "Portland Timbers – 2010 Cascadia Cup Champions". OregonLive.com. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  12. Winner, Andrew (September 25, 2011). "Special night in Vancouver as Seattle win Cascadia Cup". Major League Soccer. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
  13. Oshan, Jeremiah (January 24, 2012). "2012 Cascadia Cup Format: All Games Will Count Equally". Sounder at Heart. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  14. Arnold, Geoffrey C. (October 21, 2012). "Portland Timbers defeat Whitecaps to win Cascadia Cup". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  15. "Canadian trade-mark data: 1607055 – Canadian trade-marks database – Intellectual property and copyright – Canadian Intellectual Property Office – Industry Canada". Cipo.ic.gc.ca. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  16. "Supporters Groups Issue Statement on Trademarking of Cascadia Cup". ProstAmerika. January 10, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  17. Nick Firchau (January 17, 2013). "MLS has work to do on Cascadia trademark tussle".
  18. "Cascadia Cup". Retrieved September 17, 2012.
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