VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps finally earned a franchise first win against one Cascadia rival last month with a 2-0 victory at home against the Seattle Sounders.

Going down the I-5 to Portland and netting a win Saturday night at Jeld-Wen Field, where the raucous Timbers Army supporters can make a half-dozen whirring chainsaws sound like little more than elevator mood music, will be quite another challenge.

The Timbers, who salvaged a 2-2 tie at BC Place in May on an 84th-minute goal to remain undefeated (4-0-2) against Vancouver in Major League Soccer play, are 6-1-2 at their cosy home park this season. They thrive with the support of 20,700 bellicose fans who, given the way Jeld-Wen is configured, sit almost on top of the players.

“It’s one of the most ruckus crowds in MLS,” Vancouver goalkeeper Brad Knighton says. “The stadium is right on top of you. You kind of sit in a bowl and the crowd is right there at your back, whereas you go to Seattle and it’s more of an open facility, but with 50,000 (people).

“But this is a more hostile environment ... and we haven’t been successful on the road in Cascadia as of yet. But there’s always a first for everything.

“It’s going to be a high-tempo game, it’s just a matter of us weathering the storm early and getting on the end of chances and finishing the (kind of) chances we didn’t finish (in last Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Philadelphia).”

Like other Caps, Knighton said he relishes playing in front of a hostile crowd. It gets the juices flowing and leads to games with plenty of tempo and emotion.

“Anyone who plays professional sports wants to go to a hostile environment and see how quickly they can silence the crowd,” Knighton said. “The game plan we have this week sets up very well for us to go in there and shock some people.”

And the Caps will have their own travelling cheering section of 750-plus supporters in one of the corners of the field, hoping to create as much noise as they can.

While the Cascadia rivalry and the battle for points toward the supporter-created Cascadia Cup trophy is one thing, the game also has huge implications in the Western Conference, which is tighter than a pair of Lululemon pants.

Just five points separate the first-place team (Real Salt Lake, 11-7-4, 37 points) from sixth-place (FC Dallas, 8-5-8, 32). Portland (8-3-10, 34) is in third place, but tied on points with Colorado (9-7-7, 34).

Depending on how other games go, including RSL in Colorado, Vancouver (9-7-5, 32) could climb into second place by the end of the weekend or drop outside the playoff picture, with just the top five teams advancing to post-season play.

“I’ve never been in a race that’s as tight as this one,” Timbers midfielder Will Johnson told reporters in Portland this week. “It’s all about taking advantage of your opportunities.”

Timbers head coach Caleb Porter says he expects Saturday’s match have plenty of intensity.