After taking home the Cascadia Cup in 2017, the Portland Timbers now know what they will need to do in order to keep the trophy. The supporter run Cascadia Cup Council released the rules for the 2018 Cascadia Cup this morning, adjusting the competition for the ongoing expansion of Major League Soccer.

Thanks to the addition of Los Angeles FC to the Western Conference, the Timbers and Seattle Sounders face each other three times this season, while both sides only face the Vancouver Whitecaps twice. This year’s Cascadia Cup will account for the imbalance by eliminating one of the matches between the Timbers and Sounders from the competition.

The Timbers’ first rivalry match of the season, when they host the Sounders on May 13th, will not count toward the competition. Instead, the Cascadia Cup will kick off when the Timbers travel to Seattle to take on the Sounders on June 30th. The Timbers will then host the Whitecaps on August 11th and the Sounders on August 26th, before closing out the competition on the last day of the season, October 28th, when they travel to Vancouver.

Since its establishment in 2004, the Timbers have won the Cup four times; in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2017. The Sounders have also won the cup four times, while the Whitecaps have won it six times.

So far the Timbers and Sounders are both 0-2-0 in league play, while the Whitecaps are 2-1-0. The three sides finished in the top three spots, respectively, in the West least season.

To find out more about the Cascadia Cup head to the Cascadia Cup website.

The Cascadia Cup Council press release:

Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; Vancouver, B.C. — The representatives of the Cascadia Cup Council in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver have jointly agreed that the results of the following regular season matches will count toward awarding of the Cascadia Cup in 2018:

Saturday, June 30th, Sounders v Timbers

Saturday, July 21st, Sounders v Whitecaps

Saturday, August 11th, Timbers v Whitecaps

Sunday, August 26th, Timbers v Sounders

Saturday, September 15th, Whitecaps v Sounders

Sunday, October 28th, Whitecaps v Timbers

As in past years, the Cascadia Cup rules and tiebreakers for these six matches are as follows:

3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw

The team with the most points after all six Cascadia Cup matches is the winner

Tiebreakers are, in order:

Greater number of points earned in matches between the teams concerned Greater goal difference in matches between the teams concerned Greater number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned Re-apply first three criteria if two or more teams are still tied Greater goal difference in all cup matches Greater number of goals scored in all cup matches Smaller number of disciplinary points in all cup matches (yellow = 1 point, red = 2 points)

The result of the Sunday, May 13th match between the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders will not be considered toward awarding the Cascadia Cup.

The Cascadia Cup Council regrets that Major League Soccer made this decision necessary by scheduling an unbalanced number of matches among the three teams. Supporters of all three Cascadia Cup teams prefer a balanced schedule going forward, meaning that making such determinations would not be required.

About the Cascadia Cup Council: The Cascadia Cup Council is a recognized not-for-profit entrusted with the management of the Cascadia Cup. The Council is made up of one representative from each of the three founding Cascadia Cup supporters groups.

The current Cascadia Cup Council representatives are: