Cascadia Cup: Sounders FC Visits Portland Timbers on Saturday

The 2014 Cascadia Cup begins on Saturday as Seattle Sounders FC visits the rival Portland Timbers for a nationally televised road contest. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. PT from Providence Park in Portland, Ore.

Saturday’s match will be nationally televised on NBC Sports Network with John Strong and Kyle Martino calling the action. Ross Fletcher and Kasey Keller can be heard on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, and Spanish radio is available on ESPN Deportes 1490 AM with Rene Aleman and Noe Menendez.

www.goalWA.net Cascadia Cup historical photos by Jenni Conner.

Sounders FC (2-2-0, 6 points) sits fourth in the Western Conference standings and ranks eighth in MLS with an average of 1.5 points per game. Despite newcomer Kenny Cooper scoring his first club goal, Seattle suffered a dramatic late defeat to the Columbus Crew last Saturday, falling 2-1 on a stoppage time game-winner.

Forward Obafemi Martins holds the second-longest streak in MLS with a goal (1) or assist (2) in his past three games, and Clint Dempsey and Cooper have both scored (1) or assisted (1) in their past two games. Sounders FC has scored in the first four games of the season for the first time in club history, with all five goals scored by different players.

Sounders FC will now kick off the month of April with three-straight road games, looking to extend its April unbeaten streak to 11 games after going 6-0-4 over the past three seasons. In its first road contest of the season, Seattle downed the Montreal Impact, 2-0, on March 23.

Saturday will mark Seattle’s first game of the season against a Western Conference opponent and will be the team’s first of six Cascadia Cup games. The Vancouver Whitecaps FC currently hold the Cup after Seattle (2011) and Portland (2012) won the Cup the first two years it was contested in MLS. Sounders FC will play the most road matches (4) in the regional competition this season.

The Portland Timbers (0-2-2, 2 points) are still searching for the first win of the season, marking the slowest start in club history. The Timbers have suffered two-straight losses after starting the season with consecutive home draws. Portland’s 11-1-5 home record in 2013 was the best in MLS and the club has not lost at home since March 9, 2013.

Sounders FC and the Timbers have met 10 times in MLS play, including the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs. The Seattle-Portland soccer rivalry dates back over four decades to 1975, with the Sounders holding the all-time advantage at 42-31-11.

Following Saturday’s match, Sounders FC will continue its three-game road stretch with a visit to FC Dallas on April 12 and a trip to Chivas USA on April 19. Seattle will return home to conclude the month with a match against the Colorado Rapids on April 26.

Tickets for Sounders FC home matches, including the Tottenham Hotspur friendly, are available now at www.SoundersFC.com and 1-877-MLS-GOAL. The 6-Match ticket package is also available now with expanded seating to include the upper bowl at CenturyLink Field.

Competition Schedule (All times Pacific; subject to change)

April 5, 12 p.m. – Sounders FC at Portland Timbers, Providence Park

April 12, 5:30 p.m. – Sounders FC at FC Dallas, Toyota Stadium

April 19, 7:30 p.m. – Sounders FC at Chivas USA, StubHub Center

April 26, 1 p.m. – Sounders FC vs. Colorado Rapids, CenturyLink Field

Start to Season Six

Sounders FC has earned six points through the first four games of the 2014 season, marking the fourth-best start in club history. Seattle earned seven points through the first four games in 2010 and 2012, and the top mark was set in 2009 when the club won its first three matches. In 2011 – Seattle’s best-ever regular season – the team started slow with just two points through the first four matches, and didn’t earn its first win until the fifth game of the season. If Seattle takes all three points at Portland on Saturday, it will be the second-best start in club history, one point shy of the 2012 start.

Club Record through Opening Four Games

Year Record Points Result in 5th Game

2009 3-1-0 9 pts. L, 0-2

2012 2-1-1 7 pts. W, 1-0

2010 2-1-1 7 pts. D, 2-2

2014 2-2-0 6 pts. N/A

2011 0-2-2 2 pts. W, 2-1

2013 0-3-1 1 pt. D, 0-0

April Answers

Sounders FC will play three of four April matches on the road, and will face four opponents from the West. The month begins at Portlandon Saturday, marking Seattle’s first Cascadia Cup match and Western Conference game of the season. The schedule continues with trips to FC Dallas (April 12) and Chivas USA (April 19), and concludes with the lone home match against Colorado on April 26.

Sounders FC is unbeaten (6-0-4) in April over the past three seasons and has posted an all-time April record of 9-4-6. The last April loss was April 25, 2010, at Toronto FC. Kenny Cooper is second amongst active players with 17 career goals in April, trailing Landon Donovan by four tallies. Seattle’s Chad Barrett (T-11th with 8 goals), Marco Pappa (T-13th with 7 goals) and Clint Dempsey (T-19th with 6 goals) all rank in the top 20 for active goal scoring leaders in the month of April.

On the Road

Sounders FC began its 2014 road campaign with a 2-0 win against the Montreal Impact on March 23 and will look to continue its winning ways with three-straight road games this month. Seattle has historically been one of the top road teams in MLS, earning the second-most road points (30-28-14, 114 points) since 2009 (LA Galaxy, 117 points).

Osvaldo Alonso has played the most career road games (68) for Sounders FC, logging 5,757 minutes. Kenny Cooper has scored 30 career road goals (the most among active Sounders FC players). Head Coach Sigi Schmid holds a .464 winning percentage on the road, and his 71 road wins are the most in league history.

In a Rhythm

Sounders FC is in a rhythm of playing games every Saturday. Nine of the team’s opening 10 games of the season are scheduled on Saturdays, with the lone non-Saturday game falling on Sunday after the match at Montreal was postponed. The next non-Saturday game is scheduled for Sunday, May 11, at New England. Overall, 23 of the team’s 34 regular-season games in 2014 will be played on Saturday.

Forwards Continue to Contribute

When Kenny Cooper scored his first goal for Sounders FC last Saturday against the Columbus Crew, it marked the fourth goal of the season by a Seattle forward. The forward group has also contributed four assists, totaling 12 of the team’s 16 points. Forward Obafemi Martins leads the team with two assists and has recorded a goal or assist in three-straight games, tied for the second-longest streak in MLS. Clint Dempsey has recorded a goal and assist from a withdrawn forward position and Gonzalo Pineda has served one assist from a midfield role. Cooper and Dempsey have each recorded a point in their past two starts.

Over Seattle’s six seasons in MLS, just over 53-percent of the team’s 222 all-time goals have been scored by forwards, with the highest output in 2012 when the forwards scored 33 of the 48 goals.

All-Time Goals by Position in MLS

Year FWD MID DEF Tot.

2009 21 13 4 38

201 17 18 3 38

201 18 33 3 54

2012 33 13 2 48

2013 25 12 2 39

2014 4 1 0 4

Totals: 118 90 14 222

*Own goals not included

2014 Cascadia Cup

Saturday’s match at Portland will kick off the 2014 Cascadia Cup – a regional competition that was founded in 2004 by the largest supporters groups of the three Pacific Northwest clubs: the Emerald City Supporters, Timbers Army and Vancouver Southsiders. Seattle will play four of its six Cascadia Cup matches on the road, including the first three contests. The first rivalry match at home is set for July 13 against the Portland Timbers, and the competition will conclude on October 10 when Sounders FC hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

The Whitecaps FC currently hold the Cascadia Cup after winning it for the first time in the MLS era last season. Sounders FC won the Cup in its first year in MLS (2011), and the Timbers won the 2012 edition. All three teams will look to become the first repeat winners of the MLS era this season. Overall. Seattle has won the Cascadia Cup three times, including the USL era (2006, 2007 and 2011).

2014 Cascadia Cup Schedule

Date Teams Location

April 5 Sounders FC at Portland Timbers Providence Park, Portland

May 24 Sounders FC at Vancouver Whitecaps FC BC Place, Vancouver

June 1 Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC Providence Park, Portland

July 5 Sounders FC at Vancouver Whitecaps FC BC Place, Vancouver

July 13 Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers CenturyLink Field, Seattle

August 24 Sounders FC at Portland Timbers Providence Park, Portland

August 30 Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Portland Timbers BC Place, Vancouver

September 20 Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC Providence Park, Portland

October 10 Sounders FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC CenturyLink Field, Seattle

Cascadia Cup Notes

All nine regular season MLS matches between the three clubs will be included. The team with the most points after all matches is the winner.

Tiebreaking Procedures:

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)

All-Time Record against Portland

The rivalry between Seattle and Portland soccer teams dates back nearly four decades when the Sounders and Timbers first met in the NASL in 1975. The sides went on to battle each other in the WSL, USL and U.S. Open Cup before reuniting in Major League Soccer in 2011. Seattle holds the all-time series lead with 42 wins, 31 losses and 11 draws in 84 all-time matches.

All-Time Series Record

Year: Competition – Record

1975-82: NASL – Sounders 13 wins; Timbers 8 wins

1985-90: WSL – FC Seattle 5 wins; FC Portland/Timbers 6 wins; 2 draws

2001-08: USL-1 – Sounders 20 wins; Timbers 13 wins; 5 draws

2009-10: U.S. Open Cup – Sounders FC 1 win; Timbers 0 wins; 1 draw

2011-12: MLS – Sounders FC 3 wins; Timbers 4 wins; 3 draws

Totals: 84 matches played; Seattle 42 wins; Portland 31 wins; 11 draws

Series Notes

Sounders FC holds the advantage in MLS regular-season play at 3-2-3, outscoring Portland 11-8. The two rivals also met in the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs with the Timbers winning twice to oust Seattle from the Western Conference Semifinals. Sounders FC is 1-3-1 at Providence Park (including playoffs), earning its lone win in its first visit on July 10, 2011. In the last meeting in Portland on November 7, 2013, Sounders FC scored twice but lost, 3-2, falling 5-3 in the two-leg, aggregate-goal series. The teams also met in the 2014 preseason in Tucson, Ariz., battling to a scoreless draw on February 8.

* Seattle has scored eight of its 11 all-time goals against Portland in the first half.

* Portland has scored three times in the final 15 minutes, with five of its eight all-time goals scored in the final half hour.

* In its last regular-season visit to Portland, Sounders FC was held scoreless for the first time in the series. Seattle has scored in nine of the 10 all-time meetings, including playoffs.

* Seattle’s 1-0 home win on August 25, 2013, was played in front of 67,385 – the largest-ever for a soccer game in Seattle and second-largest attendance in MLS history for a standalone match.

* Seattle twice knocked Portland out of the U.S. Open Cup Third Round: 2-1 at PGE Park on July 1, 2009, and 4-3 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw at PGE Park on June 30, 2010.

About Portland

The Portland Timbers are off to their slowest start in MLS history, securing two points through the opening four games. A year ago, the Timbers recorded three draws and a loss in their first four games, then won twice in a row and did not lose again until June. Portland started the 2014 campaign with home draws against Philadelphia and Chicago, and has lost the past two matches on the road to Colorado and Dallas. The Timbers have scored three times (including one own goal received) this season with no assists and have allowed six goals, including three following penalty attempts.

Timbers Notables

The Timbers attack is led by 2013 MLS Newcomer of the Year Diego Valeri, who totaled 10 goals and 13 assists last season. He has started all four games this season and is still searching for his first points. Valeri is joined by a trio of forwards in Argentine strikers Maximiliano Urruti and Gaston Fernandez, and Darlington Nagbe. In his first year in MLS, Fernandez has scored twice in his first four games. Nagbe hopes to recapture the success of his 2013 season when he recorded career highs with nine goals and four assists. The midfield group also features Will Johnson and Diego Chara, and Argentine newcomer Norberto Paparatto has started three games on the backline.

Familiar Face in Goal

With Portland’s staring goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts serving a two-game suspension, former Sounders FC netminder Andrew Weber has assumed the starting spot. Weber replaced Ricketts in the 72nd minute at Colorado (3/22/14), allowing one penalty goal while saving a second, which was converted on the rebound. Weber played the full 90 minutes last Saturday at FC Dallas, allowing two goals, including the 84-minute game-winner. Over 108 minutes of action this season, Weber has allowed four goals for a 3.33 goals against average, making four saves.

Weber played six games for Sounders FC during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, allowing seven goals in 450 minutes of action. In his seven-year MLS career, Weber has made eight starts in 10 appearances, allowing 14 goals for a 1.71 goals against average. He holds a record of 2-4-3 and is searching for his first career shutout.

Player Availability this Saturday

Both Seattle and Portland will have changes to their player availability for Saturday’s rivalry game. Sounders FC will be without defender Djimi Traore, who will serve a one-game suspension following his red card ejection last Saturday against Columbus. In the midfield, U.S. National Team captain Clint Dempsey will be eligible for selection after serving a two-game suspension and Brad Evans may be available after missing the past two games with a calf contusion.

For Portland, goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts will serve the second of a two-game suspension and defender Michael Harrington will miss the match after receiving a red card last Saturday against FC Dallas. Forward Darlington Nagbe left Saturday’s match at halftime with an injury and midfielder Steve Zakuani missed the match due to injury. Rodney Wallace remains out while recovering from ACL surgery.

SEA-POR Connections

Kenny Cooper played the 2011 season with the Portland Timbers, scoring eight goals with two assists in 34 matches. DeAndre Yedlin (2011-12) played for Timbers Head Coach Caleb Porter at Akron. Portland’s Darlington Nagbe (2008-10), Michael Nanchoff (2007-10), Steve Zakuani (2007-08) and Ben Zemanski (2006-09) attended Akron as well. Zakuani spent the previous five seasons with Sounders FC after he was selected with the top overall pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. Zakuani scored 17 goals with 14 assists in 80 career appearances for Seattle. Portland selected former University of Washington defender Taylor Peay with the 26th overall pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.

Portland’s Providence Park

Despite draws in the opening two home games of the 2014 season, the Timbers have been one of the top home teams in MLS over the past three seasons. Portland has posted an all-time home record of 27-10-16, outscoring opponents 85-56. The Timbers were the top home team in MLS in 2013 with a record of 11-1-5. With a 51-game sellout streak, Portland averaged a crowd of 20,674 last season (third in MLS).

Dempsey and Yedlin with National Team

Clint Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin have joined the U.S. National Team to prepare for Wednesday’s friendly against Mexico at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. PT on ESPN, WatchESPN, UniMas and ESPN Deportes Radio Network.

Dempsey has 102 caps (T-10th) and ranks second all-time with 36 goals. He played 90 minutes in a 2-0 loss at Ukraine on March 5 and returned to Seattle to record the game-winning assist in the regular-season opener against Sporting Kansas City on March 8. Yedlin participated in the team’s January camp and earned his first cap in the friendly against Korea on February 1, playing the final 17 minutes as a second-half substitute. Yedlin also participated in the 2013 U.S. U-20 World Cup and started all three matches of the tournament. Midfielder Brad Evans was replaced by Tony Beltran on the roster due to injury.

Both players will return to Sounders FC ahead of Saturday’s Cascadia Cup match at Portland.

Academy Update: Big Wins Vault Both Teams to First Place

The Sounders FC U-18 Academy team jumped to the top of the Northwest Division standings with two wins over the weekend. The U-18s beat De Anza Force on Saturday, 1-0, on a 90th-minute game-winner from Duncan McCormick. On Sunday, The U-18s downed the Santa Cruz Breakers, 8-2, including four goals from Satoshi Chaffin. With six games remaining, the U-18s have clinched a playoffs berth, leading the Northwest Division by five points.

The Sounders FC U-16 Academy team also sit in first place in the Northwest Division following a scoreless draw against De Anza Forceon Saturday and a 3-0 win against the Santa Cruz Breakers on Sunday. The U-16s are tied atop the standings with the San Jose Earthquakes with 43 points and have also clinched a spot in the postseason.

The Sounders FC Academy teams return to action on April 26 with a visit to the San Jose Earthquakes.

Sounders Reserves Play next Sunday

The Sounders FC Reserve team will take on Oregon State University next Sunday at Starfire Sports (field #12). The team has played two collegiate teams this season, falling to the University of Washington, 4-3, and downing the University of Portland, 5-0, last Sunday. Recent signee Kevin Parsemain scored twice against Portland and Cam Weaver netted a goal in his second-straight game for the reserves. The first MLS opponent for the Sounders FC Reserve team is Chivas USA on April 20.

Anniversary: Supporters Name Club

On April 7, 2008, nearly 15,000 fans registered their vote during a four-day election for the name of Seattle’s MLS team. Approximately 50-percent of the votes submitted included a write-in name, 80-percent of which included a derivative of the name Sounders. The name Sounders has been identified with soccer in the Seattle community since 1974. On the same day, the club revealed its color and badge.

Throw-ins

Sounders FC will wear its Pitch Black third kit on Saturday. The Timbers will wear green tops with white shorts…The referee forSaturday’s match is Hilario Grajeda with assistants Kermit Quisenberry and Paul Scott, and fourth official Younes Marrakchi…On April 4, 2009, Sounders FC became the first expansion team to start 3-0-0 after winning its inaugural road match, 2-0 at Toronto FC.



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