It has been four decades of rivalry, passion and most importantly, bonfires. Now, the Cascadian battle that began in 1974 is entering a new era of competition, right here at Starfire Stadium.
Over the next two weekends, S2 will face two other new USL sides in Whitecaps FC 2 and Timbers 2, kicking off the first of eight Cascadia matches during the 2015 campaign. However, this certainly isn’t the first time the Sounders have taken on their Cascadian rivals in the USL.
Before joining MLS, Sounders FC faced the Whitecaps for the first time in the NASL in 1974, and the Timbers joined the league a year later. The three teams battled each other into the early ‘80s before the league folded. The rivalry lived on, although in a smaller scope, as the cities battled in the now defunct Western Soccer Alliance, WSL and in friendlies until 1990.
The rivalry continued when Seattle joined Vancouver in the USL in 1994, then grew and intensified when Portland joined the league in 2001. The Cascadia Cup was birthed in 2004 as an awarded to the team who finished regular season play with the most points taken from its Cascadia opponents.
<strong>Opponent</strong> |
<strong>Years</strong> |
<strong>Record</strong> |
Vancouver |
1994-2008 |
43-25-16 |
Portland |
2001-2008 |
20-13-5 |
Now the rivalry continues with all three teams starting a USL franchise for the second time, but with a different tone. Now, players aren’t just fighting for the pride of their region, but for a chance to play at the MLS level. Rivalry games provide the perfect opportunity to see what players are made of in crucial moments when more is on the line.
“Vancouver beat us a couple weeks ago [in a preseason friendly] and we expect them to come in here and try to do it again, but this is our fortress and we need to protect it,” said S2 Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson. “Being our Cascadia rival, it makes it even more important.”
Fans weathered the rain and wind at Starfire on March 15 when Whitecaps FC 2 came to town in what ended up being a fierce preseason scrimmage. An inch of rain accumulated on the pitch before the first kick, as players tugged, pulled and fought in a physical and yellow-card-laden match. Whitecaps FC 2 ended up securing the victory by a score of 4-3, and some of the S2 players have had a bad taste in their mouth ever since.
“If we go out there and play our game, we are going to be fine,” said Hendrickson. “When you have young players going into these rivalries, you have to be able to separate the emotions because they can be rough, tough games.”
Andy Craven, who scored one of three S2 goals against the Whitecaps in the preseason game, knows that the rivalry games can have a huge effect on how a team plays.
“We just need to treat these rivalry games just like we treated the first game when we came out here [against Sacramento],” said S2 forward Andy Craven. “We got a good feel of how they play, but when you score three goals you should be able to get the win.”
Craven will now witness the rivalries first-hand with Cascadia opponents in back-to-back matches. Having made a name for himself with the first goal in club history against Sacramento Republic FC, he has a new excitement heading into the pair of regional fixtures.
“Everyone talks about these rivalries as ‘epic,’” Craven added. “All the guys who have played in games like this talk about what it means to Seattle to win these games. They put a lot of emphasis on these games, and we want to show that we’re the best in the Northwest.”
Aaron Long is the only player on the S2 roster to have played for two of the three Cascadia teams, after the Portland Timbers drafted Long in the Second Round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft. After coming to Seattle, Long says he could feel the effects of the rivalry already.
“This is another thing for the fans to get behind,” said Long. “You have to embrace the rivalry. The first time I suited up for the Sounders was in the friendly against Tottenham and already fans were giving it to me because they remembered me from the Timbers.”
Long, now established as a leader with S2, looks to bring his knowledge of the intensity into the game, and will be glad to have the roaring Sounders fans supporting him this time around. With a slate of games ahead this season between the new teams, it is sure to be an exciting season in the Pacific Northwest, with even more fuel to add to the ever-burning bonfire.
