Cascadia Cup begins its Final Stages
On Saturday September 29th, Vancouver and Seattle met for the 3rd and final time in the Cascadia Cup. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, setting up two huge matches in the coming weeks. Portland now has two chances to wrap up the Cascadia Cup with their final two games. They can secure the Cup with a win or a draw against Seattle on October 7th. However, even if they lose that match, they have one more chance against Vancouver on October 21st.
Despite the draw, Seattle clinched an MLS playoff spot for the 4th consecutive year. Vancouver is still right on the bubble for the playoffs, only leading FC Dallas by 2 points. While the Seattle-Portland match seems to be highly anticipated, the Portland-Vancouver match could have some interesting implications. Should Portland lose to Seattle on the 7th, the final match between Portland and Vancouver could be a match that decides both the Cascadia Cup and Vancouver’s playoff dreams. Portland is a bit of a long shot for the playoffs, but they can’t be completely counted out yet. If Portland picks up all 9 points in their last 3 games, they could still sneak in on tie breakers. It would be super sweet for the Timbers since 2 of their last 3 matches are Cascadia rivals.
It is exciting to me to see the Cascadia Cup be an important part of the playoff race.
by Nate Jensen
