Seattle Sounders- Vancouver Whitecaps: The Cascadia Tailgate Edition.
By Sean Maslin
There are very few trophies that matter more in North American soccer than the Cascadia Cup. In just its tenth year of existence, this competition has shown what is possible in North American soccer, both in terms of supporter activity and quality of play. It is a competition that draws upon North American soccer’s history and shows us all where it can go.
The Seattle Sounders (19-9-3, 60 points) and Vancouver Whitecaps (10-8-13, 43 points) will go for it all on Friday night with both sides looking to lift the trophy and solidify their playoff spots.
When: 10PM EST
Where: Century Link Field Seattle, Washington
TV: NBC Sports Network.
Head-to-Head in 2014: Thus far, Vancouver holds the advantage in the season series and would like to put away their second consecutive Cascadia Cup on Friday night.
In the first match, the ‘Caps were able to gain the lead late in the match on a sizzler by midfielder Gershon Koffie. However, the Sounders would claw back late to get the draw when midfielder Gonzalo Pineda would bury his penalty opportunity.
In the second match between these two rivals there would be no comeback for Seattle. ‘Caps midfielder Sebastian Fernandez would hit a rocket past goalkeeper Sebastian Frei to give Vancouver the 1-0 advantage in just the 12th minute.
One thing to note is that both of these matches took place in Vancouver and that Friday’s match will be the first in Seattle. The Sounders hold a slight advantage at home with two wins to one and one draw. During their brief MLS history. this has proven to be a very close rivalry with each team winning three times and drawing four.
Sounder at Heart did a tremendous job pulling together the entire history of the Cascadia Cup, which goes back to when Vancouver, Seattle, and the Portland Timbers all played in the North American Soccer League.
Outlook: The derby aside, there are very important playoff implications in this match. Seattle needs three points in this match to keep back a surging Los Angeles Galaxy (17-5-9, 60 points) squad who are looking to take Seattle’s Western Conference lead and the Supporters Shield.
Meanwhile for Vancouver they are just looking to make the playoffs. The ‘Caps are two points behind the Portland Timbers (10-8-13, 43 points) for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Although they do have an additional game to play over Portland, time is running out.
If there is one particular part of the field to look out for in this match it is in the Sounders defensive half. Vancouver has struggled to score goals on a consistent basis in 2014 (40 goals in 2014) while Seattle has given up goals aplenty (47 allowed, second most among any playoff team in MLS). ‘Caps midfielder Pedro Morales has been able to find space in between the Seattle defenders during their previous two tries and will be a nuisance all game.
On the other side of the pitch, Vancouver will have their hands full with a very potent and aggressive Sounders attack. Sounders forward Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey have crushed opponents all season with their inside out play, scoring 31 goals this season. Watch out for midfielder-forward Lamar Neagle, who looks to find Martins and Dempsey on the inside of the box via crosses.
Although Seattle has proven to be a far superior team in terms of the regular season, history dictates between these two clubs that the match will be much closer. Whomever wins this match will come out of it much stronger and much more ready to take on the rigors of the playoffs.
One stat to impress your friends with: Whitecaps forward Darren Mattocks has not scored in his past nine games and has only six goals this season. The Jamaican international who has long been believed to be one of the breakout stars of MLS has had a very poor season in just his third year.
Much of Mattocks’ issues seems to be finishing. He has 51 shots this season but has placed just 23 shots on target. Vancouver needs scoring and Mattocks has clearly indicated he wants to be a star. Now is the time to prove it.