The inaugural Cascadia Summit, pitting mortal enemies Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps in a preseason tournament, kicks off Friday night in Tukwila, Wash., at the Starfire Sports Complex.
Friday night’s match between Seattle and Portland begins the festivities 10:30 pm ET. The Timbers are at it again on Saturday, facing Vancouver in a 7 pm ET clash. The tournament wraps up on Sunday at 6 pm ET with the Sounders facing the Whitecaps.
Matches will be streamed on the websites of all three teams, as well as on MLSsoccer.com.
Portland and Vancouver are entering their first seasons in MLS after years of playing in the USL, the American and Canadian second division. Seattle jumped from the USL to MLS in 2009 and have won two US Open Cups in their two years in the top flight.
The three teams have a rivalry that dates back nearly four decades, with the inaugural Sounders vs. Whitecaps match taking place in 1974 in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. The Timbers joined a year later, and the three teams have shared a mutual animosity ever since.
Overall, there have been more than 230 matches across all competitions in the rivalries. The Sounders have a 54-42-15 record against the ‘Caps and a 35-21-5 mark against Portland. Vancouver have a 32-24-11 edge over the Timbers as well.
Fans of all three teams eagerly snapped up tickets for the Cascadia Summit in mere days. Portland and Vancouver both are expected to bring the full allotment of 500 fans to Tukwila for the festivities, which will include Q&A sessions with the head coaches, supporters’ forums, and other events.
The first regular-season match-up featuring the Cascadia rivalry will be on May 14, when the Timbers travel to Seattle for a nationally-televised game. Vancouver gets in on the act a month later, heading to Seattle on June 11 in another nationally-televised match.
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