Antony's 68th minute equalizer earned a draw for Portland and a Cascadia Cup for team's supporters
Kings of Cascadia.
For the Portland Timbers, the name once again holds true.
Following a come-from-behind, 1-1 draw with Seattle Sounders FC on MLS Decision Day, the Timbers were able to lift the Cascadia Cup trophy on the Lumen Field pitch. Midfielder Antony scored the equalizer for Portland in the 68th minute on a silky smooth run into the box before firing home just inside the left post.
“I just thank God for the goal that I was able to have tonight,” he said. “In scoring that goal for the team, it just gave us a little bit more courage to play more and find ourselves on the field.”
The Cascadia Cup is a three-team, head-to-head competition that pits Pacific Northwest rivals Portland, Seattle and Vancouver Whitecaps FC against each other across regular-season play. All three teams finished the competition this year tied on points (8) with 2-2-2 records, with the Timbers claiming the title through a series of tie-breaking factors. The trophy is unique in that the Cup is held by the winning team’s supporters.
Following the result, supporters brought the silver trophy down to the field for team captain Diego Chara to lift alongside his teammates before players handed it back to the Timbers Army to hold on to and celebrate.
Defender Dario Zuparic was happy about being able to win the Cup for the fans.
“In tough times, they stayed with us and this is for them,” he said of his team’s supporters. “For me, it’s always great to win or take some points here in Seattle. This Cascadia Cup is for the fans just to thank them for supporting us all year.”
First begun when all three teams were part of the United Soccer League in 2004, the competition has continued into Major League Soccer with this season’s edition marking the 20th anniversary of the Cascadia Cup. Saturday’s result marked Portland’s sixth time raising the trophy and its first since 2022.
Timbers head coach Phil Neville now turns his team’s focus for Wednesday’s 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs Wild Card Game against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Providence Park (7:30pm PT, TICKETS, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
And while he was pushing his team to get the full three points against the Sounders, Neville was happy the club was able to bring home the Cascadia Cup in his first match in Seattle.
“I think it was an emotional game,” he said. “Derby games always are. We said that if we weren’t going to win the game, then we weren’t going to lose the game because we could win Cascadia. That was the message. The players delivered that.”
