Cascadia supporters groups announce 2012 Cascadia Cup rules, call
for balanced schedule.
The supporters groups from the three Cascadia MLS clubs have agreed on new rules
for the Cascadia Cup after MLS moved to an unbalanced schedule in 2012.
The Emerald City Supporters, Southsiders and Timbers Army agreed that all
matches will count towards the Cascadia Cup, even though the new unbalanced MLS
schedule means each team will play a different number of home games against their
Cascadia rivals this season.
“We all agreed that this was the simplest format, one that all fans will find easiest to
follow,” says Brenton Walters, Southsiders spokesperson.
Portland Timbers will host both Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps twice,
Vancouver will see Portland once and Seattle twice at home, and Seattle will only
host each team once.
Despite this imbalance, the three supporters groups agreed to count all matches
equally in order to keep the 2012 Cascadia Cup format simple.
“It’s unfortunate that the league didn’t work out a balanced schedule for the
Cascadia teams,” says Garrett Dittfurth of the Timbers Army. “We think the league
should fix this for next season so that no team has an unfair advantage in Cup
matches.”
The Cascadia Cup will be awarded to the team with the most points after all matches
have been played or when there is a clear winner. In the event of a tie, the Cup will
be awarded to the team with the best goal differential.
Should the MLS schedule remain unbalanced in 2013, the Emerald City Supporters,
Southsiders and Timbers Army insist that it should allow for a fair distribution of
the home and away matches amongst the Cascadia clubs.
“Cascadia is home to the oldest and strongest rivalry in North American soccer,
and the value that the supporters put on the Cascadia Cup reflects that,” says Greg
Mockos of the Emerald City Supporters. “The league should pay attention.”
Background:
The Cascadia Cup was created in 2004 by supporters groups of the three Cascadia teams, and is awarded annually to the best team in the Cascadia region. Seattle and Vancouver have each won it three times, Portland has won it twice.
2012 Cascadia Cup schedule:
With the unbalanced 2012 MLS schedule, Portland plays four home and two away matches, Vancouver plays three home and three away matches and Seattle plays two home and four away matches.
- May 19: Vancouver Whitecaps v. Seattle Sounders
- May 25: Portland Timbers v. Vancouver Whitecaps
- June 24: Portland Timbers v. Seattle Sounders
- August 18: Seattle Sounders v. Vancouver Whitecaps
- August 25: Portland Timbers v. Vancouver Whitecaps
- September 15: Portland Timbers v. Seattle Sounders
- September 29: Vancouver Whitecaps v. Seattle Sounders
- October 7: Seattle Sounders v. Portland Timbers
- October 20: Vancouver Whitecaps v. Portland Timbers
(Home team listed first.)
Full Cascadia Cup criteria:
- Greater number of points earned in matches between the teams concerned
- Greater goal difference in matches between the teams concerned
- Greater number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned
- Reapply first three criteria if two or more teams are still tied
- Greater goal difference in all cup matches
- Greater number of goals scored in all cup matches
- Smaller number of disciplinary points in all cup matches (yellow = 1 point, red = 2 points)
