Scott Olmos-US PRESSWIRE
Over the weekend, much to the surprise of everybody in the Pacific Northwest, the Portland Timbers won The Cascadia Cup by defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0. Even more surprising? The victory came on the road—the Timbers’ first road win of the entire season. After the bungling mess that has been the 2012 season, and considering the Whitecaps dominated most of this match, it is the kind of result that reminds you of the Saturday Night Live “Celebrity Jeopardy!” skit where Will Ferrell’s Alex Trebek gives a backhanded compliment to the winner by saying, “Despite your best efforts, you answered correctly.”
On the strength of “Captain” Jack Jewsbury’s blast of a goal late in the first half and a defensive effort which allowed the Whitecaps to only put one shot on goal the entire match, the Timbers succeeded in doing the unthinkable. In two seasons, the Timbers have won exactly three road matches, so even though two of those three victories have come at BC Place at the expense of the Whitecaps, history was not on Portland’s side going into the match this past Sunday. But they managed to secure the victory nonetheless, and as such they finally have something to cheer about.
Whether or not this really creates any momentum for the club heading into the 2013 season, however, remains to be seen. Depending on how things go in the final weekend of the season, Portland could still end up with the third-worst record in the MLS. And while that will result in a high draft pick, it still represents the major step backward his team took in its sophomore season, especially after coming so close to reaching the playoffs in their inaugural season. With such a young team still trying to find its footing, minus significant veteran help and with an unproven coach set to take over next season, there are as many question marks and concerns as ever.
But for now at least the Timbers can rejoice in the knowledge that they won something of importance this year: The Cascadia Cup.
