History of the Cascadia Rivalry
The Cascadia rivalry between OL Reign and Portland Thorns FC predates the teams’ first match against each other. It was a rivalry that came into existence before many of the players in the NWSL were even born. This intense soccer rivalry in the Pacific Northwest has a long history, dating back to the 1970’s, when the Sounders and Timbers were battling each other in the North American Soccer League. Even after the NASL ceased to exist, the two major PNW cities found a way to keep the rivalry alive and put together various teams at different levels to go head-to-head in the always heated battle for Pacific Northwest dominance.
Major League Soccer played its inaugural match in 1996, but the Seattle Sounders did not join the league until 2009, but when they did, they brought a huge following of passionate fans. The Emerald City began to dominate the MLS market and quickly became one of the most loved but also most hated teams in the league.
They were soon followed by the Rose City – Portland, Oregon, who got their MLS team two years later, in 2011. With Portland now in the league, all eyes were on that first meeting between the two teams that had been rivals for decades. Finally, for the first time in MLS history, the Sounders and Timbers clashed at Qwest Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle on May 14, 2011.
The atmosphere of the game was electrifying. Nearly 40,000 fans from both cities were on their feet, cheering on their team and jeering at the rivals for a full 90 minutes, in the pouring rain. The game ended 1-1. No definite winner only meant one thing for the rivalry; It would continue on, even stronger, as the two enemies would have to battle for PNW dominance.
Like the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers rivalry, the OL Reign and Portland Thorns rivalry formed organically, thanks to the close proximity of the teams, perfectly setting up another battle for dominance of the Pacific Northwest soccer scene. The Sounders vs. Timbers rivalry only added fuel to the fire in the case of the Reign and Thorns.
There was discussion of the rivalry before the twos teams ever met in NWSL action. It’s very unusual to see rivalries formed before two teams ever play, but that was case for the Reign and Thorns.
The first ever match between the two teams was on April 21, 2013, in Portland, Oregon. 16,479 fans were in attendance, adding an even more intense environment to the game. The Thorns came away with a 2-1 victory at their home field and the foundation for a mutual disdain was set between the teams. Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock scored the only goal for the Reign in that match and to this day, Fishlock is one of the driving forces of the rivalry. Opposing fans love to hate her and she loves it.
The Reign notched their first win against their rivals just over a year later on May 10, 2014, in Portland, thanks to a lone goal from Kim Little. The Reign hold the largest margin of victory in the rivalry, as well as the most goals scored in one game in the rivalry. Both feats are attributed to their 5-0 victory over the Thorns in Seattle on July 27, 2014.
Currently, the record between the Reign and Thorns in all competitions is 12 wins, 12 losses and 4 draws a piece. Broken down by competition, that leaves the Reign at a regular season record of 12-8-3, a playoff record of 0-1-0, a Challenge Cup record of 0-1-1 and a Fall Series record of 0-2-0. The Reign have outscored the Thorns 35 to 31 in all competitions.
The rivalry is set to continue in one of the most exciting events in rivalry history – a doubleheader between the MLS sides and NWSL sides on the same day, in the same stadium. This historic event is this Sunday, August 29th at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. Both pairs of rivals will go head-to-head to continue the everlasting battle for soccer dominance in the Pacific Northwest. You can still get tickets to this event here, to be part of Cascadia history.