The Seattle Sounders play the club’s first rivalry matchup against the Portland Timbers (1:55 p.m. PT; FOX, FOX Deportes, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS) of the 2022 MLS season at Lumen Field on Saturday, once again putting the league’s premier derby on center stage in a nationally televised clash.
This rivalry has produced some of the most iconic moments in club history over the years, making Saturday’s fixture an opportune time to take a trip down memory lane. Here’s six of our selections for the best Seattle-Portland matches during the club's MLS era.
CCL CHAMPIONS CELEBRATION
Join us as we drop a Concacaf Champions League banner from the rafters at our match against the Portland Timbers on July 9! Don’t miss limited quantity giveaways, exclusive merchandise, and special musical performances from Travis Thompson and The Head And The Heart.
July 1, 2009: 48 seconds
It would impossible to make this list without including one of the most iconic goal celebrations in club history, which occurred in the third round of US Open Cup play at what was then-known as PGE Park in Portland on July 1, 2009, as the Sounders navigated the club’s inaugural MLS season.
As the story goes, Sounders midfielder Roger Levesque had conspired with teammate Nate Jaqua on the bus ride down to choreograph a celebration to needle the Portland supporters should one of them score a goal. As it turned out, Levesque would find the scoresheet just 48 seconds into the match, converting a diving header from Sanna Nyassi to stun the home crowd.
At that point it was showtime, as Jaqua ran over to Levesque and proceeded to mime a tree-chop that sent an upright Levesque sprawling to the turf. The Sounders would go onto win the match 2-1 on their way to taking the 2009 Open Cup trophy, with Levesque’s goal celebration instantly going down in Seattle club lore.
July 13, 2014: 2-0 Nightfall victory
Seattle’s 2-0 victory at Lumen Field over the Timbers on July 13, 2014 was a memorable one for more than just the result. The sides faced off under a stunning Pacific Northwest scene in Seattle, as a vintage sunset engulfed the sky.
The match itself was a customarily tense and hard-fought battle, scoreless until the 71st minute, when Clint Dempsey pounced for a close-range finish after Gonzalo Pineda had lashed a ball towards goal from outside the box, before an 86th-minute open-net finish by Marco Pappa would seal it.
The Seattle skyline on that night became the inspiration for Seattle’s “Nightfall” jerseys, which were worn as the club’s secondary kits for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
August 23, 2016: Dempsey brace delivers a 3-1 victory
There’s perhaps no Sounder who’s ever been more vilified among Portland fans than Clint Dempsey, and it’s not hard to see why. The US international superstar loved nothing more than scoring goals against the club’s regional rivals, and he delivered one of his finest performances in Seattle’s 3-1 win over Portland at Lumen Field on August 23, 2016.
He got started right on the hour mark after teammate Cristian Roldan won a penalty, converting the spot-kick in clinical fashion. Dempsey then extended the lead to 2-0 with a gorgeous finish from outside the area, which he placed perfectly at the far post, setting the stage for Roldan to ice the contest with a late headed finish off a flicked feed from club legend Brad Evans.
April 5, 2014: Dempsey hat trick in 4-4 draw
Seattle’s 4-4 draw in Portland on April 5, 2014, wasn’t just one of the best rivalry matches in Sounders history. It was one of the most entertaining matches in club history, period.
It was a wild one from the get-go, as the sides swapped goals inside the first 10 minutes, with Seattle forward Kenny Cooper scoring the opener and Portland’s Diego Chara netting the equalizer. After Diego Valeri scored a go-ahead tally for the Timbers, that’s when Dempsey went to work.
He got his first of the afternoon on 24 minutes, combining beautifully with longtime partner Obafemi Martins for a breakaway finish that knotted the match at 2-2. Then, after the Timbers struck for two more goals to go up 4-2, Deuce pulled out some of his biggest theatrics ever in a Sounders uniform.
With his team still down 4-2 in the 85th minute, Dempsey cut the deficit to 4-3, cashing home a sliding finish off a cross from Lamar Neagle. Then, just two minutes later, DeAndre Yedlin would win a penalty that allowed Dempsey to stride to the spot with a chance to complete the hat trick and steal an improbable 4-4 draw.
Was there ever a doubt? He converted, cool as ever, finishing off one of the club’s best-ever comeback results.
May 27, 2017: Dempsey dunks at the buzzer
If you’re noticing a theme here, that’s because there is one. Seattle’s May 27, 2017, away fixture against Portland at Providence featured another comeback for the ages, once again delivered by Dempsey when the lights were the brightest.
Portland led the match 2-1 at halftime, negating an opener from Seattle’s Joevin Jones behind a penalty kick from Fanendo Adi and a stoppage time header from Dairon Asprilla. To compound matters, Brad Evans picked up a red card that left Seattle finishing the match with 10 men. The Sounders would push for an equalizer throughout the second half, but none arrived, and it looked for all the world like the home side would see out the 2-1 result.
Not on Dempsey’s watch. The star attacker did it again deep in second-half stoppage time off an unlikely assist from center back Román Torres, who whipped in a desperation cross from the right side as the final seconds of the match ticked off the clock.
That allowed Dempsey to sky for a perfectly placed, unstoppable headed finish that once again left the Providence Crowd in disbelief and snatched the Sounders a huge road point. After the match, Dempsey likened the feeling to a slam dunk in basketball, an apt description of his latest legendary rivalry goal.
August 15, 2021: 6-2 romp at Providence
Getting a win on your arch-rival’s home field is one of the best feelings you can have in soccer. Scoring six goals while doing so? That’s enough to get you on the top of any list like this.
Seattle’s August 15, 2021, victory over Portland was the most comprehensive rout ever delivered in the MLS iteration of this derby, as the Sounders ran rampant at Providence in what turned into a full-on demolition in the second half. In his return to the rivalry, Fredy Montero started the theatrics with a pair of first-half goals, the second of which was a certified banger from outside the area.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, as the Timbers would fight back to tie at 2-2. But Seattle would strike for four unanswered after that, pouring it on via a brace from Raúl Ruidíaz, another golazo from Jimmy Medranda, and a capper from Nicolas Benezet in his club debut.
What stood out wasn’t just the scoreline, but the quality of the goals. Montero, Ruidiaz and Medranda all unleashed the type of highlight-reel strikes that you might see three times in a season, not three times in one game. Either way, the scoreline “6-2” will always be one Sounders fans can pull out for banter purposes. In what is typically a hotly-contested derby, we might never see a scoreline like it replicated again.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- 2018 Western Conference Playoff second leg, in which Ruidíaz scored a spectacular golazo to tie the series on aggregate before Portland prevailed in PKs.
- Seattle’s 2-1 victory at Providence Park in the 2019 regular season that clinched the Cascadia Cup, which saw Jordan Morris assist on both goals with a pair of devastating maneuvers on Portland defender Zarek Valentin.
- The infamous Red Card Wedding in US Open Cup play on June 16, 2015, at Starfire Sports Complex which saw Seattle finish the match with just seven players on the pitch.
