PORTLAND — England-Germany.
Spain-Portugal.
Seattle-Portland?
Throwing tonight’s Sounders vs. Timbers third-round match in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup into the same bag as those World Cup clashes is certainly overdoing it. But for soccer fans in this region, it’s difficult to downplay the intensity of a Seattle-Portland professional soccer contest.
Just ask Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid, who on Tuesday recalled being welcomed to PGE Park last season by a young girl shouting expletives at his Seattle team.
“I think this is going to be one of the premier games in this league (MLS),” Schmid said, looking ahead to next season when the Sounders and Timbers are again league rivals.
First comes today’s meaningful match, which will determine who faces the L.A. Galaxy in the Open Cup quarterfinal round.
About 3,500 tickets remained available at 5 p.m. Tuesday. But the Timbers are expecting a sellout and are encouraging fans to buy tickets ahead of time. Those who attend figure to experience a charged-up atmosphere.
“When you talk about soccer in America, it’s one of the best rivalries that exists,” Timbers coach Gavin Wilkinson said. “You’ve got two passionate group of fans. … The rivalry is not only on the field, it’s off the field. It’s city-to-city. It’s huge in every regard.”
Though it will not impact either team’s league standing this season, tonight’s match might provide the winner a boost that extends beyond advancing in Cup play.
For the Timbers, who are playing their final season in America’s second-tier professional league, matches such as tonight’s are a chance for the players and the franchise to prove they possess top-tier quality.
“Should we come out of this game with a great performance, I think we can go onwards and upwards for the rest of the season,” Wilkinson said.
As motivated as the Timbers are by the opportunity at their feet today, figure the Sounders to be at least as hungry.
After a magical first season in MLS — including the 2009 U.S. Open Cup national title — Sounders FC sits seventh in the MLS Western Conference.
Essentially with the same roster that shined in 2009, the 2010 Sounders have scored 15 goals and allowed 20 while winning four of their first 15 league matches.
Not much has gone right on the field, but another run deep into the Open Cup could kick start a run up the league table, Schmid said.
“Having additional games means more guys get a chance to play, and they get a chance to prove to me in a game setting that, ‘Hey, I belong on the field,’ ” Schmid said. “With increased competition you improve the quality of your team in training and you improve the quality of your team in games, so it’s a very important game for us from that standpoint.”
So, Schmid said, is showing well in the Open Cup.
“I think in the past some MLS teams have stepped into (Cup) competition and said: ‘We’ll just (use) whoever,’ ” Schnid said. “Our intention is to play the (lineup) that’s going to give us the best shot at winning the game.”
Schmid and Wilkinson both were silent about what their lineups will look like tonight.
The Timbers have won four of their past five, counting two Cup wins over lower-division foes. Wilkinson has been playing younger players such as rookie striker Bright Dike, who has four goals in two games.
“I think I’m getting more and more comfortable and getting in a groove,” Dike said. “But I don’t think that’s just me. I think it’s the whole team. Everybody’s getting better and playing well.”
But tonight’s chore might require more experience.
“We may look to go with more experienced players who have been around the block a little bit more,” Wilkinson said. “Players who can deal with the atmosphere, and deal with the opposition.”
Many of these Timbers were not around last season, when the Sounders scored in the opening minute on the way to a 2-1 win that launched their Open Cup championship run.
Goalkeeper Steve Cronin has a vivid memory of Roger Levesque’s early goal.
“They just got after our left side real quick and got in behind us, swung in a good ball and made a good finish,” Cronin remembered. “Dream start for them. For us, we can definitely do better.”
