Vancouver Whitecaps FC are in Seattle on Thursday for the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinals (7:30 p.m. PT, LIVE on TSN5 and TSN 1040 radio).
The Blue and White will advance with a win or a draw, while a scoreless match would take the series to extra time. It will be a tough task, but there are a number of past performances in Seattle to draw inspiration.
THE WONDER GOAL (June 11, 2011 – 2-2 draw)
The ‘Caps first Cascadia match in the MLS era remains one of their most exciting to date. Striker Eric Hassli opened the scoring with a first half penalty kick. The score would remain 1-0 until the 81st minute, when a crazy flurry of three goals in a three-minute span saw Seattle take the lead before one of the most insane strikes in MLS history leveled the match at 2-2 – again, scored by Hassli.
THE KID STEALS THE SHOW (October 9, 2013 – 4-1 win)
The Blue and White earned their first victory in Seattle in style. Rookie Kekuta Manneh became the youngest player in MLS history to record a hat-trick and Nigel Reo-Coker added a fourth on a rampaging run to stun the Seattle crowd. The win would also eventually give Whitecaps FC supporters their first Cascadia Cup of the MLS era.
THE CASCADIA CUP CLINCHER (October 10, 2014 – 1-0 win)
Needing a win to not only clinch the Cascadia Cup for a second straight year, but also keep their playoff hopes alive, the ‘Caps came through with a clutch 1-0 victory. It was Manneh who was again the hero, slotting home late in the first half on a counter started by Pedro Morales.
KAH COMES UP BIG (August 1, 2015 – 3-0 win)
It was an unlikely hero who led Whitecaps FC to a dominant 3-0 win at CenturyLink Field in front of 53,125 hostile fans in 2015. Centre back Pa-Modou Kah bagged his first two goals in ‘Caps colours before Pedro Morales put the icing on the cake with a superb free kick strike, sending the traveling Vancouver supporters home happy.
KICKSTART TO ANOTHER CASCADIA CUP (March 19, 2016 – 2-1 win)
In their first battle of the 2016 season, the ‘Caps won a heated match 2-1 at CenturyLink Field. Pedro Morales converted two penalty kicks and a Kendall Waston led backline kept Seattle from an equalizer as Whitecaps FC would go on to win their sixth Cascadia Cup at the end of the season, and third in the MLS era, both the most among any of the three competing teams.
