Whitecaps won a trophy last night in Seattle despite playing in New York

Sep 3 2023, 2:17 pm

The Vancouver Whitecaps are your 2023 champions.

Well, sort of.

Playing in a game at New York’s Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on Saturday evening, the Whitecaps played the host NYCFC to a 1-1 draw that kept them in the thick of the MLS Western Conference playoff race.

But on the other side of the continent, Vancouver actually became the 2023 champions of the Cascadia Cup after the result of last night’s game between Portland and Seattle.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Cascadia Cup, that’s alright — it’s been seven years since Vancouver last owned it.

The trophy, which has been handed out since 2004, is given each year to the team that picks up the most points in MLS matches between Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland and dates back to the USL days of each franchise.

And with Portland and Seattle playing to a 2-2 tie last night at Seattle’s Lumen Field, Vancouver officially clinched this year’s title, picking up three wins and two losses in their matches against their fellow Pacific Northwest rivals.

While his team was playing on the other side of the country, Whitecaps fan and president of the Southsiders supporters group Peter Czimmermann was on hand to claim this year’s trophy and bring it back north to Vancouver.

It’s the second trophy the Whitecaps picked up this season after winning the Canadian Championship on June 7 over Montreal at BC Place.

It’s also the second consecutive season that Vancouver has picked up a trophy after winning the 2022 Canadian Championship over Toronto FC.

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