This Week in PTFC | MLS Cup Week: Providence Park hosting fourth cup final of 2021

It's MLS Cup Week

Unless you've been living under a rock, you all know what this week is: MLS Cup Week.

After defeating Real Salt Lake 2-0 on Saturday to win their third-ever Western Conference Championship trophy, the

And this week will be a doozy.

Providence Park hosting fourth trophy final of the year

Providence Park has been busy this year. Saturday's MLS Cup game will be the stadium's fourth hosting of a trophy match in 2021.

Thorns FC hosted NJ/NY Gotham FC in the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup final back in April. Tied 1-1 after regulation, Morgan Weaver converted her penalty attempt to lift Portland to a 6-5 shootout victory.

In August, Providence Park witnessed the International Champions Cup tournament with the Thorns being joined by FC Barcelona, Olympique Lyonnais and the Houston Dynamo all in the Rose City. Portland defeated Houston in the semifinals before facing former Thorn Amandine Henry and Lyon in another trophy final. Weaver again played the hero, tallying a game-winning strike in the 87th minute.

The Thorns would complete the treble later in the season when they clinched the 2021 NWSL Shield on the road.

On the Timbers side, the most recent trophy final match at Providence Park was, as mentioned above, just this past Saturday with Felipe Mora scoring in the fifth minute and Santiago Moreno tallying in the 61st with his first-ever MLS goal. Portland earned their third Western Conference title and second in the past four years.

A championship game at Civic Stadium with Pelé in 1977

In 1977, Providence Park – then known as Civic Stadium – was a neutral site host of the NASL Soccer Bowl between the New York Cosmos and the Seattle Sounders. Over 35,000 people crammed into the building to see soccer legend Pelé play his last game as a professional with the Cosmos going on to win 2-1 on that Aug. 22 day.

Longtime soccer writer Michael Lewis was there and wrote about the match in a special for Timbers.com in 2019:

Later, sitting at his locker, Pele looked at peace with the world. "God has been kind to me. Now I can die," he said.

Kismet?

Is it kismet that Portland is hosting the MLS Cup match in almost the same week as they won their first in 2015? Timbers fans will well remember :27 and the 2-1 victory over Columbus Crew SC in the 2015 MLS Cup on Dec. 6 of that year. Diego Valeri scored the earliest goal in MLS Cup history, while Rodney Wallace added another goal in the first half.

Buckle Up

The North American soccer world will have all eyes on Soccer City, USA this week. There's a special match ball unveiled unready. The MLS Cup trophy itself will be arriving later this week. Be sure to check back to Timbers.com and follow @TimbersFC on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram to get the latest updates throughout the week.