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Columbus Crew forward Cucho Hernandez. Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports

MLS 'Rivalry Week': A look at three of the weekend's top matches

By Alyssa Clang | Last updated 5/9/24

Saturday marks the start of Major League Soccer's "Rivalry Week," eight days of games featuring some of the league's best area clashes. From Ohio to the Pacific Northwest, here are the stories behind three of this weekend's best rivalries:

Columbus Crew vs. FC Cincinnati (Saturday, 7:45 p.m. ET), The "Hell is Real" derby: Ohio isn't the first state that comes to mind when people think of American soccer excellence, but the facts don't lie: The state is one of MLS' strongest markets.

Columbus, the league's first franchise, won the MLS Cup last season and qualified for the CONCACAF Champions Cup final in June. Cincinnati, an expansion franchise started in 2019, finished the 2023 regular season with the best record in MLS and took home the Supporters' Shield, which is awarded to the team with the best regular-season record.

Columbus vs. Cincinnati is known as the "Hell is Real" rivalry because of the iconic billboard on I-71 that both fan bases pass on their drives to the other city. It's a fitting moniker: Fans and players bring high intensity to this game.

Another chapter will be written on Saturday pic.twitter.com/gYalXHXzi1
— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) May 5, 2024

Saturday's iteration of "Hell Is Real" will be all about the South American strikers, Columbus' Cucho Hernandez of Colombia and Cincinnati's Lucho Acosta of Argentina. Both have the spark and creativity to turn matches in their favor.

FC Dallas vs. Austin FC (Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET), The Copa Tejas: The Copa Tejas — an annual unofficial competition to determine the best soccer team in Texas based on head-to-head records — is composed of three MLS teams: FC Dallas, Austin FC and the Houston Dynamo.

Dallas is the elder statesman, having been a part of MLS since its debut season in 1996. Houston joined in 2006. Austin arrived on the scene in 202, but it immediately challenged the established clubs for Texas dominance.

While the three MLS franchises compose the "first division" of the Copa Tejas, several lower-league Texas teams get in on the action, too. The El Paso Locomotive and San Antonio FC of the USL Championship also compete for the title of Texas' best.

Dallas has struggled this season, losing key players to injury and failing to integrate its new Croatian striker, Petar Musa. Austin, meanwhile, started the season poorly but pulled itself together in recent weeks to string together a three-game unbeaten streak.

A Dallas win could jump-start its sputtering season, and an Austin win could prove that its recent form is not a fluke.

Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders (Sunday, 4:45 p.m. ET), The Cascadia Cup: Portland and Seattle are relatively new MLS franchises, but their rivalry stretches to the long-dead North American Soccer League of the last century.

From 1975 to 1982, Portland and Seattle were two of the strongest teams in America and regularly duked it out for dominance in the Pacific Northwest.

50 years ago today:

The NASL granted Seattle a professional soccer franchise...

and the rest is history. ✨ pic.twitter.com/WSgrYdebHe
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) December 12, 2023

The NASL dissolved in 1985, but Portland and Seattle never let go of their soccer history. When the two cities received the green light for MLS franchises, they took on the names of their former NASL sides to honor their deep history in the sport.

This rivalry, then, dates to the 1970s, longer than any other rivalry in MLS.

Portland has the slight edge in head-to-head play, but Seattle has won more league trophies. Both teams are underperforming this season, sitting far outside the Western Conference playoff spots. A win for one team would leapfrog it into wild-card contention.

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