other, with Portland winning 2–0 in the initial game on May 16, 1975. Both the Timbers and the Whitecaps achieved success in the beginning years of the league, with Portland winning the regular season title in 1975 and making the Soccer Bowl while Vancouver won the championship in 1979. Due to the success of both teams and the natural proximity of the two towns, Portland and Vancouver developed a rivalry. The rivalry got off to an auspicious start, with Portland winning the first six games. However Vancouver came straight back, winning the next five and only losing three additional times to the Timbers during the duration of NASL play. In 1978, Vancouver was the top-ranked club in the league heading into the playoffs, with a record of 24–6. They won their first round game but were upset by the Timbers in the playoffs, who won both games in route to a 3–1 aggregate goal margin. Clyde Best scored in both games in the first playoff confrontation between the teams. Portland folded its team at the end of the 1982 season, as player salaries outpaced team revenue. The original Vancouver Whitecaps also folded along with the NASL in 1984. WSL/WSA era (1987–1990) Portland regained a soccer club in 1985 with the formation of F.C. Portland, who joined the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, Portland joined the Western Soccer Alliance, while at the same time the Vancouver franchise was reborn in the Canadian Soccer League (CSL), where they were immediately successful. The two clubs began to play matches against each other in 1987–with F.C. Portland becoming the second side to take the Timbers name in 1989–and continued until Portland folded in 1990. USL era (2001–2010) In 2001, the third incarnation of the Portland Timbers was established and the club joined the USL First Division (USL-1), which already contained the Vancouver Whitecaps. The first game between the rivals in over a decade came on June 13, 2001, with Portland's Vadim Tolstolutsky scoring in the 90th minute to salvage a tie for the Timbers after neither side scored in extra time. In the first playoff series between the two clubs in 24 years, Portland and Vancouver faced off in the first round of the 2002 A-League playoffs. Vancouver won both games 1-0 to advance to the next round. In 2004, fan-based organizations supporting the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps as well as the