—Words by William Packwood; Photos by Ray Terrill

Timbers Army FC teams bested those from Emerald City Supporters FC in total points on the day by a 7-4 margin.

It was a perfect day for football with light overcast skies and a mild temperature this past Saturday when four supporters' teams from Seattle came down to face their TAFC counterparts at Rex Putnam HS for a full day of matches.

First up was an inaugural matchup between over-40 sides, with players from Old Growth FC and Nomads FC representing TAFC O40s. This was an entertaining 90 minutes as the teams turned out to be evenly matched with chances on goal for each side. In the end, however, neither side was able to convert their chances and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. Both sides agreed that the O-40's match should continue as a fixture in future Supporters' Derby Day events.

Incidentally, the O40s match was the third "new" match added by TAFC to the day's competition in as many times hosting the Derby.  The D4 match was added in Portland 2012 and the Women's match was added in 2014. Both of those events were held at Buckman Field.

The noon match saw a return of the D4 competition, with Northern Alliance having won the right to represent TAFC by virtue of being the current Cuppy del Norte defending champs. The boys from the other side of the Columbia did TAFC proud by dominating the match 4-1. Goals were scored by Jason Thoma (assist by Ben Melnick), Joe Stevenson (off of a corner set), and Alex Zinda (assist by Evin Westcott). The name of the scorer of the final TAFC goal was lost in the elation of the rout. Man of the match was GK Jason Stevenson, who had a monster performance in goal.

Next up were the defending Women's champs: Whipsaws FC.  The women continued their winning ways and turned in another dominant performance against ECS FC.  At the final whistle, Whipsaws stood as 3-peat champs with a score of 4-1.  Goals were recorded by Brandi Fritz, Kathy Lopez, Jennie Birt, and Sandita McDermott. The women continued their victory celebration on Sunday with drinks from the cup in the North End at Providence Park.

The final match of the day was the D1 derby, with players from Portlandia and Nomads on the TAFC side against the defending ECS FC D1 team. Here TAFC's fortunes fell flat, and despite many individual performances that were full of heart and skill, the TAFC boys were unable to develop sustained team chemistry and couldn't convert any of their chances. ECS turned in a 4-0 win and remain the defending D1 match champs for another year.

Photo by Rachel Etnire

On the whole, it was another successful Supporters' Derby Day, and the 7-4 aggregate points total from the day's matches led to the TAFC players striding into Providence Park on Sunday for the BIG match with their heads held high —and we all know how we strode/danced OUT of that match.  Thanks again to all who participated on the pitch and in the stands.

For more photos of both the Women's and D1 matches, check out Ray Terrill's excellent work here.