Super Cup

What: Sequim-v-Port Angeles soccer match

When: 5 p.m., Sunday Aug. 9 (doors open at 4:30 p.m.)

Where: Peninsula College’s Wally Sigmar Field, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

Cost: By donation ($5 suggested; proceeds go to United Way)

Purple and gold versus green and white. Farming town versus the “big city.” East versus West … well, central (Clallam County).

The natural rivalry between Sequim and Port Angeles and the surging interest in soccer collide this weekend with the Super Cup, a matchup of local and recent residents of the two towns celebrating the “beautiful game.”

The Cup is set for a 5 p.m. kickoff on Sunday, Aug. 9, at Peninsula College’s Wally Sigmar Field, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles. Match attendees are asked for a donation of $5, with proceeds going to United Way.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Quincy Byrne said the idea for something like this has been developing for years.

“This was the first time, realistically, that we (could) do it,” Byrne said. “Most Port Angeles players play in Sequim and vice versa. It’s just an idea to harness a healthy rivalry.”

Byrne, a Sequim native, joined forces with Port Angeles’ Tim Tucker and got the proverbial ball rolling. All the momentum, however, already was in the soccer community. Tucker said that when he came to the peninsula eight years ago, the area’s adult recreation soccer league featured eight teams and just one of them featured predominantly Sequim players. Now? It’s 14 teams and mostly evenly spread between the communities.

“It’s grown by leaps and bounds,” Tucker said.

Hitting the pitch Sunday will be a number of those same recreation league players, plus what event organizers call “native sons” — those who lived in the area and may have played on the high school teams and now live in other communities, but who may want to return for the rivalry game.

The idea, Tucker said, is to make an annual event much like what communities in England call a derby (pronounced “darby”) or a game between two rivals of close geographical proximity.

“It’s a mega event; sometimes it’s more important to win that game (than any other),” Tucker said.

Adding to the intrigue is a bet the teams are asking mayors of both communities (Candace Pratt in Sequim, Dan Di Guilio in Port Angeles) to make. The mayor representing the team that loses must wear the opposing team’s jersey and treat their counterpart to lunch.

The event also will feature an honoring ceremony for Craig Owen, a longtime Port Angeles player who died recently, and Virgilio Pontes, a Sequim player originally from Portugal who died in August 2014.

“We want to show the rest of the peninsula our soccer community,” Byrne said.

So why will Sequim win?

“We have better players. And we’re a little more organized, coaching-wise,” Byrne said.

And why will Port Angeles win?

“Port Angeles has soccer players,” Tucker said. “We are a bit older, but smarter … and we don’t need a coach.”