PORTLAND, Ore. –
The Portland Timbers begin the month of August with road matches against the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday and Minnesota Thunder on Saturday. Portland’s trip to Seattle for the Cascadia Cup match features the top two teams in the USL First Division.
Kickoff for Wednesday’s match in Seattle is set for 7 p.m. and Saturday’s match is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. (Pacific) in Minnesota. Both matches can be heard live on
www.portlandtimbers.com
.
Since a franchise-record seven match winning streak, the Timbers are 0-1-1 and have been held scoreless in their last two league matches including a 0-0 draw against the Atlanta Silverbacks on July 26 at PGE Park.
The first-place Timbers face the Sounders (9-5-5, 32pts) who currently sit in second place in the USL First Division standings - five points behind Portland. The Timbers are 0-1-1 in league matches against Seattle this season and suffered a 2-1 loss to Seattle in the second round of the 2007 U.S. Open Cup in June. Wednesday’s match is the final Cascadia Cup match between the two clubs.
Portland faces Minnesota (3-8-6, 15pts) for the first time this season at James Griffith Stadium on Saturday. The Timbers and Thunder play all three matches in the 2007 regular-season series during the month of August. The Timbers are 9-5-6 against the Thunder since 2001.
Head coach
Gavin Wilkinson
will be missing players for both matches this week due to yellow card-accumulation suspensions. Both midfielder
Tom Poltl
and defender
Scot Thompson
must serve a one-game, league-imposed suspension on Wednesday while midfielder
Andrew Gregor
starts a two-game, league-imposed suspension on Saturday in Minnesota.
The Timbers play eight league matches during the month of August including the final three home matches of the regular season.
The Timbers return home on Aug. 9 to face the Thunder at PGE Park. Tickets, starting at $10, are available through the PGE Park box office, area Ticketmaster outlets, online at
www.ticketmaster.com
or by phone at (503) 224-4400.
ABOUT SEATTLE SOUNDERS
The Sounders were 3-0-1 in the month of July and also recorded a win over Major League Soccer’s Chivas USA in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. In their last match, a last minute goal by former Timber Greg Howes helped Seattle record a 2-2 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps on the road. Seattle has not lost a match since June 23 – a 1-0 loss to the Montreal Impact at home. The Sounders are 4-2-1 at home.
ABOUT MINNESOTA THUNDER
The Thunder have lost their last two matches and have been outscored 6-3 in that span. Minnesota has only played 15 matches so far and faces a nine-game August schedule including three matches against the Timbers. The Thunder were 1-2-1 in the month of July with a 3-0 shutout-win over the Montreal Impact at home.
