PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers U-23s face a series of two games in three days this weekend as they play the Cascade Surge on Friday at 7 p.m. and then play host to the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency Sunday at PGE Park at 1 p.m., presented by the Timbers Army.
Sunday’s home match is part of a special doubleheader at PGE Park. Following the Timbers U-23s match against Vancouver, the Portland Timbers of the USL First Division take on the Montreal Impact at 5 p.m.
Tickets for the Timbers U-23s match start at $10 and can be purchased through the PGE Park box office, area Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
The Timbers U-23s (7-2-1, 22pts) enter the weekend in third place in the Premier Development League’s Northwest Division and are just four points behind the first-place Kitsap Pumas. Midfielder Jordan Crasilneck has scored three goals in the last two games to lead the Timbers U-23s to back-to-back wins. Portland has won five of its last six matches, including a 4-3 victory over the Tacoma Tide last weekend.
Portland makes its first trip to Salem, Ore., to face its in-state rival the Surge on Friday at McCulloch Stadium. The Surge are unbeaten (3-0-1) at home this season and have conceded just two goals through four matches. In their first meeting this season on May 30, the Timbers U-23s scored two unanswered goals in the second half to defeat Cascade 4-2. Since then, the Surge (5-3-1, 16pts) are unbeaten and have won three straight.
On Sunday, the Timbers U-23s open a doubleheader at PGE Park, squaring off against the Whitecaps Residency (2-4-2, 8pts). Earlier this month, the Timbers U-23 shutout the Whitecaps Residency 2-0 in Vancouver, using a brace from Crasilneck to pick up the road victory. Vancouver is winless in its last three matches and has not scored a goal since June 13. The Whitecaps Residency, one of four professional clubs in the PDL, face the Surge on Saturday in Salem, Ore., before traveling to Portland on Sunday.
