PORTLAND, Ore.
– In preparation of the upcoming season, the Portland Timbers will hold a four-day mini-camp, starting Monday, Feb. 15, at the University of Portland for available signed players and invited trialists. The Timbers’ regular season begins April 17 at PGE Park.
The mini-camp, consisting of daily training sessions, will mark the club’s first official workouts of 2010, and allow head coach
Gavin Wilkinson
to evaluate select trialists as he looks to add to the Timbers’ 2010 roster. Portland’s full preseason training camp opens in early March.
Highlighting the mini-camp is a charity match on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at Merlo Field. Proceeds from the event, which will feature a team of primarily Timbers trialists against the University of Portland men’s soccer team, benefit Mercy Corps and its relief efforts in Haiti. Tickets are $7, and can be purchased through Ticketmaster, online at
www.ticketmaster.com
or by phoning (800) 745-3000. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Timbers players scheduled to attend the mini-camp are goalkeeper
Steve Cronin
, defender
Mamadou Danso
, midfielders
Ryan Pore
,
James Marcelin
,
Rodrigo Lopez
,
Josh Cameron
and
Tony McManus
and forward
George Josten
.
More than a dozen trialists will participate in the mini-camp, including forwards Derek Gaudet, Doug DeMartin, Kyle Morsink, Nick Perera, Cameron Sims, Aaron Chandler and Casey Cunningham, midfielder Mike Pezza, defenders Rhett Bernstein, Sibu Macwele, Greg Folk and Mike Zaher and goalkeepers Brook Johnson, Matt Pyzdrowski and June Edemba.
2010 Timbers roster update
Portland has 13 players returning from its 2009 squad, which won the USL First Division regular-season championship. Among the returning players are forwards
Mandjou Keita
and
Takayuki Suzuki
, midfielders
Johan Claesson
,
Brian Farber
and
Keith Savage
and defender
Stephen Keel
. Joining the squad for the 2010 season is Marcelin and defender
Quavas Kirk
.
Timbers 2010 season ticket packages, starting at just $96, can be purchased by calling (503) 553-5555. Purchasing a 2010 season-ticket package or making a $50 per-seat deposit towards 2011 MLS season tickets guarantees priority status for season tickets for the Timbers inaugural MLS season in 2011. Additional ticket information is available at
www.portlandtimbers.com
or
www.PortlandMLS2011.com
.
