PORTLAND, Ore. –
The Portland Timbers begin full preparation for the upcoming 2010 season on Monday, March 1, when coaches and players report for preseason training camp. Portland’s preseason schedule will include a trip to Costa Rica and a five-day camp in Bremerton, Wash. The Timbers kick off the regular season April 17.
Reporting for the six-week preseason camp are signed Timbers players and select trialists competing for final roster spots. Under fourth-year head coach
Gavin Wilkinson
, preseason will consist of daily training sessions, informal scrimmages and a series of exhibition matches.
As part of preseason preparation, the Timbers will travel to San Jose, Costa Rica for four days from March 12-15. Highlighting the trip, Portland will play a preseason exhibition against top-flight club Puntarenas FC on Saturday, March 13. The trip will also include training sessions and a training match against another Costa Rican club. The trip is part of a partnership established by Wilkinson during his trip to the country at the end of 2009.
Puntarenas FC, founded in 2004, has reached the semifinals in five of the last nine tournaments in the Costa Rica First Division and clinched a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2007. The club was the runner-up in the 2009-10 Apertura season, making its first finals appearance in franchise history.
The Timbers’ second trip of the preseason will be to Bremerton, Wash., from March 30-April 3. Hosted by the Kitsap Pumas of the Premier Development League, the Timbers will train for five days on the Washington peninsula and play the Pumas in a preseason exhibition Saturday, April 3, at Bremerton Memorial Stadium.
Portland’s preseason slate also includes contests against two Major League Soccer clubs, as the Timbers travel to play Seattle Sounders FC on March 11, and the San Jose Earthquakes on March 20. The Timbers will play additional preseason games in March and April; details will be announced at a later date.
The Timbers play host to the Rochester Rhinos on Saturday, April 17, at PGE Park to open the 2010 USSF D-2 Pro League season. Season ticket packages, starting at $96, are available by contacting the ticket office at (503) 553-5555. By purchasing a 2010 season ticket package or making a $50 per-seat deposit towards 2011 MLS season tickets, fans earn priority status for purchasing season tickets for the Timbers’ inaugural MLS season in 2011. Additional ticket information is available at
www.portlandtimbers.com
or at
www.PortlandMLS2011.com
.
Timbers 2010 Preseason Schedule:
Date / Opponent / Location / Time
Sat., March 6 / Oregon State Univ. / Closed (training match)
Thurs., March 11 / Seattle Sounders FC / Seattle, WA / 6 p.m.
Sat., March 13 / Puntarenas FC / Costa Rica / TBA
Sun., March 14 / TBA / Costa Rica / TBA (training match)
Sat., March 20 / San Jose Earthquakes / Santa Clara, CA / 7 p.m.
Sat., April 3 / Kitsap Pumas / Bremerton, WA / TBA
