The Timbers take on Crystal Palace Baltimore tonight on a Miller Lite Thursday at PGE Park live on FSN. Tonight's match will air on 95.5 The Game and on ESPN Deportes, with a live video webcast. In-game updates at Twitter.
Click here for tonight's match notes.
Tonight's Starters:
POR: GK Cronin, D Kirk, D Keel, D Purdy, D Joy, M Farber, M Marcelin, M Claesson, M Pore, F Josten, F Keita
BAL: GK Bush, D Nishimura, D Marshall, D Teixeira, D Robson, M Yoshitake, M Lucio, M Healey, M Mbuta, F Brooks, F Perez
Match Preview:
The Timbers return to league play tonight after a 13-day layoff between matches. The club’s May schedule begins with two games in three days as they face Baltimore tonight, followed by a visit from AC St. Louis on Saturday. The fixtures this week are part of an overall stretch of three games in seven days for the Timbers.
Portland has opened the 2010 USSF Division-2 Pro League season with an unbeaten mark of 3-0-1 (10 pts) and sits just one point behind the Rochester Rhinos at the top of the USL Conference with two games in hand. The Timbers have won three straight home games at PGE Park.
Midfielder Ryan Pore enters tonight’s contest having scoring in each of the team’s first four games of the season. Last season, he scored in six straight matches to set a new Timbers modern-franchise record for goals scored in consecutive games. His six tallies on the season pace the league.
While Pore and the Timbers offense rank near the top of the league, the club’s backline is also off to a solid start, recording two shutouts and allowing just two goals through the first four games. Portland shares the league lead in fewest goals allowed with Northwest rival Vancouver.
Tonight’s match against Baltimore is the first of four meetings between the two sides in 2010, and the first of two matchups this month. The Timbers travel to play Crystal Palace Baltimore on May 22 in the team’s lone road match of the month. The two clubs finish the season series with games in August and September.
On Saturday, the Timbers play host to AC St. Louis for the second time this season at PGE Park; kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Portland defeated AC St. Louis 3-0 on April 22 in the Rose City.
