PORTLAND, Ore.
– The Portland Timbers continue a stretch of three games in seven days with a two-game road trip, starting Wednesday as they take on the Austin Aztex at House Park at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific). Portland then travels to face the Miami FC Blues on Saturday at Lockhart Stadium at 4:30 p.m. (Pacific).
Both games on the road trip will be broadcast live on Sportsradio 95.5 The Game, with a live video webstream available at
www.portlandtimbers.com/live
.
The Timbers are coming off a 1-1 draw against the Carolina RailHawks over the weekend at PGE Park. Midfielder
Ryan Pore
scored his league-leading eighth goal of the season to pace a Timbers offense that controlled the run of play for a majority of the match. Portland (3-3-3, 12pts) sits in fourth place in the USSF Division-2 Pro League’s USL Conference.
With just their third and fourth road matches of the season, the Timbers make their only visits to both Austin and Miami during the regular season.
The Timbers and Aztex meet for the first time this season on Wednesday. In 2009, Portland posted a 2-1-0 record against the expansion Aztex, winning both matchups in Austin. The two sides conclude their two-game, regular-season series Aug. 26 in Portland.
Saturday marks the first of two regular-season contests between the Timbers and the Blues in 2010. Last season, Portland was unbeaten in three games against Miami FC (2-0-1), out-scoring the Blues 7-2 in the series. The Timbers are 5-3-2 against Miami FC all-time, including a 2-1-2 mark on the road. Miami FC visits the Rose City and PGE Park on July 10.
ABOUT AUSTIN AZTEX
On a seven-game unbeaten streak, the Aztex are in first place in the USL Conference and own the best record in the league at 7-1-2 (23pts). Austin has won its last three matches, including a 2-1 victory over the Puerto Rico Islanders at home June 5. Wednesday’s match against the Timbers continues a stretch of four consecutive home games for the Aztex. Earlier this week, forward Eddie Johnson was named the USSF Division-2 Pro League Player of the Month for May, leading Austin to an unbeaten record during the month with five goals and two assists.
ABOUT MIAMI FC BLUES
Miami FC, along with the Timbers, will finish a run of three games in seven days when the two sides meet Saturday. The Blues recorded a 1-1 draw on the road last weekend against the Montreal Impact. Miami FC, which opened the 2010 campaign with five straight draws, sits fifth in the NASL Conference with a record of 1-2-6 (9pts). Forward Paulo Araujo, Jr. and midfielder Christian Gomez have scored seven of Miami FC’s nine goals on the season. The Blues play host to Crystal Palace Baltimore on Wednesday before facing Portland.
