The Portland Timbers face rival Seattle Sounders FC of MLS in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup tonight at PGE Park at 7:30 p.m. live on FSN; gates open at 6 p.m. Listen to tonight's match on 95.5 The Game or follow updates on Twitter. A live video webcast is also available at www.portlandtimbers.com/live.
Click here for tonight's match notes.
Tonight's Starters:
POR: GK Cronin, D Thompson, D Danso, D Smith, D Joy, M Nimo, M McManus, M Marcelin, M Suzuki, F Pore, F Dike
SEA: GK Keller, D Riley, D Scott, D Graham, D Wahl, M Nyassi, M Sturgis, M Seamon, M Montano, F Levesque, F Jaqua
Match Preview:
The Portland-Seattle rivalry continues tonight, as the Timbers and Major League Soccer’s Sounders FC square off in the third round of the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at PGE Park. The winner of tonight’s match will advance to face MLS’ Los Angeles Galaxy in the quarterfinal.
A win by the Timbers tonight and the club will travel to face the Galaxy in Los Angeles, Calif., on Wednesday, July 7, at the Home Depot Center at 7:30 p.m.
Tonight’s match is a rematch of a 2009 U.S. Open Cup third-round matchup, in which Seattle defeated Portland 2-1 before a sold-out crowd at PGE Park to claim the U.S. Open Cup championship. After allowing two goals inside the first 30 minutes of play, the Timbers were able to pull one back just before halftime on a strike by forward
Mandjou Keita
.
To reach the third round, the Timbers defeated lower division clubs Sonoma County Sol of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association and the Kitsap Pumas of the Premier Development League in the first two rounds. Against the Sol on June 15, the Timbers received goals from midfielders
Alex Nimo
,
James Marcelin
and
Takayuki Suzuki
to secure a 3-0 win. In the second round June 22, forward
Bright Dike
recorded three goals to lead Portland to a 4-1 over the Pumas.
One of the more historic and spirited rivalries in U.S. soccer, tonight’s cup match will mark the final competitive meeting between the Timbers and Sounders FC before Portland joins MLS in 2011. The Portland-Seattle rivalry dates back to 1975, and more recently, the two sides competed against one another for eight seasons (2001-08) as foes in United Soccer Leagues. Earlier this season, Portland claimed a 1-0 win over Seattle in a Community Shield match at Qwest Field on March 11.
Prior to the 2009 U.S. Open Cup, Portland and Seattle met twice previously in the tournament – 2005 and 2007. In 2005, the Timbers knocked Seattle out of the third round with a 2-0 win at PGE Park. Then in 2007, Seattle used a one-man advantage to overcome a one-goal deficit and defeat Portland 2-1 in a second-round matchup at Starfire Sport Complex.
Portland has won four of its last five games, including U.S. Open Cup and USSF Division-2 Pro League matches, and enters tonight’s cup tilt on a three game winning streak. The Timbers earned a 1-0 win in their previous match over the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies on June 27 at PGE Park to move into fourth place in the USSF Division-2 Pro League’s USL Conference with a 5-5-4 (19pts) record.
The Timbers are 7-6-0 all-time in U.S. Open Cup matches and have reached as far as the fourth round in 2004 and 2005, facing the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS in both tournaments. Including the win over Seattle in March, the Timbers are 4-6-2 all-time against clubs from MLS.
