The Portland Timbers play host to the Vancouver Whitecaps tonight at 7 p.m. at PGE Park. The first 2,000 fans receive a polyresin log slab courtesy of SolarWorld. Listen to the match live on 95.5 The Game, watch online or follow updates on Twitter.
Click here for tonight's match notes.
Tonight's Starters:
POR: GK Cronin, D Purdy, D Keel, D Danso, D Cameron, M Lopez, M Gaudet, M McManus, M Josten, F DeMartin, F Keita
VAN: GK Nolly, D Knight, D Tsiskaridze, D Akwari, D Janicki, M Davies, M Nash, M Bellisomo, M Wagner, F Stewart, F Khalfan
Match Preview:
Portland wraps up a series of three games in seven days for the third time since the beginning of June as it plays host to the Vancouver Whitecaps tonight at PGE Park. The Timbers and Whitecaps meet for the second and final time during the regular season in Portland tonight.
Tonight’s match against the Whitecaps continues a week of Northwest rivals for the Timbers, who faced Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer on Wednesday in the third round of the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Northwest rivalry between the Timbers, Whitecaps and Sounders FC will be re-born next season when Portland and Vancouver join Seattle in MLS in 2011.
The Timbers reach the midway point of the 2010 USSF Division-2 Pro League season tonight as they begin their slate of July matches. At the half-way mark, the Timbers sit in fourth place in the USL Conference and are just three points back of the second-place Rochester Rhinos at 22 points. Portland ranks seventh in the league table - the top eight clubs advance to the postseason regardless of conference alignment. Portland will play a balance of its matches during the second half of the season on the road (10 of 15).
On a two-game winning streak, the Timbers boast one of the top defenses in the league, allowing just 10 goals in 14 games – the second fewest only to Vancouver’s eight. Where the Timbers have struggled this season is on offense, scoring the fourth fewest goals (13) among the 12 teams in the league; the Timbers tallied a league-high 45 goals in 2009.
The Timbers and Whitecaps play the second of four regular-season matches tonight. In their previous encounter, midfielder
Ryan Pore
scored twice to lead the Timbers, with 10 men, to 2-1 win April 29 at PGE Park. Since 2005, Portland has lost just once at home to Vancouver, posting a 5-1-6 record in the last 12 meetings at PGE Park; the lone loss came during the 2008 season. Overall, the Timbers are 11-22-9 against the Whitecaps since 2001, including a 10-5-7 mark at PGE Park.
