The Portland Timbers face Northwest rival the Vancouver Whitecaps tonight on the road as they begin a four-game away stretch. Listen to tonight's match live on 95.5 The Game or follow updates on Twitter.
Click here for tonight's match notes.
Tonight's Starters:
POR: GK Cronin, D Purdy, D Smith, D Danso, D Joy, M Nimo, M McManus, M Gaudet, M Pore, F Dike, F Josten
VAN: GK Jolly, D Tsiskaridze, D Akwari, D Janicki, D Knight, M Wagner, M Bellisomo, M Nash, M Davies, F Khalfan, F Stewart
Match Preview:
Following a pair of international exhibition matches, the Portland Timbers return to USSF Division-2 Pro League action and open a four-game road stretch tonight as they visit the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first of two trips to Swangard Stadium during the second half of the season.
During its break from the regular season, Portland split back-to-back exhibition contests, defeating Mexico's Club Deportivo Atlas of the Primera Division on July 11 before taking a loss to the English Premier League's Manchester City over the weekend.
The Timbers have recorded four consecutive shutouts in league play, which matches a modern-franchise record set back in 2007, to lead the club on a four-game unbeaten streak. Portland last allowed a goal in a 1-0 loss to the NSC Minnesota Stars on June 17 at PGE Park. While the Timbers string of shutouts is at four games, the club has not allowed a goal in 430 minutes of league play, which is a new modern-franchise record. The previous mark was 381 minutes, set during a stretch from May 11-June 9, 2007.
In their last regular-season contest on July 10, the Timbers defeated the Miami FC Blues 2-0 at PGE Park. In that match, midfielder Ryan Pore scored his league-leading 10th goal of the season and became just the third Timbers player since 2001 to record consecutive 10-goal seasons; the others were forwards McKinley Tennyson (2002-03) and Byron Alvarez (2003-04).
Tonight's matchup features two of the top defenses in the USSF D-2 Pro League as both Portland and Vancouver share the league lead for fewest goals allowed (10). The first two games of the four-game, regular-season series between the Northwest rivals were played at PGE Park, with the Timbers earning a 2-1 victory on April 29 at PGE Park before the two battled to a scoreless draw earlier this month. The two 2011 Major League Soccer expansion franchises meet for the fourth and final time during the regular season as lower-division foes in Vancouver on Oct. 2.
Since 2001, the Timbers are 10-18-9 in regular-season matches against the Whitecaps, but have posted a 1-14-2 record in Vancouver over the past 10 seasons. Including two losses last season, Portland has lost five straight matches in Vancouver. The Timbers' last result in British Columbia was a 0-0 draw in the regular-season finale in 2007. Portland's lone victory over the Whitecaps lone victory over the Whitecaps in Vancouver was May 23, 2004, as forward Alan Gordon scored twice to lift the Timbers to a 3-1 win.
