PORTLAND, Ore.
– On a seven-game unbeaten streak, the Portland Timbers travel to the Caribbean to take on the Puerto Rico Islanders on Saturday at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium; kickoff is slated for 5:05 p.m. (Pacific).
Saturday’s matchup will be broadcast live on Newsradio 750 KXL, with a live video webcast available online at
www.portlandtimbers.com/live
.
The Timbers (11-7-9, 42pts) extended their unbeaten run with a scoreless draw against the Carolina RailHawks last weekend. The backline has recorded three straight shutouts and has not conceded a goal in the last 334 minutes of play. During its unbeaten streak, Portland has recorded five shutouts in total and has out-scored its opponents 9-3.
Having already clinched a USSF Division-2 Pro League playoff berth, the Timbers are in the race for one of the top four seeds. The club ranks fourth in the overall league standings – four points clear of the RailHawks in fifth – and sits in third in the USL Conference table. The top eight teams in the league advance to the postseason, with the two conference leaders occupying the top two seeds.
Portland faces Puerto Rico (9-9-9, 36pts) for the second time in three games. The two clubs squared off Sept. 2 at PGE Park, and the Timbers used a late goal from midfielder
Ryan Pore
to notch a 1-0 victory in their regular-season home finale. The Timbers are 1-3-2 all-time in Puerto Rico, with the lone win coming last season. Defender
Mamadou
Danso
tallied the game-winning goal in a 2-1 road victory over the Islanders on May 24, 2009. In the all-time series, the Timbers are 7-4-3 against the Islanders.
The Timbers will be without forward
Bright Dike
for Saturday’s fixture due to a one-game, league-imposed suspension for yellow-card accumulation. He is Portland’s second-leading scorer with seven goals scored during the regular season.
ABOUT PUERTO RICO ISLANDERS
The Islanders will play their second game in four days on Saturday when they play host to the Timbers. Puerto Rico lost 3-0 to Mexican side Toluca in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League Wednesday in Mexico. The Islanders are in sixth place in the league standings and are still battling for one of the eight postseason spots. Puerto Rico ended a three-game winless stretch with a 3-2 victory at home against the Austin Aztex on Sept. 11. Saturday marks the Islanders regular-season home finale at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, where the club has scored 23 of its 35 goals on the campaign.
