The Portland Timbers extended their unbeaten streak to five on Wednesday night with a 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes in front of 18,627 fans at JELD-WEN Field. Forward Kenny Cooper scored in his second consecutive match to give the Timbers a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute, but San Jose's Khari Stephenson got off a shot the found its way into the net to level the score 20 minutes from full time. The draw, combined with other MLS results earlier in the evening, helped push the Timbers into the 10th and final playoff spot by one point ahead of New York, which Portland plays Saturday on the road.
Against San Jose, rookie Darlington Nagbe made he second career start at the forward position alongside Cooper. Normally a wide midfielder during this season, Nagbe has been active often in the attack and showed it once again on Wednesday. His awareness to read a lofted ball and turn his defender allowed him to get a low cross into the box for Cooper's goal. The assist gives Nagbe a streak of two straight games with a point. For his performance against the 'Quakes, Nagbe earned nearly 46 percent of the vote and is the CenturyLink Man of the Match.
Darlington Nagbe - 45.80%
Eric Brunner - 30.55%
Kenny Cooper - 18.05%
Futty Danso - 2.77%
Kalif Alhassan - 2.77%
Congratulations to Darlington and remember to visit Facebook.com/PortlandTimbers for future CenturyLink Man of the Match votes.
