Timbers U-23s open PDL season at PGE Park Saturday

PORTLAND, Ore.
– The Portland Timbers U-23s begin their second season in the Premier Development League on Saturday as they play host to the Washington Crossfire at PGE Park at 2:30 p.m. in their 2010 season opener.




Tickets are $5 and are available at the PGE Park box office. Season passes, which allow entry into all eight regular-season home matches throughout the greater-Portland area, are available for just $20. Saturday’s match opens a special doubleheader at PGE Park as the USSF Division-2 Pro League Portland Timbers play AC St. Louis at 7 p.m.




The Timbers U-23s, the development team for the Timbers, face a busy May schedule, playing five of their 16 regular-season matches this month. On Tuesday, May 18 the organization plays host to the first annual Timbers Health and Fitness Soccer School Day, presented by Providence Health & Services, at PGE Park, featuring a Timbers U-23s match against the Tacoma Tide at 11 a.m.




The 2010 Timbers U-23s squad features several local players returning for a second season with the team, including midfielders
Steven Evans
,
Tracy Hasson
,
Roberto Farfan
and
Jarad
vanSchaik
, defender
Chris Harms
and forward
Brent Richards
.




The match against Washington is the first of four 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualifying matches for the Timbers U-23s. The U.S. Open Cup is an annual tournament which features the top U.S. Soccer-affiliated amateur and professional clubs in a single-elimination tournament.




The Timbers U-23s’ season opener marks the first of two regular-season meetings against Washington in 2010. Last season, the Crossfire competed in the PDL as the Seattle Wolves and recorded a 2-0-0 record against the Timbers U-23s. The Wolves franchise was acquired by the Crossfire Premier Soccer Club during the offseason and has now serves as program’s top senior-level team.




Founded in the winter of 2008, the Timbers U-23s compete in the Northwest Division of the PDL’s Western Conference. The team’s schedule features divisional opponents from Washington and British Columbia. In their inaugural season in 2009, the Timbers U-23s assembled an 11-3-2 record and advanced to the playoffs.