PORTLAND
, Ore.
– The Portland Timbers make their first trip to the East Coast in 2007 to play the Montreal Impact and Rochester Raging Rhinos in back-to-back matches on June 8 and June 9.
The Timbers (3-1-2, 11pts) have had an 11-day break between league matches; their last match was a 0-0 draw against the Carolina RailHawks on May 27 at PGE Park. Having played five of their first six matches at home, the Timbers face just their second and third matches on the road this season.
Goalkeeper
Josh Wicks
and the Timbers’ defense have posted three consecutive shutouts and have played 282 minutes without allowing a goal.
The Timbers and Montreal Impact (4-0-4, 16pts) square off at the Claude Robillard Sports Complex on Friday at 5 p.m. (Pacific); the match will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel. The following day, June 9, the Timbers battle the Rochester Raging Rhinos (4-3-4, 16pts) at PAETEC Park at 4:35 p.m. (Pacific). The match in Rochester can be viewed live at
www.usllive.com
. Both matches can be heard live with Timbers broadcaster Andy McNamara on
www.portlandtimbers.com
.
The Timbers return home from their East Coast trip and then head to Bakersfield, Calif., to face the Bakersfield Brigade of the Premier Development League (PDL) in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup on June 12. The next home match for the Timbers is June 19 against AC Milan’s U-21 squad (Primavera) in an international exhibition match at PGE Park.
ABOUT MONTREAL IMPACT
The Impact wrap up a stretch of three games in seven days when they host the Timbers on June 8 at 5 p.m. (Pacific). By Friday, the Impact will have played the Vancouver Whitecaps, Minnesota Thunder and Timbers this week.
Currently ranked second in the USL First Division, the Impact are the last undefeated team in the league and are 2-0-2 at home this season. Montreal has outscored opponents 4-1 at home, conceding its first goal of the season in the final minute against Minnesota on Tuesday.
The Timbers are 1-0-1 in Montreal, but the all-time series between the two clubs is tied at 2-2-1.
This is the first meeting between the two sides this season. The Impact travel west to face the Timbers in Portland on June 21.
ABOUT ROCHESTER RAGING RHINOS
The Raging Rhinos and the Timbers wrap up their season series in Rochester on Saturday, June 9 at 4:35 p.m. (Pacific). Rochester will play its second game in two days when it hosts the Timbers, returning home from a match at Carolina Friday night.
The Raging Rhinos are 2-0-1 in their last three matches, putting them in a two-way tie for second place with Montreal in the USL First Division. In their last three games, Rochester has recorded two shutouts, one from each goalkeeper, Chase Harrison and Hector Zapata.
The match against the Timbers marks just Rochester’s third game at home this season. The Timbers are 1-5-1 all-time against the Raging Rhinos and are 0-2-1 all-time at Rochester.
The Timbers recorded their first win over Rochester in modern-franchise history in their previous meeting on May 13 with a 2-0 result at PGE Park.
