PORTLAND, Ore.
– The Portland Timbers begin a stretch of three road games in five days Tuesday when they face the Kitsap Pumas in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in Bremerton, Wash., at 7 p.m. Portland then heads to the east coast for games against the Carolina RailHawks Thursday and Charleston Battery on Saturday.
The Timbers (5-1-3, 18pts) defeated the Montreal Impact 1-0 at PGE Park on June 4 on a last minute goal by midfielder
Keith Savage
to extend their unbeaten streak to eight games. With three straight wins in league contests, the Timbers currently sit in third place in the USL First Division.
Live broadcasts will be available for the Timbers’ matches against Carolina and Charleston. On Thursday, a live broadcast will be available online at
www.portlandtimbers.com
. Saturday’s game will air on 95.5 The Game and be available online at
www.portlandtimbers.com
. Both games will have a live video webcast available through USL Live – now a free service at www.usllive.com. Live updates of the Timbers U.S. Open Cup match will be available online at
www.twitter.com/TimbersFC
.
The Timbers enter the U.S. Open Cup tournament with a first-round matchup against Kitsap of the Premier Development League at Memorial Stadium in Bremerton, Wash. Kitsap competes in the PDL’s Northwest Division – the same division as the Timbers’ development team, the Timbers U-23s. The Timbers have a record of 3-5-0 in the U.S. Open Cup since 2001, and have advanced as far as the fourth round. The winner of Tuesday’s match will advance to face the winner between the Orange County Blue Star and Sonoma County Sol in the second round on June 16.
Portland returns to league play Thursday with the third and final game of the season series against the RailHawks at 4 p.m. (Pacific). Earlier this season, the Timbers shut out Carolina twice in a two-game series at PGE Park. Following a 0-0 draw on April 30, midfielders
Ryan Pore
and
Brian Farber
each scored in the Timbers’ 2-0 win over the RailHawks on May 2. The Timbers and RailHawks (7-2-1, 22pts) have split the all-time series, 2-2-3.
The Timbers complete their stretch of three games in five days on Saturday against the Battery at Blackbaud Stadium at 4:30 p.m. (Pacific). Saturday’s match is the first of three games between the two clubs this season and the first of two matchups in Charleston. The Timbers are 4-6-1 against the Battery since 2001, including a 0-2-1 mark last season. Charleston (6-0-5, 23pts) is the only unbeaten team remaining in the USL First Division.
ABOUT KITSAP PUMAS
One of four professional PDL clubs, Kitsap is unbeaten on the season and sits in first place in the Northwest Division. The Pumas have won two of their last three games, including a 1-0 victory over the Timbers U-23s in their last regular-season match over the weekend. The Pumas are one of eight PDL representatives in the U.S. Open Cup this season.
ABOUT CAROLINA RAILHAWKS
The RailHawks are on a four-game winning streak and have shut out all four of their last opponents. Carolina, which sits in second place in the USL First Division, also faces a stretch of three games this week, facing USL Second Division club Richmond on Tuesday in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup and the Minnesota Thunder on the road Sunday. At home this season, the RailHawks are 4-1-0 and have out-scored opponents 6-3.
ABOUT CHARLESTON BATTERY
The Battery had a four-game winning streak come to an end last weekend in a 1-1 draw against the Austin Aztex. Unbeaten in regular-season play, the Battery have shut out five of their last six opponents and allowed a league-low three goals through their first 11 games of the season. Charleston hosts Atlanta F.C. of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association in the first Round of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday.
