PORTLAND, Ore. –
The Portland Timbers begin a stretch of two games in four days Thursday as they play host to expansion AC St. Louis at PGE Park at 7 p.m. Portland then embarks on its first road trip of the 2010 campaign, traveling to face the Montreal Impact on Sunday.
Tickets for Thursday’s contest, the first Miller Lite Thursday of the season, start at $12 in advance and are available at the PGE Park box office, area Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
Kickoff against the Impact on Sunday is set for 11 a.m. (Pacific) at Saputo Stadium. A live broadcast will be available on 95.5 The Game, with a live video webcast available at
www.portlandtimbers.com/live
.
The Timbers (1-0-0, 3pts) earned a 1-0 victory over the Rochester Rhinos in their season-opening match last weekend before a sold-out crowd of 15,418 at PGE Park. Midfielder
Ryan
Pore
converted a penalty kick attempt in the 85th minute to lift the Timbers to victory.
In the early stages of the season, Portland is tied for second in the six-team United Soccer Leagues Conference.
The match against St. Louis will be televised live on FSN and broadcast on News Radio 750 KXL, with a live video webcast available at
www.portlandtimbers.com/live
. A Spanish-language broadcast will also air on 910AM+1390AM ESPN Deportes.
Portland and St. Louis square off in the first of four regular-season meetings Thursday. Under head coach Gavin Wilkinson, the Timbers are 9-2-2 against expansion clubs in their inaugural season. AC St. Louis is one of three new clubs in the USSF Division-2 Pro League in 2010.
The Timbers hit the road for the first time on Sunday, facing the defending-champion Impact. Last season, the Timbers posted a league-best 6-1-8 record on the road, including a 1-0 win in Montreal. Portland swept all three matches of the regular-season series against the Impact in 2009 and did not concede a goal in those matches. Since 2001, Portland is 8-3-2 against the Impact, with a 4-1-1 mark in Montreal.
ABOUT AC ST. LOUIS
Playing its third match of the season Thursday, AC St. Louis (0-2-0, 0pts) makes the first of two early-season visits to the Rose City to face the Timbers. In its home debut on April 17, AC St. Louis was handed a 2-1 loss by the Austin Aztex. Defender Anthony O’Garro netted the club’s first goal of the season to even the score at 1-1 just before halftime.
ABOUT MONTREAL IMPACT
Montreal (0-1-0, 0pts) plays host to the Timbers in its 2010 home opener at Saputo Stadium on Sunday. The Impact opened the 2010 season with a 2-0 road loss against the Aztex on April 11. Last weekend, the club was in the Caribbean for an exhibition match against Antigua’s Barracuda FC and used a goal from forward Reda Agourram to take home a 1-0 win. Sunday’s home match kicks off a span of three games in seven days for the Impact.
