MATCH INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, May 23, 2015
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (Pacific)
Location: Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Forecast: 80 degrees, sunny
Referee: Chris Penso
Assistant Referees: Frank Anderson, Jonathan Johnson Fourth Official: Baboucarr Jallow
Local TV: ROOT SPORTS
Talent: Keith Bleyer (play-by-play), Ross Smith (analyst), Samantha Yarock (reporter)
English Radio: 750 The Game (KXTG 750AM, 102.9FM)
Talent: Jake Zivin (play-by-play), Adin Brown (analyst)
Spanish Radio: La GranD (KGGD 93.5FM, 1150 AM)
Talent: Josue del Castillo (play-by-play), Ozkar Ramos (analyst)
MATCH PREVIEW
Portland enters Wednesday’s Military Appreciation Night match against D.C. United amidst a stretch of three games in eight days, following a 1-0 loss at Toronto FC on Saturday at BMO Field. Wednesday’s match marks the first home game at Providence Park for the Timbers since a scoreless draw on May 2 against Cascadia-rival Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Sustaining consecutive road losses against Houston and Toronto FC, the Timbers have lost back-to-back matches for just the third time since 2013, but enter Wednesday’s game with a mark of 9-3-6 immediately following a loss in that span. D.C. United enters Wednesday’s match following a 1-1 draw against the New England Revolution on May 23 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Head coach Ben Olsen’s side leads the Eastern Conference through 12 games so far this season.
LAST MATCH RECAP
Despite a strong second-half performance, the Timbers could not overcome an early goal against the run of play in a 1-0 road loss against Toronto FC in front of 23,569 fans at BMO Field on Saturday evening. Following an early effort from inside the penalty box by Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri that was saved, Toronto FC forward Sebastian Giovinco provided the game’s only goal with a left-footed drive from distance that narrowly beat the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey in the fifth minute.
ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES
Wednesday’s match marks the sixth all-time meeting between Portland and D.C. United since 2011. The Timbers have registered a 2-1-2 record against D.C. United, including a 1-1-1 mark at Providence Park, and are currently unbeaten in four straight matches against the Eastern Conference side. After sustaining a 3-2 loss in their first-ever meeting on May 29, 2011, at Providence Park, the Timbers have registered a 2-0-2 mark against D.C. United, including back-to-back wins since 2013.
Last season, Portland grabbed a 1-0 lead inside 35 seconds as forward Gastón Fernández tallied the quickest goal in Timbers MLS history and forward Maximiliano Urruti scored late in second-half stoppage time to give the Timbers a 3-2 win over D.C. United at Providence Park on May 3, 2014.
Nine different players have scored a goal for the Timbers against D.C. United in the all-time MLS series, while Portland has outscored their Eastern Conference foe 5-2 over the last two regular-season matches.
LAST TIME VS. D.C. UNITED
Forward Maximiliano Urruti registered the game-winning goal in the final minute of second-half stoppage time, forward Gastón Fernández netted the quickest goal in Portland Timbers MLS history just 34 seconds into the match and defender Futty Danso tallied a goal as the Timbers earned a 3-2 victory over D.C. United on May 3, 2014, at Providence Park. Midfielder Diego Valeri registered two assists in the match.
SCOUTING D.C. UNITED
D.C. United enters Wednesday’s match following a 1-1 draw against the New England Revolution on May 23 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Head coach Ben Olsen’s side leads the Eastern Conference through 12 games so far this season, putting together an eight-match unbeaten streak (5-0-3) from March 28-May 13. D.C. United has received contributions on the offensive end from 14 different players this season. Of the 14 players who have registered at least one point, nine separate players have tallied a goal. D.C. United is led by forward Chris Rolfe (3g, 3a), while forward Jairo Arrieta has tallied three goals and one assist. Goalkeeper Bill Hamid has registered a 5-2-4 record in 10 games and a 0.80 goals-against average with four clean sheets.
BACK LINE CONSISTENCY
The Timbers have featured the same starting defensive unit of goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey with defenders Alvas Powell, Nat Borchers, Liam Ridgewell and Jorge Villafaña in first 12 matches. The unit has helped Portland register four clean sheets and a 1.08 goals-against average so far this season.
GETTING CHANCES
Through their first 12 matches, the Timbers rank among league leaders in several offensive categories. Entering the week, Portland ranks ninth in total shots (146), while ranking second overall in shooting accuracy (51 percent). Shooting accuracy is a calculation of shots on goal divided by total shots (excluding blocked attempts). Portland ranks first overall in blocked shots (50) and 10th in overall chances created (106), according to Opta.
HOME SUCCESS
Portland has compiled one of the league’s best home records with an overall mark of 17-5-17 over the last two-plus seasons since 2013. The Timbers have lost just one home game (3-1-5) in their last nine at Providence Park dating back to the 2014 season.
PASSING ACCURACY
Entering the week, the Timbers rank fifth in MLS in successful passes (4,150) and third in passing accuracy (80.21 percent). The Timbers have registered seven consecutive games with a passing accuracy rate above 80 percent and rank fifth in the league in total touches (7,694) through 12 games. Individually, defender Alvas Powell (951) ranks first overall in touches and midfielder Diego Chara ranks sixth in successful passes (541). Midfielder Darlington Nagbe is 10th (500).
POSSESSION
Heading into the week, Portland ranks fourth in overall possession (52.69 percent) in MLS. The Timbers have maintained at least 50 percent of the possession in six of the team’s 12 matches, including season-high marks of 66 percent and 64 percent against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on March 28 and May 2, respectively.
UPCOMING MILESTONES
With his next assist, midfielder Jack Jewsbury will move into a tie for 10th place overall on the Timbers all-time career assists chart with Timbers Ring of Honor member Jimmy Conway (1978-80). Jewsbury currently sits in 11th place with 15 assists for Portland since 2011.
Defender Liam Ridgewell enters Saturday’s match with 27 consecutive starts for the Timbers. Ridgewell has started every match for Portland since his debut on July 18, 2014. Ridgewell has played an MLS-club record 2,430 consecutive min- utes and can extend his record on Wednesday with a start against D.C. United.
The Timbers enter Wednesday’s match with 199 regular-season goals in MLS, just one goal shy of their milestone 200th MLS goal since 2011.
Portland enters Wednesday’s match against D.C. United with 148 regular-season MLS matches played since 2011, just two shy of the team’s milestone 150th MLS match which will come on Saturday at Colorado.
Midfielder Diego Chara’s next appearance will be the 130th of his Timbers MLS career. Chara has started 128 of his 129 current MLS regular-season appearances for the Timbers.
Midfielder Darlington Nagbe’s next appearance will mark the 140th MLS regular-season match of his Timbers career since 2011. Nagbe will become the fifth Timbers player all-time to reach 140 matches across all eras.
TACKLES
Defender Alvas Powell leads MLS with 68 total tackles through 12 appearances this season. The mark is 16 more than the next player, Vancouver’s Matias Laba (52). Of Powell’s 68 total tackles, he was won 66 of them for an MLS-best tackle success rate of 97.06 percent among players with more than 30 total tackles. In fact, defender Jorge Villafaña ranks second with a tackle success rate of 96.67 percent (29-of-30 tackles).
QUICK TURNAROUND
The Timbers are in the midst of a busy schedule that started with Saturday’s road match against Toronto FC. Portland now plays host to D.C. United in a midweek match at Providence Park on Wednesday before heading out to Colorado for a road match on Saturday, May 30, for three league games (including two road games) in an eight-day span.
REBOUNDING FROM A LOSS
Since the 2013 season, the Timbers have won nine times in games immediately following a loss. While suffering consecutive losses just three times in those two-plus seasons, the club is an impressive 9-3-6 overall in games directly following a defeat, including a 3-1 victory over FC Dallas on April 4 (which followed a 2-1 loss at Vancouver on March 28) and a 1-0 win over New York City FC on April 19 (which followed a 2-0 loss against Orlando City SC on April 12).
PUSHING THROUGH THE FOULS
Portland ranks first overall in the league in dribbles completed (112). The stat tracks moments when an individual player successfully dribbles around an opponent while retaining possession. Portland’s mark is 13 more than the next- best team. Midfielder Darlington Nagbe (38) and defender Alvas Powell (29) rank second and third, respectively, in the league behind FC Dallas’ Fabian Castillo (47). Highlighting the stat is the fact that the Timbers are the most fouled team in MLS (174), while Nagbe is the most-fouled player in MLS (38).
