MATCH INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Kickoff: 8 p.m. (Pacific)
Location: StubHub Center (Carson, Calif.)
Forecast: Partly Cloudy, 73 degrees
Referee: Ted Unkel
Assistant Referees: Corey Rockwell, Fabio Tovar Fourth Official: Daniel Radford
National TV: ESPN2
Talent: Adrian Healey (play-by-play), Taylor Twellman (analyst)
English Radio: 750 The Game (KXTG 750AM, 102.9FM)
Talent: Keith Bleyer (play-by-play), Ross Smith (analyst)
Spanish Radio: La GranD (KGGD 93.5FM, 1150 AM)
Talent: Josue del Castillo (play-by-play), Ozkar Ramos (analyst)
MATCH PREVIEW
The Timbers enter Wednesday’s midweek match against the LA Galaxy on a four-game winning streak in league play, and a five-game streak in all competitions. Portland, which is in the midst of a stretch of six games in 20 days that started on June 16 with a 3-1 win after extra time against Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders FC in the U.S. Open Cup, has registered five wins in its last seven regular-season matches since May 9 against Montreal. Portland is coming off a 2-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday at Providence Park. Likewise, the LA Galaxy enter Wednesday’s match following an impressive 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday at the StubHub Center. Head coach Bruce Arena’s side has lost just once in its last six games (3-1-2) since May 22.
LAST MATCH RECAP
The Timbers extended their MLS regular-season winning streak to four consecutive games and tallied a fourth straight home shutout as forward Maximiliano Urruti and midfielder Gastón Fernández contributed goals in a 2-0 win against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night at Providence Park.
SCOUTING THE GALAXY
The LA Galaxy enter Wednesday’s match against the Timbers tied on points (25) with Portland, but with two more matches played. Head coach Bruce Arena’s squad dismantled the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, earning a 5-1 win at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. Baggio Husidic tallied the opening goal for the Galaxy in the 23rd minute, while Juninho, Gyasi Zardes, Stefan Ishizaki and Sebastian Lletget also registered goals at the Galaxy outshot the Union 20-14, including 8-5 on goal. The defending 2014 MLS Cup champions have lost just once in their last six matches (3-1-2). Zardes and forward Alan Gordon lead the Galaxy with four goals apiece, while Husidic and Ishizaki are tied for the team lead with four assists.
LAST TIME VS. LA GALAXY
The Timbers and defending MLS Cup-champion LA Galaxy each tallied a goal in the final minutes on March 15, playing to a 2-2 draw in front of a sold- out crowd of 21,144 fans at Providence Park. Timbers forward Fanendo Adi registered a brace, scoring the go-ahead goal for Portland in the 90th minute as he converted a pass from midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe at the edge of the six-yard box. The Galaxy, however, netted the game-tying goal as substitute forward Alan Gordon found the back of the net with a header off a corner kick in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES
The Timbers have lost just once against the Galaxy in their last seven regular- season meetings, compiling a 2-1-4 record since June 19, 2013. At Providence Park, Portland has earned a 3-1-2 record against the Galaxy, including a current four-game, home unbeaten streak (2-0-2) dating back to July 13, 2013. At the StubHub Center, however, the Timbers are still in search of their first win (0-4-2).
Wednesday’s match marks the second meeting of the season between the two clubs, as Portland played host to the Galaxy on March 15 at Providence Park, earning a 2-2 draw as both teams scored late in the match. At the StubHub Center, the Timbers have earned at least one point in two of the last three regular- season matches since 2013 (0-1-2), including a 2-2 draw on July 4, 2014.
DIVERSE ATTACK
Entering the week, the Timbers rank tied for second in the league in the amount of players who have tallied at least a goal or an assist this season. Portland has seen 14 players contributed at least one point through the team’s 16 matches, which trails only D.C. United (16) for the league lead.
GOOD FORM
The Timbers enter Wednesday’s match on a four-game winning streak in MLS regular-season play. The four-game streak is currently the longest active winning streak in MLS. Portland has won five of its last seven league matches heading into Wednesday’s contest against the LA Galaxy. Including the U.S. Open Cup, the Timbers have won five straight games.
STINGY DEFENSE
Through 16 league games, the Timbers have conceded the third-fewest goals to their opponents (14). Only Sounders FC (13) and the Colorado Rapids (13) have conceded fewer goals.
LATE-GAME DRAMATICS
Never out of a contest, the Timbers are tied for first in the league with seven goals scored in the final 15 minutes of games. Recently, Portland netted the game-winning goal at Colorado in second-half stoppage time on May 30.
GAME-WINNING GOALS
Forward Maximiliano Urruti enters Wednesday’s match against the LA Galaxy in a tie for second in the league with three game-winning goals so far this season. Urruti tallied what would stand as the game-winning goal in a 2-0 win against Houston on Saturday and also tallied the game-winner on June 6 against New England at Providence Park.
CONSISTENT BACK LINE
Portland has utilized the same back line combination of Alvas Powell, Nat Borchers, Liam Ridgewell and Jorge Villafaña along with goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey in 14 of the team’s 16 regular-season matches this season. The only two games with a different starting back line were May 27 against D.C. United and June 20 against Houston as defender Noberto Paparatto helped the team register shutouts against D.C. United and Houston at Providence Park.
AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS
Goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey ranks among the league’s top goalkeepers in several categories. Kwarasey is tied for second among all goalkeepers with seven shutouts this season, just one behind Seattle’s Stefan Frei (8) for the lead. Kwarasey also ranks in the top 10 in saves percentage (73.6) and is tied for second in minutes played (1,440) among goalkeepers.
DEPTH
Since June 6, 18 different players have seen game action in league and U.S. Open Cup matches for the Timbers, showcasing the team’s depth as Portland has won each of its last three matches. Defender Taylor Peay put in a 84-minute shift as a substitute against Seattle in a 3-1 win after extra time in the U.S. Open Cup on June 16 and made his Timbers MLS debut on Saturday, entering as a late-game sub in a 2-0 win against Houston.
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
The Timbers know how to put on a show for national television - combining with opponents for an average of 3.09 goals per game on national broadcasts since the 2011 season.
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 Wednesday’s match with 31 consecutive starts for the Timbers. Ridgewell has started every league match for Portland since his debut on July 18, 2014. Ridgewell has played an MLS-club record 2,790 consecutive minutes and can extend his record on Wednesday with a start against the Galaxy.
Defender Nat Borchers next goal will be his 15th career MLS goal. Entering the week, Borchers has netted 14 career goals, including two with the Timbers, since 2003. His next goal will also tie a single-season MLS career high (3) set in 2011 with Real Salt Lake.
Midfielder Will Johnson is just 83 minutes shy of reaching the 15,000 minutes played milestone for his MLS career. Johnson has logged 14,917 minutes in 178 career MLS matches spanning nine seasons with Chicago, Real Salt Lake and Portland.
