MATCH INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Kickoff: 7 p.m. (Pacific)
Location: Rio Tinto Stadium (Sandy, Utah)
Forecast: Partly Cloudy, 96 degrees
Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Hanson, Cameron Blanchard Fourth Official: Adam Zarrin
Webstream: Avaiable at Timbers.com
SCOUTING REAL SALT LAKE
Heading into Wednesday’s match, Real Salt Lake has gone six consecutive games in all competitions without a loss at Rio Tinto Stadium since May 1 in a 1-1 draw against San Jose. In regular-season play, head coach Jeff Cassar’s side has compiled a 5-6-7 (22pts) overall record, including a 3-1-5 mark at Rio Tinto Stadium. The club is coming off a 2-2 draw against the Columbus Crew on June 27 and defeated USL side Seattle Sounders FC 2 3-1 in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup on June 16. Midfielder Javier Morales leads Real Salt Lake with three goals and five assists in regular-season play.
LAST OPEN CUP MATCH
The Timbers advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 3-1 win after extra time against Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders FC in front of 4,022 fans at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash., on June 16. Timbers midfielder Rodney Wallace registered a goal and an assist in the victory, netting the game-winning goal 10 minutes into the first half of extra time, while forward Maximiliano Urruti added a late insurance goal in the 116th minute. Setting Portland off on the right foot, midfielder Diego Valeri tallied the opening goal for the Timbers in the 48th minute off a cross from Wallace on the left flank. The U.S. Open Cup win marked Portland’s fourth straight victory in all competitions, including three consecutive wins in regular-season play. Additionally, the Timbers snapped defending U.S. Open Cup-champion Sounders FC’s 20-game unbeaten streak (19-0-1) at Starfire Stadium since 2005.
GOOD FORM
The Timbers enter Wednesday’s Open Cup game having won five of their last six matches in MLS regular-season play. Portland has won six of its last nine (6-3-0) league matches heading into Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup contest against Real Salt Lake. Including the U.S. Open Cup, the Timbers put together a five-game winning streak from May 27-June 20, and have won six of their last seven games.
U.S. OPEN CUP DRAW
The winner of Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match between Portland and Real Salt Lake will advance to the quarterfinals and play host to the winner of Wednesday’s Round of 16 match between the LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes.
ON THE ROAD IN THE U.S. OPEN CUP
Since 2009, the Timbers have compiled a 6-2 overall road record in U.S. Open Cup competition, including road wins against fellow MLS clubs Seattle Sounders FC (2015), Sporting Kansas City (2014) and FC Dallas (2013).
NOTABLE NUMBERS
Wednesday’s match marks Portland’s 24th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match since first reaching the tournament in 2004 as a second-division club. As an MLS side, the Timbers have played nine Open Cup matches, earning a 6-3 over- all record. Outside of the tournament proper, the Timbers contested two Open Cup play-in games in 2011 that aren’t reflected in the total numbers.
Portland has won at least one match in U.S. Open Cup play during each of the last three editions of the tournament (2013, 2014, 2015). The club made its deepest run in the annual competition in 2013, reaching the semifinals.
Wednesday’s match marks the 11th meeting in all competitions between the two clubs since the start of the 2013 season. The two sides met six times in all competitions during 2013 (including the postseason). The U.S. Open Cup match on Wednesday is the first time Portland and Real Salt Lake face each other outside of regular-season play since the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs.
DEPTH
Since June 6, 19 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 four of its last five matches in all competitions. Defender Taylor Peay put in an 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 June 20, entering as a late-game sub in a 2-0 win against Houston.
ABOUT THE U.S. OPEN CUP
The 102nd edition of the tournament features 91 teams, an increase from the then-record 80 that took the field last year. The expansion results in both the largest number of amateur teams (44) in the tournament proper, exceeding the previous record of 42 set last year, as well as the largest contingent of pro clubs (47, surpassing last year’s record of 38), with all Division I, II and III professional sides participating for the fourth consecutive year.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, recognized as U.S. Soccer’s national club championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion for 101 consecutive years dating back to 1914. This year’s winner will earn $250,000, a spot in the 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League tournament and have its name engraved on the historic Dewar Challenge Trophy, one of the oldest nationally contested trophies in American team sports. The runner-up will take home $60,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will earn a $15,000 cash prize. Seattle Sounders FC are the defending U.S. Open Cup champion, having won its fourth tournament title (following triumphs in 2009, 2010 and 2011) after a 3-1 overtime road victory over the Philadelphia Union on Sept. 16, 2014. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
