MATCH INFORMATION
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2015, presented by Tillamook
Kickoff: 4 p.m. (Pacific)
Location: Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Forecast: Partly Cloudy, 90 degrees
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Assistant Referees: Peter Manikowski, Paul Scott Fourth Official: Alex Chilowicz
National TV: FOX Sports 1
Talent: Mark Rogondino (play-by-play), Brad Friedel (analyst), Keith Costigan (sideline)
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
Sunday’s match marks the third in a nine-day span for both the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders FC since June 20. Both squads are coming off of road losses as the Timbers fell 5-0 against the LA Galaxy on Wednesday at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., and the Sounders sustained a 1-0 loss against Philadelphia at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. Sunday’s Cascadia match marks the third meeting of the season across all competitions between Portland and Seattle. Portland has won four of its last five regular-season matches, including four in a row from May 27-June 20. The Timbers and Sounders recently met on June 16, as Portland earned a 3-1 win after extra time in the fourth round of the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash.
LAST MATCH RECAP
The Timbers could not overcome a three-goal halftime deficit in a midweek road match as the club’s four-game winning streak ended in a 5-0 loss against the LA Galaxy on Wednesday night in front of 21,207 fans at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
SCOUTING SOUNDERS FC
Seattle Sounders FC enter Sunday’s Cascadia match following a 1-0 loss against the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. The Sounders have lost three of their last four regular-season matches, including consecutive setbacks against San Jose (June 20) and Philadelphia, but are still in first place in the Western Conference standings with 29 points through 17 games. Forwards Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins lead Seattle with seven goals apiece, but both will miss Sunday’s match due to suspension and injury, respectively. Midfielder Marco Pappa has registered five assists for Seattle this season.
LAST TIME VS. SOUNDERS FC
The Timbers produced a number of dangerous chances, including a shot off the crossbar in the final minutes, but could not find the late-game equalizer in a 1-0 loss against Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders FC in front of 41,451 fans at CenturyLink Field on April 26. Portland outshot Seattle 11-10, but conceded the go-ahead goal in the 77th minute when forward Clint Dempsey was able to tap in a fortuitous rebound after Timbers goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey stopped the initial shot from midfielder Andy Rose following a long throw-in.
ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES
One of North American soccer’s longest and most heated rivalries, the Pacific Northwest derby between the Timbers and Sounders dates back to the 1975 North American Soccer League (NASL) season, Portland’s first year as a professional club. The two sides first played each other on May 2, 1975, in Portland’s first match in the NASL, with the Sounders taking a 1-0 win in front of 8,131 fans at a rain-soaked Civic Stadium (now Providence Park) in Portland.
Sunday’s match marks the 91st all-time meeting between the clubs. The Timbers have registered an overall record of 32-46-12 all-time against Seattle and a record of 5-7-4 during the MLS era, in all competitions.
Sunday’s game at Providence Park is the third meeting between the bitter rivals across all competitions in 2015 and is the second of three regular-season matches. It is the first, and only, regular-season match between the clubs in the Rose City this year. Portland squares off against Sounders FC again on the road on Aug. 30.
DIVERSE ATTACK
Entering the weekend, 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 17 matches, which trails only D.C. United (16) for the league lead.
GOOD FORM
The Timbers enter Sunday’s game having won four of their last five matches in MLS regular-season play. Portland has won five of its last eight (5-3-0) league matches heading into Sunday’s contest against Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders FC. Including the U.S. Open Cup, the Timbers put together a five-game winning streak from May 27-June 20.
MULTI-GOAL GAMES
Timbers forward Fanendo Adi is tied for second in MLS this season with two multi-goal games, behind Columbus striker Kei Kamara (4). Adi has registered six multi-goal games in his MLS career since joining the Timbers in May 2014. He is tied with Seattle’s Obafemi Martins and New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips for the most multi-goal games since May 2014.
LATE-GAME DRAMATICS
Never out of a contest, the Timbers are tied for third 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. In the final 30 minutes of games, the Timbers rank third with 11 goals.
GAME-WINNING GOALS
Forward Maximiliano Urruti enters Sunday’s match against Sounders FC 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 June 20 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 15 of the team’s 17 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 at Providence Park.
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 three of its last four matches. 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.
CASCADIA CUP STANDINGS
<strong>Team</strong> |
<strong>GP</strong> |
<strong>W</strong> |
<strong>L</strong> |
<strong>T</strong> |
<strong>Pts.</strong> |
<strong>GF</strong> |
<strong>GA</strong> |
<strong>Diff.</strong> |
SEA |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
+3 |
VAN |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
-1 |
POR |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
-2 |
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 Nat Borchers’ next goal will be his 15th career MLS goal. Entering the week, Borchers has netted 14 career goals since 2003, including two with the Timbers. 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 180 career MLS matches spanning nine seasons with Chicago, Real Salt Lake and Portland.
Midfielder Darlington Nagbe’s next appearance will mark the 145th of his Timbers MLS career. Nagbe has started each of Portland’s 17 games this season.
