Portland Timbers vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL)
Fourth Round of 2013 U.S. Open Cup
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (Pacific)
Location: JELD-WEN Field (Portland, Ore.)
NOTE: KeyBank Club ticket holders may enter two hours prior to kickoff at the Providence Sports Center entrance
All other gates open 90 minutes prior to kickoff. No Timbers Army section Wristbands will be distributed.
Forecast: 67 degrees, partly cloudy
English Radio: 750 The Game (KXTG 750AM)
Spanish Radio: La Pantera (KWBY 940AM)
Video broadcast will be streamed live at www.portlandtimbers.com.
Timbers will be wearing their Rose City Red kits tonight
Wednesday’s match marks the Timbers’ second game of the 100th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Portland, unbeaten in 12 consecutive regular-season MLS games, earned a decisive 5-1 win over the Wilmington Hammerheads (USL PRO) on May 29 in the tournament’s third round at JELD-WEN Field. Forward Frederic Piquionne registered four goals in the first half against Wilmington and notched a multi-assist performance on June 8 in a 2-2 draw against the Chicago Fire in MLS play.
The Rowdies enter the match after upsetting three-time U.S. Open Cup champions Seattle Sounders FC 1-0 on May 29. Goalkeeper Diego Restrepo stopped a potential game-tying Seattle penalty kick in the 86th minute in the win. In league play, Tampa Bay suffered its first road loss of the 2013 NASL spring season on June 8 after conceding two goals in second-half stoppage time against the Carolina RailHawks.
About The U.S. Open Cup
The oldest continuous soccer competition in the United States, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is open to all U.S. Soccer affiliated teams, from amateur to professional levels, and has been contested each year since it was first held in 1913-14. The 2013 U.S. Open Cup, the 100th edition of the tournament, began with a 68-team field, the largest in the modern era (1995 to present), on May 7, with four amateur teams competing in a play-in round. The tournament kicked off in full swing on May 14-15 with 36 amateur teams squaring off in the first round. In the U.S. Open Cup, all Division I (MLS), II (NASL) and III (USL PRO) professional clubs, totaling 32 clubs, are participating in the tournament proper. In 2012, Sporting Kansas City won its second-ever U.S. Open Cup trophy with a 3-2 penalty kick win (1-1 draw in regulation) against Seattle Sounders FC, stopping Sounders FC from winning a fourth straight title. Every winning team earns a monetary prize, entry into CONCACAF Champions League and gets its name engraved on the base of the Dewar Challenge Trophy, which dates to the first year of the tournament and resides at U.S. Soccer House in Chicago.
READ
:
U.S. Open Cup 101: A look at the 100th edition of the domestic competition
Scouting the Rowdies
Head coach Ricky Hill’s squad is currently in fourth place in the eight-team North American Soccer League (NASL) in the spring season. The NASL splits
 the year into two seasons (spring and fall). Tampa Bay is 3-3-3 (9pts) in nine regular-season games. The Rowdies, the defending NASL champions, are led by 28-year-old Bulgarian forward
Georgi Hristov’
s four goals this season. Hristov has scored three of the team’s four goals in the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in wins over VSI Tampa Bay FC (USL PRO) and Seattle Sounders FC.
The Rowdies are 4-1-1 on the road in all competitions this season. Tampa Bay suffered its first road loss of the season on June 8, conceding two goals in second-half stoppage time against the Carolina Railhawks. The Rowdies played down a man for more than 50 minutes after a red card issued to defender Andres Arango.
Midfielder Luke Mulholland is tied for the team lead with three assists. Mulholland is currently second on the team with four goals in all competitions. The Rowdies success in the U.S. Open Cup has been largely thanks to goalkeeper Diego Restrepo, who has saved a penalty kick in wins against VSI Tampa Bay FC and Seattle Sounders FC.
Restrepo, a 25-year-old goalkeeper, was born in Venezuela, but has represented the United States at the U-17 and U-20 international level.
READ: KeyBank Scouting Report: Tampa Bay Rowdies
Rowdies Connection
Florida native Keith Savage spent the 2009 and 2010 USL First Division seasons as a midfielder for the second-division Timbers. Savage, the son of former U.S Men’s National Team defender Bruce Savage, joined the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2011. The team was known as FC Tampa Bay before changing its name.
Savage appeared in 30 regular-season games for the Timbers during the 2009 season, helping lead the team to the Commissioner’s Cup with the best regular- season record in the league. Savage was a teammate of current Timbers assistant coach Cameron Knowles, defender Futty Danso, midfielder Kalif Alhassan and forward Bright Dike during his two seasons with the team.
Revisiting Soccer Bowl ‘75
The Tampa Bay Rowdies and Portland Timbers, both expansion franchises during the 1975 North American Soccer League season, met in the first edition of the league’s rebranded championship game called the Soccer Bowl. Soccer Bowl ’75 was broadcast live on CBS in front of 17,483 fans at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif. After a scoreless first half, Rowdies defender Arsène Auguste fired a strong volley into the back of the net in the 66th minute to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead.
Rowdies forward Clyde Best, who would eventually sign with the Timbers in 1977, tallied an insurance goal in the 88th minute as Tampa Bay earned a 2-0 win. The trip to Soccer Bowl ’75 was the only trip to the NASL championship game for the Timbers, while Tampa Bay would return in back-to-back title games in 1978 and 1979 - losing both times.
READ: Willie Anderson remembers playing Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup foe Tampa Bay... in 1975 Soccer Bowl
High-Scoring Piquionne
Timbers forward Frederic Piquionne leads all MLS players with four goals in the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament. Piquionne scored four goals in the first half of a 5-1 win over the Wilmington Hammerheads (USL PRO) on May 29 at JELD-WEN Field. Piquionne has scored the most goals of any player on a team that is still active in the competition.
Timbers draw 2-2 at Chicago
Midfielders Diego Valeri and Ben Zemanski each scored goals and forward Frederic Piquionne registered two assists as the Timbers played the Chicago Fire to a 2-2 draw at Toyota Park on June 8, extending their MLS-club record unbeaten streak to 12 games. After hitting the goal frame three times in the opening four minutes of the match, the Timbers struck for the opening goal in the 33rd minute from Valeri. Portland then doubled its lead, 2-0, as Piquionne set up Zemanski for a strike in the 58th minute. But the Fire stormed back late in the match. After trimming the deficit 2-1 on a goal by Mike Magee, the Fire received a free-kick goal from substitute Daniel Paladini from just outside the box in the 82nd minute to level the score.
Referee: Ismail Elfath

Assistant Referees: Colin Arblaster, Jeremy Hanson
Fourth Official: Carlos Tercero
