Sunday marks the last regular-season match against theSeattle Sounders and fans in Portland are ready for another chapter in the rivalry (2pm PT, ESPN2). The last time these two teams met in Portland, the rain fell hard and eight goals marked an exciting finish. Portland is still within reach for the MLS playoffs and there's points to be gained in the run for the Cascadia Cup. Let's take a look at five numbers to know for Sunday's match.
2 Portland has an opportunity to make up serious ground over the next two weeks in their Cascadia Cup matches. First, the Timbers square off against rival Seattle then on Aug. 30, they will travel to Vancouver to battle the Whitecaps. At 31 points, Portland is currently sitting at sixth place in the Western Conference and each Cascadia match represent six-point swings in the conference.
OneLiam Ridgewell has made a big impact to coach Caleb Porter's lineup, helping to strengthen the Timbers' back line. Against the New Englad Revolution last week, Ridgewell helped in on the offensive side of the pitch, knocking in the equalizer from the left side of the box in the 65' to help get Portland a point. It was Ridgewell's first goal in MLS.
Three Portland has just three remaining games in the Cascadia Cup, including Sunday's match against the Sounders and two against Vancouver Whitecaps. Though the Timbers sit third in the three-team competition, they remain in contention for the supporters cup, but these next three rivalry matches remain key.
8The last time these two teams played in Portland was quite a splash. In addition to dumping buckets of rain, eight goals were scored in total as the teams played to a fiery draw in front of a national television audience. It was the most goals scored in any Cascadia match this season.
23 The Timbers have been offensively astute at Providence Park. In total, Portland has put 23 goals in the back of the net in front of the Rose City faithful--good enough for second-most in MLS. In fact, Portland have scored the second-most total goals in MLS at 39, just behind FC Dallas.
