The Portland Timbers head to Canada to take on the Montreal Impact Saturday (1:00pm PT, ROOT SPORTS), in the first of three consecutive road matches for the club. Montreal and Portland are former USL competitors whose first match occured in June 20, 2005 and the Timbers have had success at Stade Saputo with a record of 3-1-1 in its five matches in Montreal's current stadium. Here are five numbers to know for #MTLvPOR in the latest Quick Strikes by Simple.
10 Since making his debut on July 18, 2014, Liam Ridgewell has started 24 consecutive league matches for Portland. The veteran English defender has provided a solid presence on Portland's backline as the club has notched 10 shutouts in Ridgewell's starts.
.89 Over the first two months of the season, Ridgewell and the rest of the backline has made up one of the strongest group of defenders in the league. Portland has a goals against average of .89 for 2015, which is tied for the fourth-lowest in MLS. In addition, the club has conceded just once in its last three matches, which is the fewest goals conceded among the 20 MLS clubs.
138 With Darlington Nagbe leading the way with 29 fouls suffered, the Timbers are currently the most fouled team in MLS having been fouled 138 times. At their current pace, the Timbers would finish the season having sustained 521 fouls, which would be the second most fouls a team has suffered in the last nine years. In 2014, Portland was fouled 526 times, which was the most since San Jose was felled 530 times in 2006.
22Darlington Nagbe has been credited with 22 key passes this season. A key pass is defined as the final pass leading to the recipient of the ball shooting (regardless of the outcome of the shot). Only Vancouver's Pedro Morales and Red Bulls' Felipe Martins have delivered more key passes in MLS.
2,342 For the second time in less than a month, Portland has a three time-zone trek, flying 2,342 miles to take on the Impact. The match is one of five occurances this season that Portland will need to travel more than 2,000 miles (one-way) for a league match. The Timbers are 4-2-2 in the Eastern Time Zone since 2013.
