The Portland Timbers begin their 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign Wednesday when they host the San Jose Earthquakes on at Providence Park (7:30pm PT, Stream: Timbers.com, TICKETS). Here are five numbers to know in a special U.S. Open Cup edition of Quick Strikes.
2 Head Coach Giovanni Saverese scored two U.S. Open Cup goals in his playing days. Both of his goals came on July 22, 1998, when the New York/New Jersey MetroStars defeated the Tampa Bay Mutiny in a 4-0 Quarterfinals victory. Savarese also won six matches in the competition as head coach of the New York Cosmos.
3 Three players currently on the Timbers roster have scored goals in the U.S. Open Cup. Diego Valeri has scored three times, while Dairon Asprilla and Lawrence Olum each have one goal in the competition.
4 Wednesday's match will be the fourth time Portland and San Jose have squared off in the U.S. Open Cup. After twice taking on the Earthquakes in the second-division USL era, the Timbers beat the Earthquakes, 2-0, in 2016 in their only U.S. Open Cup match with both clubs being MLS teams. BONUS STAT: The match against the Earthquakes will be Portland's 28th U.S. Open Cup match in club history. Ten of those matches (36%) will have been against either the San Jose Earthquakes or Seattle Sounders.
5 The most goals scored by the Timbers in a USOC match is five when the club beat the Wilmington Hammerheads, 5-1, at Providence Park on May 29, 2013. Two current Timbers, Valeri and Jake Gleeson, were on the bench for that match.
6 For the sixth consecutive season in U.S. Open Cup play, Portland will face at least one MLS team. That is the longest active streak for an MLS team.
