CARSON, Calif. -- The Portland Timbers needed no time at all on Saturday night to claim the top spot in the Western Conference as Diego Valeri continued his mastery of Chivas USA with a pair of goals and a marvelous assist.
The Timbers (14-5-15) tallied three times in the first 34 minutes en route to a 5-0 triumph at the StubHub Center, vaulting past Real Salt Lake (16-10-8) to the top of the conference standings. They'll be the No. 1 seed in the West and begin the playoffs next weekend on the road against one of the LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders or Colorado Rapids, whoever wins next week's wild-card showdown.
Portland were eliminated from the Supporters' Shield race when Sporting Kansas City beat Philadelphia earlier Saturday and, with a defeat, could have fallen to fourth place in the West, but Valeri struck in the 16th and 29th minutes and beautifully set up Rodney Wallace in the 34th. Ryan Johnson and Will Johnson added second-half goals.
The Timbers tied the 34-game league record for fewest losses, set in 2011 by the Galaxy, and head into the postseason on an eight-game unbeaten streak, with five wins and six shutouts during the two-month span.
Chivas USA (6-20-8), who gave up five goals in three of their last five matches, became the 15th MLS club to lose 20 games in a season. Eight of the marks were posted during the 1996-99 shootout era and another in 2001, when ties were followed by a brief overtime period. The Goats lost 22 games in 2005, their debut season. They had won eight, eight and seven games in the previous three campaigns.
Wallace returned to the Timbers' lineup after missing last week's draw with RSL following international duty, with Darlington Nagbe returning to his normal spot on the right flank. Chivas were again without goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, who is dealing with an abdominal strain, and Carlo Chueca replaced rookie Carlos Alvarez in midfield.
Portland were in charge almost from the start, with Nagbe deciding to pass instead of take a clear shot when one-on-one with Goats goalkeeper Tim Melia in the 11th minute. Melia then stopped Wallace one-on-one at the right post three minutes later.
Valeri, who had scored in both meetings earlier this season with Chivas and assisted two goals in the Timbers' 3-0 win May 12 in Portland, then took over.
He fired the Timbers ahead after he collected a clearance and played the ball forward to Will Johnson, who relayed it to Jose Valencia to the left of the goal. Mario de Luna slid in to knock the ball away, and it rolled to Valeri near the top of the box for a simple finish.
Valeri made it 2-0 after collecting an errant pass from Jaime Frias, the Goats' left back, about 15 yards outside the box. Valeri took the ball toward the top of the box, easily sidestepped the onrushing Frias, and chipped the ball gently over Melia and into the left side of the net.
It was his 10th goal of the season, and Chivas coach Jose Luis “Guero” Real reacted by pulling Frias in favor of Josue Soto.
The third goal was a beauty. Futty Danso played a long ball up the right wing for Valeri, who took it on the bounce, manhandled Soto to get free on the right side of the box, then nutmegged Carlos Bocanegra with a pass into the middle. Wallace's angled touch sent the ball just inside the left post. The assist was Valeri's 13th of the season.
Real pulled midfielders Edgar Mejia and Bryan de la Fuente before halftime.
Ryan Johnson tallied on the rebound after Melia parried a Wallace shot in the 72nd minute, and Will Johnson made it 5-0 with a blistering, wobbling free kick from just outside the box in the 76th.
Chivas came closest to scoring on an Erick “Cubo” Torres header in the 80th minute that hit Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts in the chest.
Portland Timbers (14-5-15, 57pts) at Chivas USA (6-20-8, 26pts)
Oct. 26, 2013 – StubHub Center (Carson, Calif.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Portland Timbers 3 2 5
Chivas USA 0 0 0
Scoring Summary
POR: Valeri, 16
POR: Valeri, 29
POR: Wallace (Valeri, Danso), 34
POR: R. Johnson, 72
POR: W. Johnson, 76
Misconduct Summary
n/a
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Ricketts, D Jewsbury, D Danso, D Kah, D Harrington, M Chara, M Valeri (Alhassan, 45), M Johnson, W. ©, F Nagbe (Zemanski, 73), F Valencia (Johnson, R., 62), F Wallace
Substitutes Not Used: GK Kocic, D Jean-Baptiste, M Zizzo, F Piquionne
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (W. Johnson, Wallace, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Wallace, 3); FOULS: 12 (Jewsbury, R. Johnson, Kah, 2); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: \3; SAVES: 4
CHV: GK Melia, D Borja, D de Luna, D Bocanegra, D Frias (Soto, 31), M Minda, M Mejia (Morales, 43), M Chueca, F Avila, F Torres, F de la Fuente (Fondy, 43)
Substitutes Not Used: GK McLain, M Alvarez, M Iraheta, M Villafaña
TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Torres, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Torres, 3); FOULS: 17 (Borja, de la Fuente, 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 4
Referee: Drew Fischer
Assistant Referees: Kevin Klinger, Baboucarr Jallow
4th Official: Daniel Radford
Attendance: 11,024
Time of Game: 1:49
Weather: Clear
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
