I didn’t make this one so know inane insightful commentary from me. I will say that a two-day attendance total of 25,722 is impressive. Definitely a winning week for soccer in the Rose City.

Next up: @Minnesota on July 4. Kicks off a stretch of four games on the road before the team returns to PGE Park to play Puerto Rico on July 23.

Match Reports

• Visser, Jallow anchor Timbers win over Bayern Munich II (Portland Timbers)
• Reserves for Timbers pass German test (The Oregonian)
• Photo Gallery (Soccer City USA)
• Timbers 2-0 over Bayern Munich II (Dropping Timber)

Photo: Alex McDougall

Bottom Line: First half goals by Roger Levesque and Stephen King lifted the Seattle Sounders to a 2-1 victory over the Portland Timbers in a US Open Cup match played in front of 16,382 at PGE Park. Levesque, a former member of the USL Sounders, stunned the packed stadium with a goal in the first minute. The visiting Sounders took a two-goal lead in the 26th minute when King struck a shot from outside the box and beat Timbers keeper Steve Cronin. The Timbers pulled one back in the 43rd minute when Mandjou Keita emerged from a scrum in front of the net and poked it past Sounders keeper Kasey Keller. The Timbers were unable to find the equalizer and lost for the first time in 14 games. With the win Seattle advances to the next round of the US Open Cup and will face the Kansas City Wizards.

Timbers lineup
Cronin
Thompson Knowles Keel (Danso 90) Hayes
Farber Claesson Savage (McManus 45) Suzuki
Keita Josten (Nimo 80)

Did you notice…

• As disappointing it is to see the Timbers lose, it was a fantastic night for soccer in Portland and the Pacific Northwest. The atmosphere was outstanding. Both supporters groups sung loud and proud. A lot of new faces showed up to the stadium. This is what a lot of us have worked for for a very long time.
• I give the Timbers credit for sticking in the game. A first minute goal is always deflating and to fall behind by two goals usually means game over. The team fought through the early struggle and played a pretty decent, even game.



• The biggest difference tonight was the central midfield. Claesson and Savage were badly outplayed in the first half. The both are a step slow to be successful playing against MLS caliber players. I thought Gavin Wilkinson made the right move bringing in Tony McManus for the second half. He is a more physical player than Savage and broke up some of the Sounders’ build up.
• Roger Levesque has always killed the Timbers. It was disappointing to see an Oregonian and former University of Portland player Nate Jaqua join in the goal celebration by pretending to chop down Levesque. Until he uses a real chainsaw to do the deed, Jaqua is dead to me.
• I thought Wilkinson waited a little too long to bring in the bench. He didn’t make a substitution until the 80th minute and when he did it was Nimo, who was very effective, for Josten, who had his moments. That left Suzuki paired with Keita up front. Suzuki worked hard, but he isn’t going to get it done late in the game. He doesn’t have the gas. Bringing in Danso as an extra forward was intriguing, but at the 90th minute a bit too late.
• When the Timbers panicked they resorted to the long ball. When they were under control, they rolled it around. For a 20-minute stretch in the first half it was almost all long ball.
• Who shot Sanna Nyassi? There must be a grassy knoll out there somewhere that is hiding the sniper that felled him late in the game. How else can you explain him going down to the turf in a heap with no one around? Whoever threw the empty water bottle from the North End has tremendous aim. Next time throw it at Wilkinson too for letting Nyassi play for the Timbers last season while on trial with Seattle.
• True conversation I had with a Seattle customer fan after Levesque scored:

  Me: Your guy Levesque always kills us.
  Him: Who?
  Me: Levesque. The guy who just scored.
  Him: (Tumbleweeds…)
  Me: The guy who played for your USL side.
  Him: (Deer caught in headlights look)
  Me: Your team. The one you had for a decade or so.
  Him: (Looks like he doesn’t understand English)
  Me: Never mind
  Him: (Relieved look on his face)

Match Reports

• Sounders down Timbers in US Open Cup (USA Today)
• Sounders FC cuts down Portland 2-1 in spirited battle of Northwest rivals (Seattle Times)
• Sounders beat old rival Timbers in U.S. Open Cup (Seattle P-I)
• Sound loss for Timbers (The Columbian)
• Seattle 2, Portland 1: Sounders stun sold-out PGE Park crowd in U.S. Open Cup (The Oregonian)
• Photo Gallery (Allison Andrews Soccer City USA)

Photos: Alex McDougall

It is difficult to imagine a better way of renewing a rivalry that dates back more than thirty years. More than 16,000 people will be jammed into PGE Park (imagine if this was being played in front of 2,000 at Starfire!) this evening to watch the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders go at it in the US Open Cup. A few years ago when the announcement was made that Seattle would leave for MLS, many of us assumed that the only chance we would have to see the Pacific Northwest rivals battle one another again would be in meaningless exhibitions. This is not a meaningless exhibition. Nor will it be the last non-meaningless game we see between the two clubs. With Portland joining Seattle in MLS in 2011 (something even more difficult to have imagined a couple of years ago), the rivalry will live on. Tonight is a preview of what is to come. Show up early. Expect a physical, ugly game. And savor this moment. It might not be back for a couple of years.

Match Previews

• Timbers-Sounders game provides proving ground for some Portland players (The Oregonian)
• Timbers renew rivalry that has some legs (The Columbian)
• Smoldering soccer rivalry gets new fire (The Olympian)
• Sounders still all the rave (green) (Seattle P-I)
• Former Portland soccer star Keller returns as rival (KGW)
• Portland vs. Seattle soccer rivalry more friendly back in NASL days (Seattle Times)
• Portland Timbers fans take rivalry with Sounders FC to another level (Seattle Times)
• Seattle-Portland rivalry remains intense (MLSnet)

Photo: Allison Andrews/Soccer City USA

*Full=16,000 capacity
*Full=Happy scalpers

The Bottom Line: Mandjou Keita scored a pair of goals and George Josten tallied a pair of assists to lift the Portland Timbers to a 4-0 victory over the Montreal Impact in front of 7,783 at PGE Park on a gorgeous summer Sunday afternoon. Keita started the scoring in the 9th minute when headed home a David Hayes corner kick. In the 47th minute, he picked up another goal on a give-and-go with Josten that resulted in a Keita shot that deflected off an Impact (5-5-2, 17pts) defender and into the goal. Josten set up the third Portland (7-1-5, 26pts) goal of the match when he played a through ball to Brian Farber who beat Montreal Brian Matt Jordan in the 56th minute. The scoring was capped off by an own goal by Montreal in the 64th minute. The victory extends Portland’s unbeaten run in league play to 12 games. It is the second time this season the Timbers have defeated Montreal at PGE Park.

Timbers Lineup
POR: GK Cronin (Visser, 78), D Hayes, D Knowles, D Keel, D Thompson, M Farber, M Claesson (Higgins, 67), M Savage (Cameron, 81), M Suzuki (Nimo, 66), F Keita (McLaughlin, 67), F Josten

Did you notice…

• Nine goals in two games. Gavin Wilkinson has become an offensive mastermind.
• The Timbers took it to a pretty decent Montreal side that entered the game riding a three-game winning streak and that had won five of its past six games. Montreal played most of the match on its heels and collapsed after the second goal.
• I’d say that Keita is ready for prime time. He has found his scoring grove with five goals in three matches. Imagine what he could do if he could stay onside.
• Josten is one of the slowest, least physically capable players on the team, but he has a knack for setting up other players. He is developing into a very handy play maker and strike partner for Keita.
• Heading into a big US Open Cup games against Seattle, it was nice that Wilkinson was able to go to his bench early and save some of his players for Wednesday. I didn’t even mind seeing Shaun Higgins for the first time in 2009. The new rule is that he can only enter the game when there is a four-goal lead.
• Scot Thompson and Cameron Knowles are two USL-era Timbers’ legends. It is easy to lose track of that.
• The next time you watch David Hayes you might want to note where he passes the ball. Almost every time he opts to make the simple pass rather than do something spectacular. That is why he is so effective. It is also why I’d take him lining up over a free kick rather than a guy like Andrew Gregor any day of the week.
• Thumbs up to the dude in the stands wearing an authentic Takayuki Suzuki 2002 Japan World Cup jersey.
• Thumbs down to the dude wearing the Michael Nsien jersey. Can’t we outlaw anything to do with 2006?
• The Timbers won seven games in 2008. They are already there this year with more than half the schedule still in play. There’s a good chance they’ll reach the number of wins in 2007: 14.
• Third in the table with games in hand.
• 270 minutes of soccer makes for a long day but between the U.S. nats almost pulling off an upset, the U23s winning in the 88th minute (Bobby!), and the chainsaw on repeat mode for the senior team, it was a fine way to spend a Sunday.
• Wednesday can’t come soon enough.

Match Reports

• Keita’s brace lead Timbers to 4-0 win over Montreal (Portland Timbers)
• Impact Walloped on Road (Montreal Impact)
• SUPER SOCCER SUNDAY Part 2 - Timbers Destroy Impact 4 - 0 (Dropping Timber)
• Portland 4, Montreal 0: Timbers pay attention, blunt Impact (Oregonlive)
• Fun in the sun as the Timbers beat Montreal 4-0 (Oregonlive Timbers Blog)
• Timbers hammer Impact 4-0 on pair of Keita goals (Soccer City USA)
• Well, Soccer Sunday Had a Happy Ending Anyway. (GK’s Althetic Sippotters)

Photo: Allison Andrews/Soccer City USA

By the time they take the pitch at 5pm on Sunday the Portland Timbers will have had eight days off since their last game, a 5-1 drubbing of the Minnesota Thunder. Eight days off is roughly the same as 3.75 dog lives in the USL First Division. Witness the four games in seven days that are to follow.

Sunday’s match is against the Montreal Impact (5-4-2, 17pts), a club that has won its past three league games since falling to Portland (6-1-5, 23pts) 1-0 back on June 4 at PGE Park. You’ll recall that it took a Keith Savage goal in the 90th minute to lift the Timbers to victory in a game in which they outshot the Impact 19-2. You may also recall that the game against the Impact was the last time that Ryan Pore was on the pitch for the good guys. After sitting out a few games, he is back in the fold along with midfield mate Tony McManus, forward Antouman Jallow and defender Takuro Nishimura.

Amen

Lest you think that you only have one game to think about on Sunday, let you be reminded that the Portland Timbers U23s are also doing their thing. What is unique is that their thing is being sponsored by the Timbers Army. Proceeds will go to all those crazy banners you see in the north end as well as to a deserving local charity. You’d be stupid not to show up for the 1pm kickoff against the much hated Vancouver Whitecaps Residency team. The U23s have scored 28 goals in 10 games. That, my amigos, is the definition of offensive footy. The Forest Grove News-Times is on the story.

You’ll be excused if show up a tad late, however, since the U.S. national team faces Brazil in the Confederations Cup final starting at 11:30 in the morning. I have no clue where the masses will be meeting to watch this one, but I imagine it will be at one of the venues near the stadium and I imagine a good time will be had by all.

Sunday it is. I’ll be making a guest appearance and will even do my best to churn out a match report of sorts following the fun.

Last man standing wins.

Photo: Alex McDougall

Win
Draw
Draw
Win
Thumping (three players sent off, my goodiness)

Those are the types of results that are enough to get a guy with his head up his arse’s (guilty, although in this case replace arse with Seattle and you get my story) attention.

It doesn’t matter the year, there is also a time when the Timbers face adversity. Some years they deal with it well and some years they roll over and die (see last season). There still might be some tough stretches ahead – four straight league road games in July, and the annual Montreal/Rochester road affair come to mind – but based on what I have seen (term used loosely) during this recent run, I’m not too concerned about this team’s ability to handle it.

No defeats since April 25. Can’t argue with that.

Photo: Alex McDougall. He has more photos from the game right here. You should be kind and visit his photos since I was unkind and failed to let him know I was out of action on Friday. Cheers.

You should also take note that everyone’s pal Rick has brought the Oregonlive Timbers blog back from the dead. The more voices the merrier!

So yeah, taking the US Open Cup a little more seriously might not have been a bad move after all.

A year after fielding a largely reserve squad that proceeded to be bounced from the competition by the amateur side Hollywood United, the Portland Timbers have advanced to the third round of the US Open Cup thanks to a 3-0 victory over the Sonoma County Sol in Santa Rosa, CA on Tuesday evening. George Josten scored in the 7th minute and Mandjou Keita sealed the deal with a late brace to lift the Timbers to a victory over the amateur Sol. This being the US Open Cup, one of the oldest soccer tournaments in the world and one of the most heinously neglected competitions in this country, we could only follow the action 140 characters at a time. Painful

It will be easier to keep abreast of the action in the next round. The Timbers host the Seattle Sounders at PGE Park on July 1. This will be the first time the Timbers will play the MLS version of their longtime rival and you can bet that the park will be abuzzin’ and the players will be aplayin’.

Good stuff.

Timbers press release.

Two of the hottest teams in the world (hyperbole, but how many leagues actually play in June?) will square off in the second round of the US Open Cup on Tuesday. The Sonoma County Sol host the Portland Timbers at the infamous Ernie Nevers Field in Santa Rosa, California. The Sol, an amateur club that plays in the National Premier Soccer League, have not lost a game this season. Including US Open Cup qualifying matches, they are 12-0-2. They have outscored their opponents 46-13.

They face a Timbers team that has not lost since their season opener against the Vancouver Whitecaps on April 25. That is 11 straight games in all competitions without a defeat. The match will be the fourth in eight days for Portland, who advanced to the competition’s second round with a 3-0 victory last Tuesday against the Kitsap Pumas.

One of the fun things about the US Open Cup is that it provides fans with an opportunity to learn about teams playing in the lower divisions of American soccer. I’m sure by now you are all very familiar with the Sonoma County Sol, but I was not. After spending a bit of time poking around the interwebs I have learned the following:

• The club is primarily made up of players from the Santa Rosa area, the majority of whom have played for Sonoma State University, a Division II school that won an NCAA National Championship in 2002.
• Sonoma State University mascot is the seawolf. Seawolves and RailHawks are mortal enemies.
• In their 5-2 victory over Tommy Poltl’s former club, Orange County Blue Stars, Shawn Percell scored a pair of goals for the Sol. Percell, who also serves as the team’s assistant manager, played three seasons for the Seattle Sounders back in the Darren Sawatzky era. I don’t remember Percell, but I don’t have to remember him to know that he is scum.
• The only other player on the roster who appears to have played at the USL-1 level is Lee Sandwina, who was on the Charleston Battery’s roster for a season.
• Defender Lee Summerscales earned 10 caps for the U-18 England National Team.
• As part of their US Open Cup qualifying, the Sol tied Doxa-Italia 1-1. Apparently Doxa-Italia is part of the remnants of Hollywood United FC. We are all too familiar with Hollywood United FC.
• Earlier this season the Sol crushed Salinas Samba 10-1. How classy can a team that scored 10 goals in a game really be? Answer: not classy at all.
• Sol Philosophy: The Sol play a traditional 1-4-4-2 system. Grassroots style, but with an entertaining flair.
• That entertaining flair is not evident on YouTube. Not a single highlight of the Sol can be found.
• The median household income in Sonoma County in 2000 was $88,303. All of the players in Tuesday’s game earn less than the median household income.
• Ernie Nevers Field is named after a former Duluth Eskimo. The pitch is plastic with American football lines.

Useless the Portland Timbers were not during this sojourn. They defeated the Kitsap Pumas 3-0 on Tuesday in one of those tricky US Open Cup matches where they are supposed to win because they play in a higher caliber league but they aren’t assured victory because the game means more to the lower caliber league guys.

They then flew cross country and faced the Carolina RailHawks for the third time in ten league games. Without their leading goal scorer and without their holding midfielder, the Timbers pretty much took it to Carolina and could easily have walked away with three points instead of the standard 0-0 result they seemingly always get against Carolina.

A few hours rest and they were back at it in the heat and humidity in Charleston, facing a Battery team that has yet to lose in 12 games. Falling behind a goal, Portland could easily have folded. Instead, a late goal from Mandjou Keita leveled the score at 1-1 and extended the Timbers’ unbeaten streak to ten games.

A win and two draws even though it could just as well been two wins and a loss. Either way we’ll take it. What we learned from this brutal stretch was that this year’s squad does in fact have a bit of depth. Over the three games, 15 different players started and 18 players saw action. The Cameron Knowles Iroman awards go to Steve Cronin, David Hayes, Scot Thompson, and Keith Savage for playing all 270 minutes.

And now the team has the luxury of two whole days without a game. They get to fly back across the country to face some outfit called the Sonoma County Sol in yet another one of those tricky US Open Cup matches where they are supposed to win because they play in a higher caliber league but they aren’t assured victory because the game means more to the lower caliber league guys.

A victory means a US Open Cup home match on June 30 against the much despised Seattle Sounders. That would not suck.

Photo: Steven Worthy