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Portland Timbers

Timbers Weekly Update

April 19, 2018 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Portland Timbers News Release


PORTLAND, Ore. - Playing at home for a second consecutive week, the Portland Timbers will play host to Eastern Conference side New York City FC at Providence Park on Sunday, April 22. Beginning at 3 p.m. (Pacific), Sunday's match will be televised nationally on FS1 with local radio broadcasts on 750 AM/102.9 FM The Game (English) and La GranD 1150 AM/93.5 FM (Spanish).

Facing NYCFC

Sunday's match marks the fourth regular-season meeting between Portland and New York City FC since the Eastern Conference side joined the league as an expansion club in 2015. Entering the April 22 match, the Timbers lead the series 2-1-0, most recently taking a 1-0 win over New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 9, 2017. During that Sept. 9 contest in the 2017 campaign, midfielder Diego Valeri scored the lone goal for Portland, tying the MLS record for consecutive matches with a goal (7) in the 1-0 win.

Home form

Entering Sunday's game, the Timbers are coming off a 3-2 home win over Minnesota United FC on April 14. With the win against Minnesota United, the Timbers have one of the strongest home records in the league since the start of the 2016 season, with 24 wins (24-5-6) at Providence Park in the last three seasons. Portland's 24 home wins rank as the second-most in the league during that span. Additionally, the Timbers have won seven straight regular-season games at Providence Park, dating back to the 2017 season, which ranks tied as the most consecutive home wins in MLS play in club history.

Scoring at home

Since the start of the 2016 season, the Timbers are tied for the most goals (76) at home in MLS. In addition, Portland has scored in 22 straight home games, dating back to the 2016 campaign, marking the first time in club history across all eras (since 1975) that the Timbers have scored in 22 or more consecutive home games.

Scouting New York City FC

Led by head coach Patrick Viera, New York City FC enters Sunday's match as one of two teams in the league with an unbeaten record (5-0-2) through the first seven weeks of league play. Most recently, New York City FC battled Atlanta United FC to a 2-2 draw at the Mercedes Benz Stadium on April 15, extending its 2018 away record to 2-0-2. Midfielder Maximiliano Moralez leads the team in goals scored (4), while midfielder Jesus Medina has recorded the most assists on the team (5).

Next match

Following Sunday's match, the Timbers will travel to face the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium on Saturday, May 5. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific), the May 5 match will be broadcast live on FOX 12 Plus (KPDX) with local radio broadcasts on 750 AM/102.9 FM The Game (English) and La GranD 1150 AM/93.5 FM (Spanish).

TEAM NEWS

Alvas Powell earns MLS Player of the Week, Team of the Week and Goal of the Week honors

Defender Alvas Powell scored the Timbers' first goal at Providence Park this season, while also providing an assist on midfielder Diego Valeri's third goal of the season two minutes later, to help guide the Timbers to their first win of the season in a 3-2 victory over Minnesota United FC on April 14. With a solid performance against the Loons, Powell was named the Alcatel Player of the Week for Week 7 for the first time in his career, while also earning MLS Team of the Week and Goal of the Week honors.

MLS celebrates Earth Day with third-annual week of service

In conjunction with Greener Goals Week of Service, Major League Soccer has collaborated with adidas to support Parley for the Oceans. MLS players will wear special adidas kits during Week 8 matches (April 20-22), built of technical yarns made using Parley Ocean Plastic™. The 2018 edition of the jerseys will be supported by all 23 clubs and comes in two colorways, non-dye and carbon, differentiating the two teams in each game. As part of the initiative, the Timbers will wear a carbon parley kit in the team's home game against New York City FC on Sunday.

Koi Fusion to serve as featured food cart Sunday at Providence Park

For a eighth consecutive season, fans will be able to enjoy food from some of the most popular food carts around Portland, including Sunday's featured food cart, Koi Fusion, as part of the Portland Timbers Food Cart Alliance (PTFCA).

The PTFCA is designed to highlight Portland's food-cart culture, with featured food carts Kim Jong Grillin, Boke Dokie, Koi Fusion and 808 Grinds regularly appearing at Providence Park for both Timbers and Portland Thorns FC home matches in 2018. To learn more about PTFCA, visit www.timbers.com/matchday/ptfca.

Providence Park expansion

Providence Park is currently in the midst of an extensive stadium expansion project that will add approximately 4,000 new seats and a striking new street-level colonnade along the eastern side of the stadium. As a function of the ongoing construction, access to parts of Providence Park will change or be off-limits for parts of the season. The current construction is phase one of the Timbers' two-year plan to expand the stadium, with the stadium renovation set to be completed during the 2019 MLS campaign.

T2 tallies first home win of the season with a 3-2 win over Rio Grande Valley FC

Playing their first home game of the 2018 season, T2 registered a 3-2 win over Rio Grande Valley FC Toros at Merlo Field on Wednesday. Three different players scored in the win for T2, with Jeremy Ebobisse and Foster Langsdorf each registering their second goals of the season, while midfielder Jack Barmby tallied his first goal of 2018.

Nine Portland Timbers players appeared for T2 in the home opener. Ebobisse made his sixth straight start of the season, while Victor Arboleda appeared in his fifth match in 2018. Timbers goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh made his fourth straight appearance. Defender Modou Jadama earned his sixth straight start. Midfielder Eryk Williamson made his fourth start of the season, while Langsdorf earned his third start of 2018. Midfielder Dairon Asprilla and defender Julio Cascante made their first starts of the USL campaign, each playing 45 minutes. Barmby came on as a second-half substitute, playing 45 minutes.

Next up, T2 continues a three-match homestand when it plays host to Reno 1868 FC at Merlo Field on Saturday, April 21. Beginning at 7 p.m. (Pacific), the match against Reno 1868 FC will be streamed live on ESPN+.

TEAM MEDIA SOURCES

Television: "Timbers in 30"

Throughout the season, "Timbers in 30," hosted by Jake Zivin, Ross Smith and Samantha Yarock, will offer inside access to the club and provide analysis with in-studio appearances from Timbers coaches and players. Previously aired shows and "Timbers in 30" features can be found at www.timbers.com. This week, "Timbers in 30" airs on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (Pacific) on FOX 12 Oregon with Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese in studio.

Radio: "Talk Timbers"

The Timbers' weekly radio talk show, "Talk Timbers," airs every Wednesday evening beginning at 6 p.m. (Pacific) on flagship station 750 The Game. "Talk Timbers" provides team and league news as well as interviews with Timbers coaches and players during the season, and also features regular updates on T2 and Portland Thorns FC. This week's guests included goalkeeper coach Guillermo "Memo" Valencia and Timbers defender Zarek Valentin.

Fans can submit questions, provide comments or simply follow the conversation on the show on Twitter with the hashtag #TalkTimbers.

Fans can tune in to the show live on 750 The Game or listen online at www.750thegame.com. Available podcasts can be downloaded at www.timbers.com/news/timbers-podcast-network.

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