Portland host rival Seattle Friday
September 14, 2005 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Portland Timbers News Release
PORTLAND, Ore. - The surging Portland Timbers kick off the postseason with a home match against their longtime rival, the Seattle Sounders, on Friday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. The two-game, first-round playoff series finishes up Sunday, Sept. 18, at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash., and will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel at 7 p.m. (Pacific).
Tickets for Friday's match are on sale now at area Ticketmaster outlets and at the PGE Park box office.
THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
The winner of the first-round series between the No. 4-seed Sounders and No. 5-seed Timbers will advance to play the defending-champion and top-seeded Montreal Impact in a two-game, aggregate-goal series next weekend. The winner of that semifinal series will play in the one-game USL First Division Championship on Saturday, Oct. 1, against Rochester, Vancouver or Richmond. The third-seed Vancouver Whitecaps and sixth-seed Richmond Kickers are playing the other first-round series, with the victor taking on the Rochester Raging Rhinos in the semifinals.
THE FORMAT
With the exception of the title game, the USL First Division playoff structure is that of a two-game, aggregate goal series, where the team with the most goals after two contests advances to the next round. If the goal tally is equal after the second match, two 15-minute "series overtime" periods are played in their entirety to determine the winner. If it is tied after that, the match will be decided by FIFA penalty kicks.
PORTLAND VS. SEATTLE - 2005
The Timbers took the regular-season series with Seattle, 2-1-1, and in addition, defeated the Sounders in an exhibition game and a U.S. Open Cup match to finish with four wins over their Northwest rivals. The following is a game-by-game breakdown.
* APRIL 9 AT PORTLAND (Exhibition) - The Timbers defeated the Sounders 2-1 in a preseason exhibition match on goals from Scot Thompson and trialist Luc Harrington. Scott Jenkins tallied for Seattle.
* APRIL 30 AT SEATTLE - Portland opened up its 2005 road schedule on a high note, beating Seattle 2-1 at Qwest Field. Tom Poltl and Byron Alvarez knocked in goals for Portland and Josh Saunders roped in eight saves to preserve the victory.
* JULY 8 AT SEATTLE - The Sounders exacted revenge on the Timbers by way of a 4-2 victory at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash. Gabe Sturm and Taylor Graham each collected a goal and an assist for the Sounders, who went up 3-0 before Portland got late goals from Alvarez and Shaun Higgins.
* JULY 12 AT PORTLAND (U.S. Open Cup) - The Timbers rebounded from the 4-2 loss at Seattle just four days prior with a 2-0 shutout of the visiting Sounders in the third round of the 2005 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at PGE Park. Goals from Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar and Dan Antoniuk sent Portland to a fourth-round match with the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS.
* AUG. 7 AT PORTLAND - The Timbers won their seventh league game in nine tries against their I-5 rivals, this time with a 1-0 victory on a strike from Paul Conway in the 77th minute. It was the Portland native's first goal as a Timber.
* AUG. 20 AT PORTLAND - In the last match between the two clubs, Portland fell behind when Jenkins hit for the first goal in the 22nd, but Higgins dialed in the equalizer with four minutes remaining to seal a 1-1 draw.
PORTLAND HEAD COACH BOBBY HOWE ON THE SERIES
"We were disappointed to be eliminated by Seattle last year at this stage, and hopefully this time we'll redress the balance. The Portland-Seattle rivalry is the best in American soccer."
SEATTLE HEAD COACH BRIAN SCHMETZER ON THE SERIES
"I am looking forward to continuing the fierce rivalry between the two franchises this weekend. Portland has had our number this past regular season, but we are going to fight and play as hard as possible to figure out a way to win. I have a lot of respect for Bobby (Howe) and the Timbers, but will do my best to make sure we have a repeat of our success versus Portland in last year's playoffs."
PORTLAND VS. SEATTLE - ALL TIME
Widely recognized as one of the premier rivalries in American soccer, the Portland-Seattle series has a history that dates to 1975, when both clubs were members of the North American Soccer League (NASL). In the Timbers' five seasons as members of the USL First Division (formerly A-League), Seattle holds the regular-season edge, 11-9-2. Despite the northern advantage, the Timbers have lost to the Sounders only twice in the last 10 regular-season games.
PLAYOFF REDUX
Although the Timbers have held the edge in league play over the past three seasons, the Sounders own postseason bragging rights after defeating Portland 3-2 in last year's first-round series, putting an early end to Portland's 2004 championship aspirations. With the Timbers leading 2-1 entering the final game in Seattle, Welton Melo struck for two goals to clinch the upset victory over the Timbers, who won the regular-season championship that year.
SPREAD THE LOVE
The Portland-Seattle series this season produced 19 cautions in total between the two clubs during the regular season, down slightly from 22 yellow cards between the rivals in 2004. Seattle out-drew Portland 12-7 with an ejection in the misconduct department this year.
WINNING WAYS
The Timbers finished the 2005 season with a 10-9-9 record (39pts), ensuring their fifth winning season and a fourth trip to the postseason in five campaigns. Since joining the USL as an expansion club in 2001, Portland's 69 victories rank fourth in the league and its four playoff appearances are tied for second-most in that five-year span.
CASHING IN
The Timbers have gone on an offensive tear over their last two games of the season, outscoring Atlanta and Richmond by a combined score of 9-1. The Timbers tallied just 10 times over their previous nine matches prior to the scoring outburst.
LEAGUE LEADERS
With the Timbers' fifth regular season in the books, several players ranked among league leaders in a number of statistical categories ... Alcaraz-Cuellar finished with 12 assists, marking the second consecutive season that the midfielder led the league in that category ... Antoniuk finished fourth in points (28) and goals (13) ... Alvarez ended up fifth in goals scored with nine on the year ... Saunders finished as one of four players in the league to play in every minute of all 28 games ... the goalkeeper also finished eighth in goals-against average (1.50), third in saves (106), tied for sixth in shutouts (6) and tied for fourth in wins (10) ... Antoniuk also placed second in shots (62) and tied for second in fouls (51).
SOUNDERS OF LATE
After jumping out to a fast start this season, the Sounders have cooled down, winning just twice in their last 10 attempts. Seattle recently signed Cuban defector, forward Maykel Galindo, who started and logged 67 minutes in his first game with Seattle on Sept. 9 vs. Montreal. Galindo, 24, fled the Cuban National Team during July's 2005 Gold Cup at Qwest Field. The Sounders finished the 2005 regular season with an 11-6-11 record, one spot ahead of Portland in the league table.
INJURY UPDATE
Midfielder Jarrod Weis (torn MCL) and forward Paul Conway (dislocated right elbow) will miss the Seattle series with injuries.
TICKETS ON SALE
Tickets for both matches are currently on sale at area Ticketmaster outlets and at the PGE Park box office. Online purchases can be made at Ticketmaster.com and by phone at (503) 224-4400. Groups of 15 or greater are encouraged to contact the Timbers ticket office at (503) 553-5555 for discounted seats.
ON THE AIR
Both contests can be heard live on KZNY AM-1010, and in Spanish on KXMG AM-1150, while Sunday's match at Seattle will be nationally televised live on Fox Soccer Channel. In the Portland area, the match can be seen on Comcast Digital Cable channel 401.
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USL First Division Stories from September 14, 2005
- Portland host rival Seattle Friday - Portland Timbers
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