Timbers close out road schedule with two matches in Virginia

Published on September 2, 2005 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Portland Timbers News Release


PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Timbers (8-8-8, 32pts) look to build on Sunday's 2-1 win at Atlanta in their final two road contests of the season, beginning Friday at Virginia Beach and finishing up Saturday at Richmond.

Portland's next match at PGE Park is Thursday, Sept. 8, vs. Atlanta.

TIMBERS AT VIRGINIA BEACH - FRIDAY, SEPT. 2 - 4:30 P.M.

Out of the playoff hunt, the Virginia Beach Mariners (5-13-7, 22pts) will be looking to play spoiler to the Timbers' postseason aspirations as the two clubs meet for the second and final time this season. Portland and Virginia Beach tied their previous meeting 2-2 on May 28 at PGE Park, a game that the Timbers led 2-0 in the second half. The Timbers will be without leading scorer Dan Antoniuk while he serves out a one-game suspension for drawing a red card on Sunday.

TIMBERS AT RICHMOND - SATURDAY, SEPT. 3 - 4 P.M.

Currently in fourth place, the Richmond Kickers (10-8-8, 38pts) play both of their two remaining games against the Timbers, giving Portland a chance to deny the Kickers any remaining points in the league standings. Richmond is winless in its last nine matches dating back to July 9, and has scored just three goals in that nine-game span, despite featuring goal-scorers Kevin Jeffrey and Matthew Delicate. The Kickers are 7-3-3 at home this season and 1-0 all-time against the Timbers.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

The Timbers are in control of their own destiny, holding the sixth and final playoff spot with four matches left in the regular season. Atlanta, Charleston, Puerto Rico and Minnesota are all in the mix, but Portland has played the fewest number of games, with 24. The first two seeds earn a bye in the first round, while the sixth seed will play the third and the fourth will take on the fifth. The best the Timbers can finish is third, as Montreal has clinched the regular-season championship and the second seed is likely to be Rochester or Vancouver.

TIMBERS PITCH IN TO HELP HURRICANE VICTIMS

The Timbers, in cooperation with Northwest Medical Teams, will be collecting monetary donations at collection boxes throughout PGE Park during both remaining regular-season home games in the team's efforts to assist those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, the Timbers are donating a portion of ticket sales generated from a special link on the club's website to the relief effort. Through the link, fans can purchase general admission tickets, with $4 from each Timbers ticket purchased at the special Internet location going to Northwest Medical Teams for their recovery efforts.

BACK-TO-BACKS

This weekend's contests mark the final back-to-back set of games for the Timbers this season. Surprisingly, Portland is 3-1-0 in the second match of back-to-back games, and 0-3-1 in the opener.

HUGO RISING

With last week's assist at Atlanta, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar matched his high for assists in a season, with 10. The current league leader in that department, the midfielder has tallied assists in five of his last seven games and remains the franchise's all-time leader with 37 over the past four seasons.

NEXT UP AT THE PARK

The Timbers' final two regular-season matches of the year will take place at PGE Park, beginning Thursday, Sept. 8, when Portland hosts Atlanta at 7 p.m. After a day off, the Timbers will close out the regular season with a match against the Richmond Kickers on Saturday, Sept. 10, also at 7 p.m.

ON THE RADIO

Both road matches can be heard live on KZNY AM-1010, in Spanish on KXMG AM-1150 and online at www.portlandtimbers.com.

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USL First Division Stories from September 2, 2005


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