Whitecaps Travel to Portland This Weekend
May 29, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Vancouver Whitecaps News Release
VANCOUVER, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC men (3W-2L-2D) return to USL First Division action when they visit Pacific Northwest rivals Portland Timbers (3W-1L-3D) on Saturday evening.
Teitur Thordarson's side complete a busy month of action by heading down Interstate 5 to The City of Roses for the first of two regular season road visits against the Oregon-based outfit, with the Blue and White looking to extend their unbeaten run versus the Timbers to five matches. On April 25, the 'Caps won their lone regular season home game against Portland, as Martin Nash's first goal of the year earned Vancouver a 1-0 win at Swangard. In fact, the club's four-match unbeaten streak began just over a year ago at Portland's PGE Park. On May 24, 2008, Vicente Arze's first-ever Whitecaps goal earned the club's first victory in Portland since July 2, 2004.
Buoyed by two big wins over fellow USL-1 club Montreal Impact in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, the Whitecaps aim to translate that form to this weekend's league match, with Saturday's contest being the 37th all-time meeting between the Whitecaps and Timbers. Vancouver lead the overall series of results versus Portland, having recorded 21 wins, eight defeats, and seven draws since the 2001 campaign. This includes an all-time record of five wins, seven defeats, and five draws for the 'Caps at PGE Park.
WHITECAPS
It has been a busy month of May for the men's team, with the Timbers game being the 'Caps seventh match this month. Though his players have put in a lot of minutes in the last four weeks, the form of Thordarson's side has improved considerably. That was certainly underlined by Vancouver's two big wins over Montreal that revived the club's Canadian Championship hopes. The Whitecaps head coach expects more of the same from his talented squad this weekend. "We've seen a lot of good things from the team in the last little while, especially against Montreal," he told whitecapsfc.com. "Even though our focus comes back to the league, it is important that the players continue to perform as they have been doing lately. Whether we manage to claim the three points in Portland or not, it's important that we play well down there."
With next Tuesday's big Canadian Championship home match versus Major League Soccer club Toronto FC still to come, the former Iceland international striker revealed he may make some adjustments to his line-up in The City of Roses. "We might play with a bit of a different line-up to what we have been focusing on," Thordarson said. "We have two or three players that might need some rest after playing a lot of our recent games, so some players may not be involved for the entire match on Saturday."
After missing Wednesday's win over the Impact through suspension, Wesley Charles will be available to face the Timbers, and with fellow centre backs Jeff Parke and Justin Thompson making the trip to Oregon, Marco Reda will remain behind in Vancouver this weekend. Defender Geordie Lyall will also miss the trip to Portland after picking a hamstring injury, as will Bolivian winger Arze, who has the same injury concern in his leg. Central midfielder Kenold Versailles is also left out of Thordarson's traveling party, though the Haiti international has returned to full training. Striker Marlon James remains sidelined with the hamstring injury he picked up in the 'Caps home win over Puerto Rico Islanders on May 10.
TIMBERS
After opening their 2009 league campaign with last month's defeat in Vancouver, Gavin Wilkinson's new-look side have gone on to have a decent start to their USL-1 campaign. The Timbers are undefeated in their last six league games, with three wins and three draws claimed by the Oregon outfit to date.
In fact, Portland's three wins came against three of the top clubs in USL-1. They defeated league leaders Carolina RailHawks 2-0 at home on May 2 before getting a fortunate one-goal result versus Rochester Rhinos at PGE Park on May 14. Portland followed that with an impressive 2-1 win over the Islanders in Puerto Rico on May 24, with the Timbers taking four points out of a possible six during last weekend's two-game road trip to the Caribbean. Brian Farber, Mandjou Keita, and Ryan Pore have led the way for Portland with two goals each so far this term. "Portland are better than they were last season," Thordarson said. "They may be one of the teams in our league that have changed the most since last year - both in terms of personnel and their style of play."
One of the unique aspects of playing at PGE Park is the large and passionate support that the home side receive from the Timbers Army. With a number of Whitecaps fans heading down for Saturday's game, Thordarson hopes the fans can add some real colour to the derby match-up. "They have a good atmosphere down there," he said. "Portland is one of the places in North America where they have proper supporters. With our fans going down for the game, I just hope the atmosphere is a good one for the players to play in."
This weekend will be a busy one for Wilkinson's side. Following Saturday's clash with the 'Caps, the Timbers host the reserve side of Mexican giants Club America in a friendly contest at PGE Park on Sunday. The Timbers have also announced that they will host newly-promoted English Premier League club Burnley FC in a friendly match on July 25.
Complete match preview: whitecapsfc.com/men/schedule/2009_05_30_at_Portland_Timbers.aspx
USL First Division Stories from May 29, 2009
- Austin Midfielder Yordany Alvarez Powers Aztex Past Islanders 3-1 - Austin Aztex
- Lightning Start Season with a 1-1 Draw with No. 6 in the World FC Indiana Lionesses - Minnesota Thunder
- City Stars Give Up Goal Late - Cleveland City Stars
- Paladini Delivers 90th-Minute Goal As RailHawks Prevail 1-0 - North Carolina FC
- Impact Faces The Rhinos In Rochester Saturday - Montreal Impact
- Timbers Host Vancouver This Weekend - Portland Timbers
- Whitecaps Travel to Portland This Weekend - Vancouver Whitecaps
- City Stars To Host The First Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Match Ever Played In Cleveland - Cleveland City Stars
- City Stars Take On Carolina And Charleston This Weekend - Cleveland City Stars
- Austin Aztex FC host Mississippi Brilla in U.S. Open Cup First Round on June 9 - Austin Aztex
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
