The 2012 Portland Timbers made their debut in the rose city on a very frosty evening at JELD-WEN Field, but a crowd of over 16,000 made it out to the stadium see the Timbers take an early lead on a spectacular goal by Kalif Alhassan, only to see the Timbers knock the ball into their own net for the 1-1 final.

It was in the 15th minute when Diego Chara played the ball to Alhassan, who was at the edge of the box to the San Jose keeper’s right, but the Timbers midfielder shocked the Earthquakes, and the crowd, with a curling shot that was just over the outstretched fingers of San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch, and just inside the right post for the 1-0 lead.

But in the 59th minute, San Jose made their pressure pay off when Tressor Moreno jumped on a bad Timbers pass in their own end of the pitch, and with Chris Wondolowski then looking for Steven Lenhart in front of the Timbers box, the ball was instead knocked in by new defender Hanyer Mosquera to level the score at 1-1.

Late in the match the Timbers came within inches of taking a late lead when Bright Dike’s header rattled off the Earthquakes crossbar, but the ball was cleared, and the Timbers would have to settle for keeping their two-year undefeated preseason record intact with the 1-1 draw.

The Timbers and San Jose drew 1-1 in both regular season matches last year.

Match reports:

Portland Timbers:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/02/timbers-chippy-tie-against-quakes-perfect-test
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/02/timbers-open-preseason-tournament-1-1-draw
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/02/timbers-and-earthquakes-draw-1-1

Video highlights:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/video/2012/02/27/2012-preseason-timbers-vs-san-jose

San Jose Earthquakes:
http://www.sjearthquakes.com/news/2012/02/recap-quakes-timbers-draw-tournament-opener

OregonLive Timbers Blog:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/timbers/2012/02/a_look_back_timbers_and_earthq.html

Stumptown Footy:
http://www.stumptownfooty.com/2012/2/28/2830068/recap-portland-shows-some-preseason-rust-but-remains-unbeaten-in
http://www.stumptownfooty.com/2012/2/28/2830049/portland-timbers-1-1-san-jose-earthquakes-timbers-player-ratings

Portland Tribune:
http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=133044961268326200

750 KXL:
http://www.kxl.com/02/27/12/Timbers-Alhassan-nets-spectacular-goal-i/landing.html?blockID=589684&feedID=10528

OregonLive:
http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2012/02/portland_timbers_finish_in_a_1.html

Soccer by Ives:
http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2012/02/timbers-top-earthquakes-in-pre-season.html

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