The Timbers would control the first 10 minutes of the match, with Dan Antoniuk getting two good chances in the first five minutes, one being blocked wide by a defender, the other a header over the bar. In the 4th minute, Byron Alvarez would have a good look at the Thunder net but put his shot just wide left from about 10 yards out. Minnesota would then have a few good scoring opportunities, the best being a shot from Johnny Menyongar in the 15th minute that was just over the bar.

The Timbers would break through first in the 21st minute when a low pass across the goal mouth from Edwin Miranda was deflected slightly by Scot Thompson, but fell to the foot of Alvarez who buried a one-time shot into the net from close in to put the Timbers up 1-0. The home side were pushing hard to widen their lead, and good chances by Alcaraz-Cuellar in the 25th minute, then Thompson in the 30th minute were just over the bar.

But in the 32nd minute, the Timbers got the second goal they were looking for when a corner kick from Alcaraz-Cuellar was met perfectly by the head of Thompson, whose shot just inside the left post beat Thunder goalkeeper Joe Warren, and the Timbers had jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

The two goal lead was very short lived, when immediately after the ensuing kickoff, Minnesota's Melvin Tarley got in behind the Timbers defense and slipped a pass ahead to Godfrey Tenoff, who got to the ball just before Timbers goalkeeper Josh Saunders and knocked it into the Timbers net, and the lead had been cut to 2-1.

And just before the end of the half, the Thunder would pull even when Timbers defener Lee Morrison misplayed a ball near his own box, and Tarley charged past two Timbers defenders and was able to just trickle a shot a few inches over the Timbers goal line to draw level. The Timbers nearly re-took the lead seconds later when a header from their recent loan from San Jose, defender Kevin Goldthwaite, was only kept out by kick save from Warren, and at the half, the teams were level at 2-2.

Eight minutes into the second half, the Thunder would get their third straight goal and take the lead when Jay Alberts hit a world-class blast to the upper right corner from 25 yards out, and the visitors had taken a 3-2 lead. Four minutes later, the Timbers nearly drew even again when Miranda's dipping free kick from 35 yards out was barely over the bar.

In the 63rd minute, the Timbers did draw level though, when a low cross from Miranda was deflected back out, but then blasted into the net from 10 yards out by Alcaraz-Cuellar, and the match was level at 3-3.

Within a minute, the Timbers had a golden opportunity to re-take the lead when a free kick into the Thunder box was fumbled by Warren, and Thompson pushed a shot towards the Thunder goal, only kept out when it was cleared off the line at the last second by Thunder defender Kevin Friedland.

Both teams tightened up their defenses and there were few chances for the rest of the match, as neither team wanted to be caught in the counterattack. In the end both teams seemed resigned to yet another draw, their third in three matches in 2005, and after a 2-2 result in Portland earlier this year, and 1-1 in Minnesota afterwards, the 3-3 result only seemed natural on this night. The Timbers did extend their unbeaten streak against the Thunder to seven games, going back to 2003.

Josh Saunders would record three saves for the Timbers, while Joe Warren also recorded three saves for the Thunder.