Portland Timbers

Breakdown

The Timbers have had the Sounders number over the past several years, except when it comes to the playoffs. In the last 14 non-playoff matchups, the Timbers have 9 wins, 2 losses, and 3 draws against the Sounders. The Timbers have found less success in the playoffs against them however, dropping 3 of 4 in the past two years, and being eliminated by the Sounders both times.

After spreading their goalscoring among many players early in the season, the goalscoring lately has been coming from midfielder Luke Kreamalmeyer, who scored all three Timbers goals in a three game road trip to the Southeast that saw them lose 3-1 to Charleston in a US Open Cup match, then lose 3-2 to them again two days later in a Friday night league match, before running out of gas and getting run over 4-0 by the Atlanta Silverbacks the following day.

But the Timbers midfield and forwards should be returning to health, with Mamba Chisoni returning to the lineup during the trip, and Oral Bullen recovering and should see time at midfield or forward this weekend. Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar still leads the league in assists, and Byron Alvarez and Drew McAthy could be joined soon by forward Jamie Ambriz, who showed great promise against Coventry City, but as of the last information the Timbers have released, is still awaiting league clearance to play. Defensive midfielder Lee Morrison leads the team in minutes played, and has been solid in his new position all year.

But the Timbers greatest concerns right now have to be with the defense, which gave up 10 goals in three games during their most recent road trip. Injuries have been the greatest problem facing the Timbers defense recently, with Michael Nsien, Jacobi Goodfellow, and Josh Brown all missing significant time with injuries. But Goodfellow and Brown should both play this weekend, and even Nsien could see some minutes. Scot Thompson has also been nursing injuries for much of the season, but hopefully his sitting out the USL All-Star game this past Wednesday should help with his fitness. On the other side, rookie Mike Randolph also picked up an injury in Charleston but did return to play during the trip. But with so many defenders still nursing nagging injuries, returning to form could still be a struggle for the Timbers back line.

The goalkeeper situation could see different players in net for the two matches again, as Josh Saunders stuggled in his two starts this past week (giving up 8 goals in 204 minutes played, a 3.53 Goals Against average for that span). Bayard Elvin got the start in the league game against Charleston, but was pulled after 56 minutes and giving up two goals. The Timbers also have Martin Hutton available, who saw a few minutes against Coventy City on July 8.

Current form

After their impressive road trip to Minnesota, Rochester, and Montreal a month ago, the Timbers have struggled, with four straight league losses, as well as their ouster from the US Open Cup by Charleston. The only bright spot was a 1-1 draw with Coventry City, which goes into the books as a Timbers win on penalties by a 4-3 score.

Playoff outlook

The top six teams make the USL First Division playoffs, and currently, the Sounders and Timbers are 9th and 10th respectively in terms of points per match. The current sixth place team in points per match is Vancouver at 1.45 per match, so using that as a guideline, the threshold for making the playoffs will probably be about 40 points. Last year the Timbers finished with 39 points, which barely got them into the playoffs.

So using 40 points as a guideline, the Timbers need 20 points from their last 10 matches, which would equate to 6 wins, 2 losses, and 2 draws. Seven of their final ten matches are at home, and their three remaining road games are all against teams who are in the lower half of the league in terms of points per match (Seattle, Virginia Beach, Toronto). In terms of matches against the two teams are well ahead of the league in terms of points per match (Montreal 2.13, Rochester 1.80), The Timbers only have one match remaining, a home match against Montreal (who the Timbers are 2-1-1 lifetime against) on August 31.

Seattle Sounders

Breakdown

The Seattle Sounders are the defending USL First Division champions, but suffered a major setback before the season even started when two key players moved on, when goalkeeper Preston Burpo and midfielder Brent Whitfield both went to Chivas USA of MLS. Then, in a moment that had to be ironic and painful (literally) for the Sounders, forward Maykel Galindo, who scored the game-tying goal in the 2005 final against Richmind, was injured when he was hit in the face by the knee of Preston Burpo during an exhibition game vs. Chivas USA on May 7. Galindo suffered a broken nose as well as fractures found in his orbital bone surrounding his left eye, but is expected to play this weekend against the Timbers.

The Sounders offense in 2006 has centered around one player who could also snag the Rookie of the Year honor if he keeps up his current pace. Cam Weaver has 11 of the Sounders 21 goals so far. Weaver has been joined up front for most matches by Jamal Sutton, who came over from the Columbus Crew in the offseason, with Roger Levesque also playing up front at times, but playing mostly in midfield so far this season, along with Leighton O'Brien and former Timber Andrew Gregor. Danny Jackson and Zach Scott still anchor the defense, but injuries had forced former Timbers midfielder Ben Somoza to drop to a defensive position, where he was playing well, but a bad ankle sprain suffered against the Whitecaps had him sitting for several weeks, but did return to play in the Sounders' last match against Montreal. The Sounders eventually settled on Chris Eylander (a rookie from the University of Washington) in goal, with his GAA now at 1.50 with five wins and four shutouts on the season.

The Sounders will be missing midfielder CJ Klass this weekend (team suspension), along with O'Brien missing Friday's match (red card at last match) and Gregor missing Saturday's match in Seattle (yellow card accumulation).

Current form

After losing five in a row, the Sounders have been on-form lately, with three wins, one loss, and one draw in league play in the last five matches. The Sounders (like the Timbers) had an exhibition against a Championship team from the UK recently, drawing 1-1 with Cardiff City this past week.

Playoff outlook

Using 40 points as a guideline, the Sounders need 21 points from their last 11 matches, which would equate to 6 wins, 3 losses, and 2 draws. Six of their final eleven matches are at home, but their remaining road games (other than the Timbers) are against some of the better teams in the league in terms of points per match as they play at Montreal (1st, 2.33 per match), Rochester (1.80, 2nd) and Vancouver (6th, 1.45) in addition to a match at Toronto (.73, 12th). In terms of matches against the two teams are well ahead of the league in terms of points per match (Montreal 2.13, Rochester 1.80), The Sounders have road games against them on July 26 (Montreal) and July 28 (Rochester).

Series history