The Timbers would control much of the first half, but it was the Whitecaps with the first good scoring opportunity in the 3rd minute, when Steve Klein would slip in behind the Timbers defense and briefly had an open look from near the top of the box as Timbers goalkeeper Josh Saunders charged off his line, but Klein’s attempt to chip was a few yards over the bar.

Neither team seriously threatened again until the 16th minute, when Portland’s Edwin Miranda’s cross into the box was headed just wide left by forward Dan Antoniuk. The Whitecaps would have their best chance of the first half when Joe Gjertsen was able to round the Timbers goalkeeper as he charged out near the corner of the box to challenge a breakaway, but Gjertsen pushed the ball too far wide, and his attempt to cross was headed well off target by Ian Fuller, with Saunders out of his goal but three Timbers defenders having collapsed on Fuller.

In a precurser of things to come, in the 27th minute a cross into the box from Miranda had Scot Thompson making a diving header from near the penalty spot, missing just wide to the right. Four minutes later, a near identical cross from Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar found Thompson at almost the exact same spot, with Thompson going high for the header this time, and putting it just inside the right post and the Timbers had gone out to a 1-0 lead.

In between those two shots, the Timbers had missed another golden opportunity, when a give and go between Aaron Lines and Byron Alvarez had Lines cracking a shot towards the left side of the net from 10 yards out, being deflected wide left off a Whitecap defender.

The visitors would have the final good chance of the first half, when Alfredo Valente got a nice diving header on a cross, only being kept out by a diving save by Saunders, and the half would end with the Timbers holding onto their 1-0 lead.

In the 54th minute, the Whitecaps would have their first good chance of the second half when Jeff Clarke made a deep run into the right side of the Timbers box, with his tight-angle shot from only 10 yards or so out being blocked right off his foot by a retreating Brian Winters. Two minutes later it was the Timbers threatening, with Winters getting a chance to turn on the ball from just inside the Whitecaps box, but putting his shot right at Whitecaps goalkeeper Mike Franks for the easy save.

In the 59th minute, the Timbers had another great chance when Alvarez got a pass from Alcaraz-Cuellar as he ran into the box, but barely got anything on the shot from close-in and Franks was able to collect the shot. One minute later, the Timbers nearly doubled their lead when Miranda took an unexpected blast from 35 yards out that seemed to take Franks by surprise, but the shot slipped just past the right post.

One minute later it was Klein showing his fancy footwork as he put three Timbers defenders down on an apparently slick corner of the NexTurf (players had slipped in that corner all night), but his cross to Gjertsen was wasted when the Whitecaps forward put the shot just high and wide from near th top of the box.

The Whitecaps seemed to have had their chance to draw level slip by in the 62nd minute, when a corner kick found Jason Jordon absolutely unmarked about six yards out from net, but he had to turn quickly and mis-hit the shot, and it was easily collected by Saunders.

In the 70th minute, Portland’s Antoniuk had his own chance at a good shot when he turned on the ball, unmarked for a few seconds 15 yards out, but put his shot just wide right. One minute later, the Timbers had a near-replay of Jordan’s missed chance inside the Whitecaps box, with Alvarez on the ball this time, but his shot from close-in was defelected wide right by defender Chris Franks.

In the 74th minute, Portland’s Alcaraz-Cuellar had a free kick from a similar position to where had scored the goal against the Sounders in the US Open Cup just two days before, but he dropped the shot to a charging Tommy Poltl, whose blast from 25 yards out found it’s way through the packed box but was wide right.

The Whitecaps would have another good chance in the 77th minute when a quick redirection by Gjetsen of a low cross required a reaction save by Saunders to keep the Timbers in the lead.

In the 79th minute, an insurance goal for the Timbers seemed almost certain when a nice cross from Lines found Antoniuk open about six yards out, but his shot was more down than towards the net and was collected by Franks as it bounded up off the turf. It would be the last Timbers chance as they tried to protect the lead for the last ten minutes.

In the 83rd minute, Jordan would have a good look from near the top of the box but couldn’t put the shot on net, missing wide to the right. Three minutes later, Clarke would let go a hard high shot from 25 yards out that Saunders had to react quickly to in order to push over the bar.

But just as the match entered the 89th minute, after a Whitecaps goal kick was headed forward near midfield, Jordan back-heeled a pass into the run of an unmarked Klein, who pushed the ball forward, splitting two Timbers defenders and punching a shot past a charging Saunders, and in the dying minutes of the match, and the last good scoring chance for either team, the Whitecaps had pulled level at 1-1. For the second time at PGE Park in two weeks, the Whitecaps had pulled back after an early Timbers goal to take a point back to Vancouver with the 1-1 final.

Josh Saunders recorded two saves for the Timbers, while Mike Franks had five for the Whitecaps.