PORTLAND TIMBERS VS. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
PROVIDENCE PARK | Portland, Oregon
MAY 22, 2016 (WEEK 12, MLS GAME #122)
4:30 pm ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, TSN)
A Cascadia Cup rivalry between long-time foes is ahead as part Heineken Rivalry Week when the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC meet again in their 41-year history as the clubs face off Sunday afternoon at Providence Park before an ESPN audience. The Timbers returned home last weekend and saw their losing slide reach three games, falling 2-1 to New York City FC. Whitecaps FC extended their current winning run to three games, opening their road swing with a 4-3 victory at Toronto FC. Itís the second meeting in three weeks between the teams; the 'Caps claimed a 2-1 win at BC Place on May 7.
- Fanendo Adi remained in a tie in the MLS Golden Boot standings with his eighth goal of the season, but the Timbers suffered their third consecutive defeat, falling 2-1 to New York City FC on Sunday afternoon at Providence Park. It’s the club’s longest losing run since an MLS club-record five-game losing slide in 2012.
- Whitecaps FC won their third game in a row, Kekuta Manneh scoring twice and setting up a third in a 4-3 victory against Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon at BMO Field. Christian Bolaños added his fourth goal of the season; he has a goal and/or an assist in five consecutive games, with four goals and an assist in that time.
- The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Masato Kudo and Christian Bolaños scored six minutes apart in the second half to pull Whitecaps FC back for a 2-1 win May 7 at BC Place. Whitecaps FC have won just three times in 15 all-time MLS meetings between the teams, all coming in the last seven meetings.
- The ‘Caps have come away with points in four of the last five encounters at Providence Park, with a win and three draws, the Timbers only win in that time coming Sept. 20, 2014, a 3-0 victory. The last two league matchups in Portland have ended in draws.
- The teams also met in the Western Conference Semifinals a year ago, with the Timbers taking the series with a 2-0 victory in the second leg at BC Place, following a scoreless draw at Providence Park.
DOWNLOAD THE FULL GAME GUIDE (PDF)
Everything you need to know about #PORvVAN:
- 15-year-old Whitecaps 2 prodigy sets USL record
- Stejskal: Caps depend on Kekuta Manneh
- Cheering as champions | Get Me In There: Portland
- Get Smiley: Timbers' release emoji pack
- Adi injury not serious
- MLS Now: Cascadia Cup preview
- Nagbe: US citizen, world-class talent
- Caps' biggest rival: Timbers or Sounders?
- Rivalry Matrix: Timbers vs. 'Caps in graphic form
- Snapshot of the Cascadia Cup: POR-VAN
- Near US-eligible Manneh "in touch" with Klinsmann
- The evolution of Timbers and 'Caps crests
REFEREE: Ted Unkel. AR1 (bench): Frank Anderson; AR2 (opposite): Mike Kampmeinert; 4th: David Gantar
MLS Career: 37 games; FC/gm: 25.9; Y/gm: 4.2; R: 13; pens: 22
SUSPENDED: VAN: Fraser Aird (through May 22)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: VAN: Octavio Rivero, Blas Perez
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: POR: Alvas Powell, Jermaine Taylor … VAN: Pa-Modou Kah
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME [MLS] (15 meetings): Timbers 6 wins, 24 goals … Whitecaps FC 3 wins, 17 goals … Ties 6
AT PORTLAND (8 meetings): Timbers 3 wins, 13 goals … Whitecaps FC 1 win, 9 goals … Ties 4
FUTURE MATCH: 10/23: Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Portland Timbers, 1 p.m. PT
- The teams first met on May 16, 1975 in the old North American Soccer League, the Timbers winning 2-0 at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. The teams have met 83 times since then, across a number of competitions - the Whitecaps hold a 36-30-17 advantage in the all-time record between the clubs. The teams met twice in the NASL playoffs, in 1978 and 1980, each team advancing on one occasion.
- Coaches record: Caleb Porter vs. VAN: P10 W2 L3 T5 … Carl Robinson vs. POR: P7 W3 L2 T2
LAST MEETING (MLS):
5/7: VAN 2, POR 1 (Kudo 60; Bolanos 66 - Borchers 34)
- The Timbers grabbed the lead in the 34th minute with a slick team goal marked by a fluid passing sequence between Darlington Nagbe and Fanendo Adi which was finished by a tap-in by a sliding Nat Borchers at the back post.
- But Whitecaps FC finally got their breakthrough on the hour mark, when Masato Kudo snuck a canny strike past Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson at the near post.
- The eventual game-winner came six minutes later when a teasing cross-shot from Christian Bolanos from outside the area slipped past him, Vancouver substitute Blas Perez running across goalkeeper Gleeson's field of vision to distract him as the ball arrived.
- VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC (4-2-3-1): David Ousted - Fraser Aird, Kendall Waston, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey - Pedro Morales, Matias Laba - Christian Bolanos, Nicolas Mezquida (Blas Perez 63), Cristian Techera (Erik Hurtado 90) - Masato Kudo (Octavio Rivero 78).
- PORTLAND TIMBERS (4-1-2-3): Jake Gleeson - Zarek Valentin, Nat Borchers, Liam Ridgewell, Chris Klute (Jack Barmby 87) - Diego Chara - Diego Valeri, Darlington Nagbe - Lucas Melano, Fanendo Adi, Darren Mattocks (Jack McInerney 77).
