Chris Brown, who grew up watching the Timbers play in the early 1980s, scored in the 71st minute Thursday to give Portland a 1-0 win over the Puerto Rico Islanders in the first United Soccer Leagues First Division game of the season for both teams.

“It’s a special night for me,” said Brown, a veteran of nine Major League Soccer seasons. “I grew up coming to these games and watching Timber Jim, so to be able to play on his final night, and get the goal and get the win is a special feeling.”

The result was cheered by a crowd of 10,977, the 12th largest gathering to watch a Timbers home match since the team was reborn as a USL side in 2001. It was the second largest crowd for a season opener in modern franchise history.

Brown scored with a low drive from about 25 yards out that curled inside the left post. He took advantage of a Puerto Rico defense that retreated, giving Brown room to run and unleash a strong shot that seemed to surprise the Islanders.

“They just kept backing off, so I just tried to hit a shot on target, and fortunately it went in,” Brown said.

Brown, who took a game-high eight shots, had several other quality scoring chances, including a shot early on that spun just outside the right post from the top of the 18 off a quick counter-attack pass. Early in the second half, Brown forced Islanders goalkeeper Bill Gaudette to make a diving save, then sent a ball just wide off a cross from Lawrence Olum.

Brown’s partner up front, Takayuki Suzuki was a crowd pleaser with his high energy on the ball, and with several creative moves including a nifty left-footed cross that produced one of the game’s better scoring chances. Suzuki, Brown, and goalkeeper Ray Burse (who made three saves) were the only new faces in the starting lineup.

Puerto Rico forward Taiwo Atiento was front and center in the first-half action. In the ninth minute, Atiento had a point-blank chance from inside the six-yard box, but somehow sent a header over the goal. A minute later, Atiento sent another header just above the bar off a free kick.

In the 40th minute, Atiento’s impact was an elbow to Timber Justin Thompson that brought a red card and forced the Islanders to play a man down the rest of the night.

“Them getting reduced by a player helped us immensely,” Timbers coach Gavin Wilkinson said.

While the Islanders had several good scoring chances early in the match, their attack suffered when Atiento was sent off.

For most of the night, it was a match that featured more intensity than quality.

“Sometimes when there’s that much emotion in a game, it’s hard to develop a rhythm,” Wilkinson said.

Notes

-- Serrill was honored with a halftime tribute that included unveiling a stadium banner. The Timbers honored the man who has cut log sections for each Timbers’ goal at home games dating back to 1978. He announced in the offseason he was putting down his chainsaw.

-- The Timbers announced Thursday they have signed Solomon Islands forward Benjamin Totori for the 2008 season, it was announced today pending USSF and international clearance. Totori, 22, is a member of the Solomon Islands national team, currently playing for Waitakere United of the New Zealand Football Championship, Totori is expected to join the Timbers in May.

-- The Timbers are at home again next Thursday against Minnesota.