Revolution at Timbers
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Providence Park. TV / radio: KPDX 49 (13)/ AM 750.
Tickets: Timbers.com, 503-553-5555. Very limited availability.
Timbers notes: At 5-5-4 (19 points), Portland is sixth in a tight Western Conference. …. Midfielder Diego Valeri is expected to miss another game as he recovers from an anke injury. Will Johnson is expected to make his second start of the season. The Timbers have the luxury of a weekend off after this match. Their next action is a June 16 U.S. Open Cup match in Tukwila against the Sounders. Their next league game is on June 20 when Houston visits Portland. … In Valeri’s absence, Gaston Fernandez has come to life in the attacking midfield spot. Fernandez and fellow Argentine Maximilaino Urruti have played well together, with eaach setting up the other for a goal last week. … The Timbers have nine points from six home matches this season (2-3-1). … Faneno Adi leads the team with four goals but has just one goal in the last 10 games and has been a late substitute in the last two matches as Urruti moved into the starting striker role. … Porter said that draws are not much different than losses in interconference games, since giving an Eastern Conferencee opponent three points does not affect the Western Conference playoff race. “So in the non-conference games, you go for it,” Porter said. “But also by going for it you can’t get reckless. If you’re reckless going for it, then you’re going to lose anyway.”
Revolution notes: At 5-3-6 (21 points), New England is second in the Eastern Conference. Since losing their first two matches, the Revs are 5-1-6, though they have four draws and a loss in their past five games, including a 2-2 draw last Sunday with the L.A. Galaxy in a downpour. … U.S. national team midfielder Jermaine Jones (groin injury) will not play. Midfielder Lee Nguyen returns from a red-card suspension. … With 20 goals, New England is tied with Seattle for the league lead. Five Revs have two or more goals with Charlie Davies (5 goals, 1 assist), Juan Agudelo (4 goals, 2 assists) and Kelyn Rowe (3 goals, 3 assists) leading the attack. Teal Bunbury, who played for Caleb Porter at Akron, has moved from striker to a wing position and has three goals and one assist. Another former Akron Zip, midfielder Scott Caldwell has two goals and four assists.
Thorns visit Houston
The Portland Thorns visit the Houston Dash at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. A live webcast will be available at portlandthorns.com. With eight Thorns away for the Women’s World Cup that begins on Saturday, Portland has lost three in a row and is winless in its last five matches. One of those losses was 1-0 to Houston at home two weeks ago, with former Thorns player Jessica McDonald scoring the goal. After Saturday, theThorns are idle until home matches on June 19 and July 3 as the NWSL pauses during the group phase of the World Cup.
