Ok, here's the deal on year Number 3:

If you're not yet familiar, Sunday Parkways has become a Portland summer tradition. The city shuts down an 8-mile or so loop of neighborhood streets to motor vehicles and the surrounding community takes to the streets to party. This happens in a different neighborhood each month.

People ride bikes, walk, run, skateboard, eat, drink, and dance. There's live music, games for kids in the parks...everyone has a smile on their face.

However, doing something like this requires large amounts of volunteers!

We had such a great time when we took the TA trailer and van to some of the Sunday Parkways events over the last two years that we decided to do it again! So, who wants to help us?

We are looking to get 10-15 people to help us with both shifts.

What: North Portland Sunday Parkways

When: May 13th, 11am-4pm

Where: NE Portland map

Your task (if you choose to volunteer) will be:

To stand at an intersection - we'll have a few in a row so you can mingle with fellow supporters - and wave to kids and other passersby. You'll also help route car traffic around/through the event. I've been told we are highly encouraged to "Timbers up" these intersections; i.e. crest chalked on the ground, music, flags, scarves, noise makers, etc... make it yours and have fun!

What's in it for you?

• A free t-shirt (WoopWoop!)
• Free snacks and drinks on the day of the event provided by sponsors
• The chance to rep the TA, the 107ist and the Timbers
• You get to hang out with new Timbers friends
• The warm glow of doing something good in and for your community!

How to register to volunteer:

• You'll want to go to the Sunday Parkways Website.
• Then click on the VOLUNTEER button on the left side of the page.
• Then click on the NORTHEAST MAY 13 button to get to the Volunteer Ticket Information page. Please choose the Mobile Superhero or Intersection Superhero at Rigler Elementary for the morning or afternoon shift (Mobile Superhero and the afternoon shifts are in greatest need).
• We plan to be there all day so the choice is yours!
• Click on Register to get to the next page, which is an Eventbrite form, and complete all the info required.
• At the very bottom of the Eventbrite form, it asks 'If you are volunteering with a Company or Organization, which one?' enter Timbers Army here to ensure that you get to hang out near other TA whilst volunteering.

How to come hang out and look cool and not have to volunteer:

If you don’t have time for the whole event, just want to hang out, are planning on riding the route with your family, etc., come anyway! It should be a great day to go for a bike ride with your mom. You can stay for as long as you like, and leave when you like. The more, the merrier. Spread the love, and all.

If you want to volunteer, please do, but if you don’t have time or are unable to commit, don’t let that keep you from coming along to see what it’s all about on the day.

SERIOUS BUSINESS ALCOHOL POLICY

The official policy we have been asked to pass along is that alcohol consumption while volunteering is forbidden. We were also definitely not> told anything about consuming before the shift starts, or about only drinking what appeared to be a coke while hanging out in the warm sun... not told anything like that at all. But seriously, think of the children.

Questions are welcomed. Please post them in the 107ist forum thread and we will answer them as quickly as possible.

Hope to see you there!

If you live in this neighborhood please come help us out... Represent!

—by Chris Rifer

Friday afternoon, as some Timbers supporters were preparing – perhaps bracing – for Saturday’s match against league leaders Sporting KC, Gavin Wilkinson was busy beginning the process of shaking up the roster.

Portland sent either a 2013 second round pick or a 2013 international roster spot[1] to Montreal for former Sounder Mike Fucito. After being left unprotected in the expansion draft, Fucito went to Montreal along with Lamar Neagle in a trade bringing Eddie Johnson to Seattle.[2]

At first glance, the trade for Portland is a curious one. Why another striker?

The answer must be that a striker is about to be shipped out via trade. With the Timbers already three-deep at striker with Kris Boyd, Darlington Nagbe, and Jorge Perlaza,[3] a trade for another attacking player of the quality who demands playing time would make no sense unless somebody was on the way out.

In other words, it’s been fun, Jorge. With Boyd and Nagbe being the Timbers primary source of goals this year, it’s inconceivable that either of them could be setting sail. The logical choice, then, in for Perlaza to go.  But where? And for what?

Glad you asked. Let’s speculate.[4]

The first step is to look at who might be interested. There are several teams that have been struggling to produce goals early on. You would have to think that any trade partner would be one of them.

The table suggests Vancouver might be interested, having only scored 5 goals in six matches, but if anybody has more of a logjam at striker than PTFC it’s the Caps. So, it won’t be Vancouver. Montreal can be similarly dismissed. If Perlaza were to be going to Impact it probably would have happened already – you know, like today.

So we leave Canada – for the moment – and head to New England. Between Saer Sene and Jose Moreno they, too, seem to have the striker position tenuously locked down. Our next stop takes us to Houston, where the options are plenty but not terribly good. Perlaza really isn’t the solution to that problem, and PTFC should be a little wary of the Dynamo after the last bill of goods they bought from them,[5] so we’ll two step out of Texas.

Chivas USA can’t be the destination as geriatrics Juan Pablo Angel and Alejandro Moreno, along with youngsters Casey Townsend and Cesar Romero would seemingly put the Goats out of the market. Similarly, Chicago’s recent signing of Chris Rolfe would seem to put out the Fire.

So that leaves three legitimate options; Philadelphia, Columbus, and Toronto.

Of those three, Philly is the first to be eliminated. If Peter Nowak wanted a quick striker who struggled with his first touch and was an inconsistent finisher, he would play Danny Mwanga more. Plus, they have more than a half dozen other semi-options at striker. So, there will be no brotherly love for Jorge.

Alright, then how about Toronto? They have a dearth of offense at the moment and a load of allocation money from making CCL. Indeed, Toronto would seem like a bona fide option for Jorge. But does Perlaza really fit in Aaron Winter’s system? And when Danny Kovermans is healthy they have the Dutchman, the unspectacular Ryan Johnson, and Joao Plata up front – two of whom they have been eagerly selling to their desperately frustrated fanbase. So, while Toronto has some specious allure, I would be slightly surprised to see Jorge end up there.

Which leads us to my prediction for Jorge’s next home. Jorge, welcome to beautiful Columbus, Ohio.[6] Let’s face it, the clean-shaven crew are just a mess up front. They have a couple interesting pieces for the future in Ethan Finlay and Ben Speas, but really nobody that can reliably open up space for Emilio Renteria. And Tommy Heinemann is just a vastly inappropriate player to feature on a club sponsored by Barbasol. Last week they threw out a strikeforce of  Aaron Schoenfeld and Olman Vargas. So they have a need.

Perlaza is also a great fit for Columbus’s system,[7] where they like to play pretty direct and look to pick Renteria out in the box. Jorge’s delectable pace would be perfect to open up seams in the box and set Renteria up in front of goal. What’s coming back? Allocation money. Are you kidding me? There’s nothing on Columbus that is going to fix the fullbacle[8] the Timbers must immediately remedy.

So there it is, Jorge Perlaza to Columbus for allocation money. That allocation money – along with the $38,000 difference between Fucito and Eddie Johnson’s salaries and the savings from moving Perlaza off the books – will be spent on an international fullback. Who will that be? Come on, even I have standards high enough to not speculate that much.

Onward, Rose City!

The world that is the Timbers Army Football Club continues to roll on for another busy week of matches. Well, for some teams anyway, as the scheduling issues affecting GPSD teams compressed some fixtures while other teams enjoy a long break between dates.  We also get our first reports from another of the TAFC futsal teams as they compete in their spring session.  Let’s take a look at each team and the newsworthy events since our last update.

We didn’t get a report from 101^st FC on their most current matches, but they were certainly pleased after winning their first match of the spring term.  We’re hoping that the big dogs can continue their early season success in representing the TAFC in Men’s Division 4 futsal, and wish them the best in representing our collective.

AC Loco Moco faced off against TeamAmerica in Division 4 Coed Soccer action at Portland Indoor Soccer, and apparently we learned it wasn’t a band of mercenary marionettes but rather a competitive soccer club.  AC Loco Moco held their own for extended parts of the match, but fell 7 to 4 and learned they would be without the services of their starting goalkeeper after injury.  Bradley White continues to lead the team in scoring so far this season, and ACLM gets back to business this weekend with a Sunday evening match versus FRIDJES REFRITOS.  There’s also big news from team manager Matt Wagner, who announced that due to a large number of teams playing in Red, we are changing our primary kit color to Green.

Cascade Rangers FC had their annual battle with North End United on April 15, and have watched their roster be reinforced with some new additions for the latest term.  Newcomer Jesse Ritorto scored early in this match, but NEU were able to level things later on as the teams played to a 1 all draw.  Manager Jerry Makare and captain Jamey Billig were both unavailable due to travel, but the rest of CRFC stepped up to salvage the draw.  Another derby match awaits the Rangers as they face Rose City Athletic at noon atOldOregonCityHigh School. We’ll have the opposite view of the derby match in the NEU report later.

We’ve not talked much about Coat? FC, a TAFC Co-ed futsal team that joined the TAFC collective in the Winter of 2011, but they’ve been busy with their season since mid-March.  They were lucky enough to have fixtures on April 17 and 18, losing 8 to 3 to Team X in match 1 but beating Hat-Trick Swayze for the second time this year 9 to 5.  In his match report on the April 10 affair, team representative Milon Good said, “We played Hat-trick Swayze, a team of very, VERY young kids who were quick, skilled, and seemed to have boundless amounts of energy. But what they had in youth and agility, we made up for in composure, steady defense, and fast break goals.”  We wish them the best of luck as they finish their term on April 24.

We gave FC Dynamo credit for winning in week 1, but apparently this intrepid report was incorrect in that statement.  While team manager Dave Trausneck was appreciative for the extra win, they were hoping to earn it for real against Abysinnia on April 15. FC Dynamo started the match with nine field players and got the number to 10 before a significant injury dropped their number down. Once they got up to a full eleven around the 20^th minute, FC Dynamo were able to take control of the match behind a brace from forward Kabir Pradhan and a second half goal from Perry Broderick as they won 3 to 1.  This puts them in second place in GPSD Division 1 with 2 wins an a loss going into their date with North End on April 22.

FC Portlandia didn’t submit an official match report in time for inclusion here, but GPSD reported the boys in purple beat County Cork FC 1 to 0 on April 14, giving them their first win of the spring term.  They will face a familiar foe to this report as they play Abysinnia on April 22 at Delta Park Strasser, and we hope to have recaps of both matches in our official recap next week.

In reading the recap of the NEU – CRFC derby match, it was another adventure for North End United as they had issues finding the right location for the affair.  Once they got everything sorted out, their report indicates that the sun aided CRFC with their first goal, but NEU had the run of the match for the most part and got their goal off a free kick from Sam Nicholas after Joel Weakland was brought down just outside the box.  The match wasn’t without some controversy as a late NEU goal was called back for an offside violation. Despite the swarming attack and plethora of chances, the game ended in a 1 all draw.  NEU will hopefully find the right location this week as they play the Fiji Islanders atSynderPark on April 22.

Northern Alliance FC had their own issues in game two, but not due to facility issues for once.  The game official for their match againstSouth VN failed to show up on time, meaning the match got off to a late start.  Johnathan Davidson becomes a historical footnote for NAFC as he tallied the first official goal of their history while the South VN goalkeeper punched a ball into his own net for an own goal, but South VN would match the two goals and then score three more to win 5 to 2 officially.  NAFC has a match this weekend with something called the Electric Dream Machine, so feel free to insert your favorite joke or comment about the name here.

Old Growth FC had another off week because of the scheduling issues, so their next official match won’t take place until April 22^nd against Tug and Whistle at LaSalle HS.  The extra time allowed the club to get more practice time in, but the team is now struck with some injury issues with groins and calves that could shorten their numbers.  The team is also extremely jealous of co-manager Eric Berg who decided that a trip across the pond toSpain sounded like more fun than staying home to play soccer with his OGFC teammates.

Rose City Athletic faced a determined SDFC3 team in Sherwood on April 15.  Despite manager Rob Jerand’s best efforts to earn a card with some Zidane inspired antics, the boys in red used two goals from Ben Dietrich and a single tally from Bryan Boen to hold off their opponents 3 to 0.  Boen and Dietrich weren’t the only RCA players to excel, as Jerand credits the overall team defense and great work from goalkeeper Ryan Vasbinder to earn the clean sheet.  RCA will battle CRFC this weekend, and we hope it’s as entertaining as the CRFC – NEU match this past weekend.

What up, from the Timbers Army merchandise team.

I know we have tried to blog before, and communicate through the No Pity Van twitter and NPO Facebook, but we still feel like it's still really hard to communicate what we are doing and where we are trying to head to the greater membership. The difficulty with this, is that we are all volunteers and adding more work, answering questions and explaining the method to our madness just isn't appealing after working on the more fun aspects. I hope that doesn't sound flippant because it's very sincere.

That being said, we at the merch team will attempt to update everyone once a month.

With that said let’s get down to business.

Shirts of the Month (SOTM)

Two years ago, we decided that we were going to start making a new shirt every month, usually modeled after the old punk rock shirts from pre 2008, but we kept screwing up the timing. This year we're killing it, we have the first half of the season lined up with designs, they are all printed.

We are only selling SOTM at the van and they are limited to only 50 shirts, with no re-runs. So when they are gone they're gone (No exceptions and I say this with a sad face because I missed out on the current SOTM). Currently we have the "Pop Art" shirt (shout out designer Matt Leamy) right now in limited qualities as they've been on sale for two matches. Next month we have the boxing gym style shirt that you can see on the NPO Tumblr  and in June we have a special surprise for the Cascadia home games.

coming up from the merch blog: more new hats, limited scarves and more swag.

much love,

-Merch

If you or someone in your house plays soccer, odds are you have more than a few spare soccer balls rolling around. If you've been telling yourself that someday you will do something useful with them, now is your chance.

The Portland Chapter of the National Charity League is holding a donation drive during the Sporting Kansas City match this Saturday, April 21st. They will be collecting new or gently used sports balls, as well as new sports socks, at JELD-WEN field before and during the match on Saturday. The items collected will go to Randall Children’s Hospital, Special Olympics, Streetlight Shelter, Rose Haven, and Ronald McDonald House.

The collection drive will be at both major corners for field entry on SW Morrison St. at SW 18th and SW 20th., from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

The National Charity League is a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster the mother-daughter relationship in a philanthropic organization committed to community service, leadership development and cultural experiences. The Portland Chapter of the National Charity League is sponsoring the drive. For more information, please contact Catherine Truszkowski at cate.t@comcast.net.

What do Timber Joey, Heidi White, Andrew Brawley and over 20 other folks have in common, besides their love for the Timbers? They're all participating in a St. Baldrick's event, shaving their heads at Oaks Park on May 19th to raise money for research into cures for childhood cancer. If you'd like to help out by donating to the cause, here's the link to the St. Baldrick's Page.

The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. Last year, participants raised over $28 million, working to fund childhood cancer research.

I asked TA to share why they were participating. Here are a few responses:

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"I signed up because it's very rare that something so simple (shaving my head) can make such a positive impact (contribute to a worthy cause like this one). The amount of time it took for me to consider participating was next to nil. The sign-up process was easy, and within minutes of emailing / Facebooking / Tweeting for donations, I had over $100 contributed to the cause. It really was that simple.

"I don't have a history of cancer in my family, but like probably everyone else in the world, I know more than enough people who do. Until the number of those affected by cancer becomes zero, we should do everything we can to help out." (Andrew Brawley)

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"Unfortunately I'm no stranger to cancer or children's cancer. One of cousin's passed away when I was a Freshman or Sophomore in high school. My Senior year a very close friend's younger brother passed away from cancer, he was only 14, I'd known them for most of my life, it was shocking. A few years back, a co-work had cancer and I shaved my head so she wouldn't be the baldest person in the office. Now I plan to shave my head, even though my hair is looking pretty awesome, to help raise money to fight back against cancer; I plan on giving Cancer the Bald Card, please help me in this effort." (Dougal Cullen)

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"My name is Michelle. This year, for me, has been the year of doing all the things I've always said I'd do. It's been going well and is my best year on Earth yet! I am excited that one of those things will be happening on May 19th when I shave my head with St. Baldrick's for the children. Cancer has affected many people in my life. I lost my father three years ago to it. I have many dear friends who are battling it now. Cancer is the ugliest thing I can imagine. It is an oppressor of the worst sort, and though it breaks my heart in any case, it is especially offensive when it affects children. I am just one person. One who is like so many others, who have been on this side of cancer looking in and feeling helpless while watching friends, family, & children struggle with the beast. I'm tired of not being of any help. I'm frustrated, too. When I saw that the Timbers were having a team for the event, I knew everything was aligning for THIS to be the time I can step up and Do something. I signed up immediately, consequences be damned. Later, I checked with work and was told I wouldn't be fired,(Whew!). I currently have over twenty inches of long auburn hair, and after researching a bit I've now hooked up with Locks of Love who makes hairpieces for children fighting cancer. The hair will be donated to them. I have been ferociously promoting the event while looking for sponsors, excited with every bit of support I've received! I've even convinced a friend to join the team as well! I am overjoyed to be teaming with St. Baldrick's, Locks of Love, and the Portland Timbers to do my part in the fight against childhood cancer. I'm probably only going to be shaving my head once in this lifetime... I'm going to make it count!!!" (Michelle Mendenhall)

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"I'm taking part in St Baldrick's because I've been there. Completley bald. Eyebrows almost gone. Eye lashes almost gone. For months. Compared to that shaving my head is EASY. If I can do something that simple and raise money so that a child never has to go through what I did, I'm going to do it, becasue I've been there." (Tim Chamberlin)

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You can take part right now. Register to be a shavee yourself, or donate to individuals on the St. Baldrick's Tage. Let's step up, fight childhood cancer, and support these brave and soon-to-be-bald souls in the process. Together we can make a real difference.

We received this letter from AC Portland today. Several of the 107ist board members will be attending meetings in the near future to further our work with AC Portland. We encourage all of you to check out AC Portland if you don't already know about them and look out for further communications about how you can be more involved.

Dear Friends:

Last year's 'No Pity, Just Action!' campaign raised awareness about AC Portland and the ultimate power of soccer to support kids and communities, reaching key leaders and supporters and propelling AC Portland through a tremendous opening season of operation.

This year, it is our hope to expand the audience and create a call to action that will further distinguish Portland as Soccer City U.S.A. in a very unique and important way.

Last year's success was the product of a number of creative and thoughtful professionals. With the bar set even higher this year, we are calling on you to make sure we can attain our campaign goal of $100,000 and the continuing mobilization of all those who believe soccer can change the world.

Further details about the structure and goals of the campaign will be provided in the next few days.

Thanks for your consideration.

Excited to see this come together as a highlight of the year for Portland.

Thanks for your consideration.

Richard A. Recker

Director

AC Portland

c/o 5055 N. Greeley

It does take a while for teams to gel and learn how to play together as a group, but what happens when a league has a similar issue or concern?  It’s a question that many TAFC members were asking towards the end of last week when there was a massive amount of reschedules affecting most outdoor teams.  After the troublesome “rugbygate” match on April 4 involving two TAFC members, North End United and Northern Alliance FC, that was delayed for over an hour and shortened to get the fixture in, the folks at the Greater Portland Soccer District needed to make some modifications in the Spring schedule.  While the fall session is usually straight forward with limited shuffling, spring so far has been a bit disjointed in terms of knowing when matches will be played.

DeltaPark fields 3 and 7 have been strictly dedicated for rugby, and with many matches put on those fields, the league needed to adjust their schedule.  While many clubs already had a big break in the schedule during May, some of the same teams now find almost two weeks on the calendar before playing their next match.  The delay has provided beneficial for some TAFC members, however, as a few teams needed to regroup a bit after their first match.  This week, we also have updates from our TAFC futsal and indoor clubs, who have also begun their Spring campaigns.  To make things easier to follow along, we’ll list each club, current highlights for the week, and their next scheduled match:

101^st FC started playing futsal in 2011 and began their Spring futsal season playing in Division 4.  During their first season in 2011, they won the Division 5 championship which earned them promotion with an eventual goal of “playing with the big dogs”.  In their first match, they beat Lonely Shepards FC 9 to 4 to get things rolling along nicely.  Hopefully the trend continues for 101^st FC, as they started from humble beginnings from standing in section 101 to creating a futsal team with an eventual goal of playing outdoor soccer so they never have to stop playing the beautiful game.

AC Loco Moco is a newly created TAFC indoor side playing at Portland Indoor Soccer in Division 4 Coed, made up of players of varying experience and skills.  While they have recruited several members of the Timbers Army, they’ve also brought in members of the indoor soccer community and introduced them to the Timbers Army Football Club umbrella.  In the past week, they lost their first match 4 to 3 to FC Bamako and drew with Stinkers FC 3 all, putting their record at 0 – 1 – 1.  Their next scheduled match at Portland Indoor is April 13 at 11:10 PM versus TeamAmerica.  I hope this is a real soccer team, although a matchup against marionettes could be rather interesting, but we wish them lots of luck this weekend.

Cascade Rangers FC didn’t have a match this week after their first week loss toBroken Arrow, but they will have a major fixture this weekend at Old Oregon City HS on April 15 at 2:00 PM. Yes, folks, it’s a derby match between CRFC and North End United as two of the long standing members of TAFC will once again meet in what we hope is an eventful matchup.  After playing many seasons in these affairs as a former member of Timbers Army FC that became CRFC, I can tell you this is one of the most anticipated fixtures within the TAFC clubs simply for bragging rights.

FC Dynamo has gotten off to an incredible start to their 2012 season with consecutive wins over SDFC Eastburn in week 1 and Concordia Ale House 3 to 0 in week 2.  The week 2 win was highlighted by an exceptional play on a long throw in from Jon Bial to a streaking Brian Hildenbrand, a converted penalty kick at the 30^th minute, a late goal from Victor Calderon, and some exceptional play from their goalkeeper and defense.  They don’t get much rest, as they have an April 15 date with Abysinnia FC at Delta Park Strasser at 2:00 PM.

FC Portlandia is still looking for their first win, but saw an extremely gutty effort versus Team Awesome on April 7.  After the loss to Salsa Azul in week 1, the boys wanted to rebound against a team that they’ve had some success against in the past.  Sporting their alternate sky blue kits, FCP fell behind 4 to 0 despite playing fairly well with the exception of some defensive issues.  Todd Poehlman and Jeff Scherer combined to put FCP on the board at minute 75, and Poehlman converted a penalty kick at the 85^th minute to push the scoreline to 4 to 2, but Portlandia eventually fell 4 to 2.  They will get another chance to right the ship against County Cork FC at noon atGladstoneHigh School.  We’ll get links to both official match reports as soon as they are available.

North End United was supposed to have played SDFC-3 on April 11, but because they were scheduled for the infamous rugby field, their midweek date was rescheduled for later this season, and they now look forward to their annual meeting with Cascade Rangers FC.  After beating another TAFC club in week 1, Northern Alliance FC, Stevie J and the boys in black are hoping to keep up their current form in their Sunday match.  I’m looking forward to match reports from both sides, because as previously mentioned, CRFC and NEU matches are always entertaining.

Northern Alliance FC brought a fourth TAFC club to GPSD Division 4, but to say their first match was a complete adventure is an understatement.  David Xochihua provided me a wonderful recap of their first ever match versus NEU in the now famous “rugbygate” match, and the folks fromVancouver are hoping to rebound in their match on April 15 versusSouth VN.  They weren’t adversely affected by the reschedules, but they will need to be on their game against a quick South VN club and a very fast surface atOldOregonCityHigh School.

Old Growth FC was also due a midweek date versus Sellwood Moreland FC, but the shift in dates pushed their next fixture to April 22 at LaSalle HS versus Tug & Whistle, giving the O-40 club some much needed practice time to work out issues after their week 1 loss to Optimators.  There have been a few minor knocks for the club, as OGFC has been dealing with some knee and calf strains along with sore groins, but after a spirited practice early on April 8 at their practice home of ChapmanSchool, the lads and lasses can’t want for their next match.

Rose City Athletic also earned some time off after their first match on April 4, a draw versus MayDay, and they have a tough match against SDFC-3 on April 15 out in Sherwood atSnyderPark at noon.  The weather should be nice, and based upon the barrage of shots and good defense for the lads in red in game 1, we should expect some awesome results.  If Bryan Boen got log slabs after each of his goals, he’d probably have a mansion by now as he got two in the first match, but he might get some competition in the scoring line from Ed Ramirez.

—by Chris Rifer

If the Timbers haven’t hit rock bottom, they seem to be careening toward it.

For 45 minutes on Saturday night, it looked like the Timbers had righted the ship. Then the backline started leaking, the Timbers took on water, and Portland sank fast.

For the first half, however, the Timbers were about as dominant as they have been all season. Last season, Timbers supporters became accustomed to Portland playing very direct—looking to get the ball out on the wings and send balls into the box. Portland has begun to show a little bit more dynamism in the middle of the field, as the Timbers’ play in the final third was as aesthetically pleasing as it has been in a while.

In the 16^th minute, Franck Songo’o collected an errant deflection from the Timbers’ own box, jogged the ball upfield, and laid it off for the overlapping Lovel Palmer. Palmer’s cross looking for Boyd was too long, however, but that’s when Chivas made a mess of things. Seattle-reject James Riley backed his way onto the onrushing Dan Kennedy, who looked set to make an easy interception. The two collided, the ball skipped out to Boyd, who took an awkward touch but found the back of the net anyway.

It was a pair of firsts; the first Timbers first half goal of the year and the first Timbers opening goal of the season. It was also the last time the Timbers would put a shot on frame.

The Timbers looked poised to take a second goal moments later when Eric Brunner found himself free in the box on a set piece, but a blatant shove in the back prevented him from getting head to ball and kept out what would have been a likely goal. As Merritt Paulson pointed out in a rare in-match Twitter rant, the Timbers can’t buy a penalty.

Chivas posed their biggest threat of the first half in the 33^rd minute when James Riley found Cesar Romero in the box, but Romero’s header flashed just wide of the far post.

Portland would go into halftime with a 1-0 lead, certainly feeling good having most of the ball and most of the chance.

Then things went south.

Just three minutes into the second half, substitute Ryan Smith shook Palmer all-too-easily on the Goats’ left wing, sent a ball into the box where Alejandro Moreno out-jumped Brunner and nodded it home.

The second half strategy for Chivas was very clear. Clog up the Timbers in the midfield, and break out down the left wing. Boy, oh boy, was that ever successful.

Time and time again, Smith beat Palmer on Chivas’ left side and picked Moreno out in the box. Luckily for the Timbers, Moreno couldn’t quite find the brace.

In the 77^th minute, Perkins came to the rescue as Moreno looked to register that brace by poking an ill-cleared ball back toward goal. The Timbers netminder made the diving save, however, to keep things level for the moment.

Perkins’ effort would be wasted just five minutes later, when Smith again collected the ball on the left wing, and sent an unmolested cross into the box, where the late-running Nick LaBrocca got across the front of Brunner and sent the ball into the corner of the net.

Ballgame. As they had through the entirety of the second half, Portland had no answer. Four weeks into the season, and the Timbers are already unmoored. With fixtures at Galaxy and against Sporting KC coming up, the seas look rough ahead, too.

Match Observations

• If you can stand it, watch Chivas’ second goal again. There were plenty of Timbers back, but nobody—and I mean literally nobody—was marking a soul. Palmer half heartedly jogged out to contest Smith’s cross and LaBrocca waltzed into the box unbothered by a single green shirt. Just awful stuff from Portland.
• Obviously, injuries have depleted the center of the backline, but the problems go way beyond missing players. The defense just looks completely disinterested. Eric Brunner looked overwhelmed and desperate, one man trying to plug a desperately leaking dam with bubble gum. Jean-Baptiste is now totally overmatched and lacking confidence. Rod Wallace was fine in the first half, but came off with a reported ankle injury at halftime. Based on the early going this season, Lovel Palmer is awful at soccer. Not a lot of positives there.
• Who is the dominant personality on this team? Is it really Rod Wallace? Chewie? It’s awfully, awfully clear the Timbers are lacking character, toughness, and leadership right now. From afar, it seems like a team of nice guys, but nobody that can step up and rally the side.
• If there is one thing to take comfort in, it’s that there is a long way to go in the season. Then again, that might not be much comfort.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 4 Made the fantastic save, and spent most of his evening yelling at his defense, but at some point Troy has to take some of the responsibility here. He hasn’t been a knight in shining armor for a defense desperately in need of one.

Rodney Wallace, 6 Rod may have had his best defensive half of the season in the first 45 minutes. Then he got hurt.

Eric Brunner, 4 He looks like Garfunkel without his Simon. Unfortunately, he’s not a rock. Until he finds one, the Timbers are going to keep slip slidin’ away.

Andrew Jean-Baptiste, 4 Didn’t make his clockwork-like bad mistake, but was far from confidence-inspiring. Speaking of confidence, hard not to think he’s lost his.

Lovel Palmer, 1.5 Unspeakably bad. Steve Purdy will start against LA. If he doesn’t, John Spencer should be fired.

Franck Songo’o, 4 A little out of sorts in the first half. To be honest, it looked to me like he didn’t trust his fitness, so was going 75% much of the time. Then flat ran out of gas about 10 minutes after halftime, so maybe he had reason not to trust his fitness. I think he’ll be a difference maker, but he has some fitness work to do.

Diego Chara, 5.5 The Timbers best defensive player on the day. Sidled quite nicely at times. Also backstopped the attack very well in the first half.

Jack Jewsbury, 3.5 This isn’t as much about his play—which was mediocre to poor – but about his lack of leadership. The Timbers need somebody vocal in the middle of the field. Jack hasn’t been that guy.

Eric Alexander, 5 Decidedly average stuff from Alexander. Was involved going forward in the first half, but when the tide turned he disappeared.

Darlington Nagbe, 4.5 This was predictable, but he seemed a bit hungover from last week. Was involved in some of the pretty stuff in the first half, but failed to put much of a stamp on the game.

Kris Boyd, 6 He scored a goal and nearly registered another with a header that flashed just over the bar. Did his job. Too bad very few others did theirs.

Mike Chabala, 3.5 Didn’t provide much of anything going forward, and has blood on his hands for the second concession. LaBrocca came from his side and Chewie a) failed to pick him up, or b) tell Brunner he was coming.

Kalif Alhassan, 3 Anonymous at best, wasteful at worst.

Jorge Perlaza, 4 I didn’t understanding brining off Alexander for Perlaza. The Timbers right side was already exposed, and bringing on Perlaza for Alexander only compounded the problem. That said, what were the other options? The ship was sinking, and all Spenny could really do was rearrange some deck chairs.

Preseason Prediction: Timbers 2, Chivas 1. Boyd, Wallace.

Actual Outcome: Chivas 2, Timbers 1. Boyd.

Onward, Rose City!

The Spring season of Greater Portland Soccer District matches began in earnest this week.  For the seven outdoor clubs participating in this term representing the Timbers Army and 107ist, it was the opportunity to renew old rivalries, face new challenges, or at the very least, play soccer again. As we will do on a weekly basis, we will provide a short recap and links to each TAFC match from the past week.  Because many matches will be mid-week, we will post these updates on Thursdays or Fridays each week depending on when official match results are published by the team managers.

Starting with Division 1 of GPSD, we look in on FC Dynamo, a new team to the TAFC umbrella but not to playing together as a team.  FC Dynamo faced off against SDFC Eastburn, the team FC Portlandia faced in the GPSD Division 2 championships for promotion. SDFC Eastburn turned two counter attacks in the first half into two goals, but FC Dynamo held a huge advantage in possession and kept threatening goal but couldn’t score.  The second half displayed plenty of chances for both side, but as the final whistle blew, the score ended up 2 to 0 for SDFC Eastburn.  April 7 is their next match at Gladstone HS where they meet Concordia Ale House FC.

FC Portlandia got its initial season in GPSD Division 1 going with a matchup against Salsa Azul FC. While we didn’t get an official report from the Portlandia boys in time for our press deadline, we can report they lost 3 to 2 to start their season. They will get things rolling this weekend on April 7 at Gladstone HS when they meet County Cork FC in a battle royale.

Moving to GPSD Division 4 action, the four TAFC clubs started their 2012 campaign in style. Cascade Rangers FC started their season at Synder Park in Sherwood against Broken Arrow FC, another longtime member of GPSD, on April 1. Cascade Rangers has been fortifying its roster with some new signings, but their numbers were down to just 15 available players. They held strong against Broken Arrow behind goals from Steve Kuenzi and Dave Levine, but lost the match 7 to 2. The team gets a bit of a break in the schedule as their next fixture is on April 15, but it’s a derby match as they will face their longtime rivals from North End United.

Speaking of NEU, they started out their season with a TAFC derby match against another of the new TAFC clubs, Northern Alliance FC from Vancouver. As in customary with many NEU matches, they had a huge challenge of finding an available pitch as the scheduled field was set up for rugby and not playable for soccer. After some frantic phone calls, NEU and Northern Alliance delayed their match on April 4 until later when Delta Park Strasser was available, and they got a late start under the lights.

Behind two goals from Nando Machicado and a goal from Rem Evert, the boys in black put three goals in for the first half, then used a tight defense to win their first of 2012 3 to 0 as the match got over just before 10 PM.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get a report from the Northern Alliance boys, but according to reports, it was a wonderfully played match and the NAFC team showed great resolve to hang against their TAFC rivals. NEU has a bit of a break in the schedule as well, as their next match is on April 11 versus SDFC 3, while Northern Alliance FC faces South VN on April 15.

The other TAFC club in Division 4, Rose City Athletic, met up with long time GPSD Division 4 club May Day at Delta Park on April 4.  Their top scorer from last season, Bryan Boen, got his account in 2012 rolling with two goals while Max Ramirez created all sorts of havoc on the May Day defense, but May Day was able to find space and goals as the two teams played to a 3 all draw. Rose City Athletic gets a break in the schedule as well, as they don’t play again until April 15 when they play SDFC 3, so apparently the SDFC folks will get a double dose of TAFC that week.

The last club in the TAFC collective to get their start was Old Growth FC, playing in the Over 40 2^nd Division.  They were meeting the Optimators, another new club to GPSD Soccer, and the weather was a wide array of things as this match got going – hail, rain, sun, wind, and everything in between. While the lads and lass of OGFC played valiantly, they fell behind in the first half and couldn’t overcome the deficit in losing 7 to 0. OGFC will play their next match on April 18 against Sellwood Moreland UTD at Delta Park Rugby Center.

We’ll have the late reports next time, while reports from the league office indicate there could be some rescheduling coming soon because of conflicts at the Rugby Center with fixture dates. Thanks for reading, and we’ll talk to you all next week!