After tomorrow's América friendly, and ahead of Sunday's Cascadia Cup match, you'll undoubtedly need a PTFC fix. Well, you're in luck, because on Friday, July 8 the Portland Timbers U23 host Abbotsford Mariners in Camas, Washington.

Ricky Abrego's beard (and Ricky Abrego) in action against Washington Crossfire last month. Timbers U23 dropped 2 points in a 3-3 draw with the poor Crossfire, the latest disappointing result in a shaky title-defense season. Photo by Allison Andrews, SoccerCityUSA.com

Kickoff is set for 7pm at Doc Harris Stadium, home of the CHS Papermakers (alma mater of U23 stars Brent Richards and Nick Palodichuk, and one of the truly great scholastic nicknames). The match is being hosted by the Camas/Washougal Soccer Club; tickets are $5.

For a pregame taste, you can join the Northern Alliance (Washington-based Timbers Army) at Adams St. Bar & Grill (322 NE Adams St. in downtown Camas, across the street from the paper mill), starting at about 5pm.

Timbers U23 are currently in third place in the PDL Northwest Division, three points behind Victoria Highlanders, and a full 15 points behind undefeated division leaders Kitsap Pumas (with a game in hand on both). There are only five games remaining, and the kiddos - Bonsai, Saplings, whatever you want to call them - need your support to finish in second place and make the playoffs.

On top of that, this game is your last real chance to see the U23s this season: Sunday's game in Hillsboro (vs Whitecaps Residency) is the last home game of the season, and kicks off at 3pm, just as the Big Timbers game vs seattle will be ending. So thanks to unfortunate scheduling, this is the effectively the last chance Timbers fans will have to support the team unless they make the playoffs and host a game (neither of which is a certainty).

See you in Papermaking country!

—by Chris Rifer

The Portland Timbers’ lack of confidence did them in again on Saturday night. On an evening where Portland played 75 minutes of solid soccer, the Timbers were beaten by conceding two early goals in the other 15.

The first came in the 15^th minute, as C.J. Sapong shook off an uneasy tackle attempt by Eric Brunner, turned, and struck a modestly-paced low ball. Troy Perkins, the Timbers’ netminder who at times this season has been a savior for the Timbers, was surprised by the shot and let what should have been a routine save pass him by.

The Timbers were shell-shocked and paid the price just four minutes later, as a Kansas City long throw bounced in the middle of the box before finding the head of Sporting KC center back Aurellien Collin, who nodded it past a stagnant Timbers defense to deepen Portland’s grave.

Over the next 25 minutes Portland played like a team trying not to get blown out of their own building. While it wasn’t all bad, the Timbers proceeded largely without life or dynamism. Harmless possession and hopeless balls forward by Rodney Wallace became the meat and potatoes of the offense, as the outcome already seemed assured.

A shot of life, though, would come in the 45^th minute, as Darlington Nagbe scored the best goal of the year by a Timber. After Sporting keeper Jimmy Nielsen punched out a Jack Jewsbury free kick, Darlington Nagbe juggled the ball and volleyed it beautifully from the corner of the box into the far upper corner of the net.

The Timbers came out with a bit more inspiration in the second half, but couldn’t quite find the equalizer. Jorge Perlaza made several nice runs, once sending a ball from 20 yards out just over the bar, and another time having a hard shot saved at the near post by Nielsen.

The equalizer wouldn’t come, however, and as one last Jack Jewsbury effort from distance went tantalizingly wide, it was clear that Portland was destined to drop three more points at home. The loss puts Portland in the unenviable position of heading into a rivalry match completely devoid of belief. Then again, what better way to break out of a funk then to beat your hated rival at home?

Match Observations

• I don’t think lineup changes are necessarily the cure to what ails the Timbers right now. I think this is just something that they have to play through. The problem is that this team has lost its swagger. It is evident not only in how they have responded to goals—which recently has been to go into a shell—but also in how they respond to smaller bits of adversity through the match. There were a number of times in the match on Saturday where it felt that the Timbers had an opportunity to pin the Wiz in their own end and really shell the defense, but each time Portland would lose possession and seemingly immediately retreat into the midfield. There was very little “Screw that, I’m winning this ball back or picking up a card trying!” It’s not as much a problem of personnel, with one notable exception, but a problem of mentality. Obviously things are really bad right now, but I think a good week of practice and a speech a little bit like this may be what is needed to prepare the boys to beat the Flounders next Sunday.
• Over the course of the season Captain Jack has probably been the Timbers best player thus far, but the lack of on-field leadership was striking after the first goal. Jack hasn’t been that rock of a leader that he was in the beginning of the season, and the other guys that you would typically look to on this team to provide that leadership—namely Troy Perkins and Kenny Cooper—haven’t stepped up either. Perkins was better after the second goal, when he brought the team together, but at that point the hole was too deep. Right now this team is mentally weak, and until they recover the confidence to play through some adversity this kind of a result is inevitable.
• Finally, a word about the Army. One of the coolest things about the season opener in Denver was the reaction of the travelling Army to adversity on the pitch. With every goal there was a moment of shock, then the Army would just sing louder. I think we’ve lost that a little bit. Maybe my perspective was polluted by the high schoolers in front of me who spent much of the match making out, but at times we seemed to mirror the play on the field rather than affect it. We have the responsibility of helping to pick our boys off of the mat sometimes, and our ability to do that in the past has been part of what makes the Army the best group of sports fans I have ever been around. Let’s get back to that next week and will our boys to a huge victory.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 4.5 Played a pretty game second half, coming up with a few nice saves to keep the Timbers in the match, but he takes the majority of the culpability for the first goal. Simply should have been saved.

Rodney Wallace, 4 Like Perkins, was better in the second half, and didn’t have any major defensive gaffes like he has in the past couple matches, but was catastrophic coming forward in the first half. How many needless giveaways did he have? His quality on long balls is poor, and yet he is undeterred. Jeremy Hall was just okay on the right, but if I’m John Spencer I’m trying to figure out if either Hall or Steve Purdy are viable options on the left, because Rod isn’t right now.

Futty, 5 Futty was fine. Almost got his head on a couple set pieces, and was quiet in back—and I mean that as a compliment.

Eric Brunner, 4 What responsibility Perkins doesn’t have for the first goal belongs to Brunner, who whiffed on the tackle that allowed Sapong to turn. Otherwise wasn’t bad, but conceding that first goal was huge.

Steve Purdy, 5.5 Purdy had a decent outing. Did well getting forward at times, and was pretty reliable in back. I thought it was harsh to take him out of the lineup a few weeks back, and I think on Saturday he showed why he deserves to be an everyday starter.

Kalif Alhassan, 4.5 Needs to improve defensively, as he was again exposed on a couple occasions. Otherwise struggled a bit, although I’m starting to think when you have to pair with Rod Wallace for extended periods, it may be tough not to struggle.

Diego Chara, 5 Was again active in the midfield without having much to show for it. It seems that sometimes he is getting a bit frustrated with the lack of movement, as the typical Chara pose is looking upfield with his palms to the sky in bewilderment.

Jack Jewsbury, 4.5 Had a decent second half, and was less than a foot from equalizing late, but he was troublingly flat footed on the second goal, which was one of the softest goals the Timbers have conceded this season.

Darlington Nagbe, 6 How fantastic was that goal? Was nice to see Nagbe open up his account so brilliantly, and I loved his reaction of trying to rally the boys afterward. Something tells me that if the Timbers can right the ship, Little D may play a starring role.

Jorge Perlaza, 5.5 Frankly, was unlucky not to score. His strike in the second half that was saved near post was destined for the net before Nielsen came up huge. His movement was again good, as he looked to be the Timbers most threatening player for much of the match.

Eddie Johnson, 4.5 Was better in his second half stint than he was in the first half. Kenny Cooper detractors won’t like hearing this, but Cooper has to be the starter. Johnson just doesn’t create much of a target up front.

Kenny Cooper, 5.5 I thought it was actually a pretty nice outing in relief from Kenny. His movement was good, and seeing him come in for Johnson reminded me that he plays the ball well to other players at times, primarily to his strike partner. Having another big target in the box also changed the offense for the better.

Sal Zizzo, 5 This move was fine. Kalif really hadn’t contributed a ton, and Zizzo had a couple nice runs into the interior. Remember how dynamic the partnership between he and Purdy was in the Cascadia Summit? That might be worth exploring again in some form.

James Marcelin, 4.5 Marcelin really didn’t have much of an impact, and I thought in replacing Nagbe with Marcelin the Timbers lost a lot of dynamism. I understand that Spencer is trying to change the shape a little with that substitution, but ultimately this was a defensive substitution at a time when the Timbers needed offense.

Onward, Rose City!

The following is by Shawn Levy, Timbers Army elder, capo emeritus, and board member of Operation Pitch Invasion

About three years ago, when it became evident that MLS2PDX was likely and that the Timbers Army would become a much bigger entity than any of us imagined, those of us who worked on the day-to-day business of the TA got together to ponder the question of what we might do with all the positive power, energy, communitarianism and goodwill that a massive Timbers Army would comprise.

Suppose we could bottle the spirit of the TA -- the team/town/TA triangle, OUR THING -- and do something with it, we asked ourselves. What would it look like, how would it work, what would we do?

What followed was a good 15-18 months of careful building of what became 107ist -- the most non-hierarchical, non-structured entity that we could establish under Oregon law, and a vehicle for all of our creativity, passion, entrepreneurialism, desire to work with management and the community, and so forth.

But at that very first meeting, our very own future billboard model Nando Machicado volunteered the first suggestion of what to do with all that energy that we were hoping and preparing to marshal: restore and maintain soccer fields in the Portland Public Parks and Schools.

That inspiration was greeted with unanimous acceptance, and even through the various spasms and backslides that characterized the creation of 107ist, that inspiration remained our guiding star. It's not too much of an exaggeration to say that 107ist was created in order to realize that vision.

Well, Operation Pitch Invasion is the fruition of that vision: the use of Timbers Army fundraising, sweat equity and deal-making to give back to the community in the form of quality places to play the game. And it is about to launch. And we want you involved.

Operation Pitch Invasion (OPI) is a separate entity from 107ist for legal, financial, taxation and management purposes. It has a different board, different bylaws, different tax status with the IRS. But it is exactly what Nando proposed on that day: a means for the Timbers Army to give back to the community about which it sings so ardently by building and caring for soccer fields where the Timbers Army and its children and grandchildren can play the game we love, and where, we hope, future Timbers will learn the game -- from current and past Timbers and members of the Timbers Army.

OPI is a project of 107ist, which has given it seed money and will be one of its principle funders over time. This year, OPI will be small because it only just got its tax certification (and thus missed out on a lot of 2011 charitable giving opportunities), because there have been so many other things to take care of with the arrival of MLS, and because the founders wanted to make sure that it was ready for its close-up before unveiling it to the larger group. Now we’re ready, and we've got plans.

On July 16, we will be doing our first project -- a dry-run of sorts: restoration and maintenance of existing fields at Ed Benedict Park (SE 100th Ave & Powell Blvd.). The following week, OPI will be part of 107ist's contribution to the labor at James John Elementary School, one of the AC Portland sites. In August, OPI will do another care-and-maintenance-type project with the Portland Parks. And in the fall, we will build our first fields at a park in SE Portland. In coming years, with fuller budgets and more experience, we may do as many as 15-20 projects per year; the region isn't running out of parks or schools with crappy fields, after all.

I tell you all this because OPI is a project very dear to me and to others in the TA. We have received much from the community and from the organization and from the team, and while we have never been less than vocal about our passion, and while we have done and continue to do MANY good works, we haven't realized the fullest possible manifestation of our civic pride in the community. OPI is the means to achieve this, and it needs the same sort of human effort that we put into our epic gameday support of the team.

Currently, we are taking names of volunteers for the July 16 project. But there is one important caveat: right now, OPI activities are only open to members of 107ist. There are various reasons for this which I'm too tired right now to go into. But it was a measured decision, and as there are more or less 1700 people in 107ist, it's hardly a means of keeping people out: more a strategic means of being able to keep track of who's doing/done what.

So: visit the 107ist member forums and sign up for OPI -- if not the July 16 event, then for one of the events later in the year. And if you have experience in any field that might be of use -- grant writing, project management, landscaping -- please identify yourself to the board (which is Nando, Michael Pearson, Josh Barrett and myself) by writing to board@pitch-invasion.org.

You say you want to help keep the energy flowing in the Eternal Golden Triangle of Team/Town/TA?

You say you want to be buried in Timbers green, that you know you are and are sure you are Rose City till you die, that you're a true supporter for ever more?

Well, this is your chance to show it in a way that all of Portland can see and respect and acknowledge and enjoy. Join, if you haven't already, 107ist, and throw your name, your heart and your muscle into Operation Pitch Invasion.

—by Chris Rifer

The headline about says it all. In an effort that gives the word “uninspired” a bad name, the Portland Timbers were crushed by FC Dallas on Saturday evening.

The match started promisingly. Portland got through the all-important opening 30 minutes of the match on level terms with Dallas. Neither side looked to have a significant advantage as both created a couple chances they couldn’t convert. FC Dallas looked to open the scoring in the 18^th minute, as Jackson Goncalves blasted a pretty right-footed volley off the bar. Just one minute later Portland had its best opportunity as Dallas keeper Kevin Hartman botched a clearance of a Jack Jewsbury corner kick, but recovered in time to parry Rodney Wallace’s shot wide.

Just as Portland escaped the dangerous first 30 minutes and the match seemed to be settling into a nip and tuck affair, Daniel Hernandez sent a brilliant 34^th minute corner kick to the backpost where Zach Loyd got his head to the ball past a failingly flailing Rodney Wallace.

A problem turned into a crisis just five minutes later when Hernandez again sent a corner into the box, finding George John, who slipped by Kenny Cooper, for an all-too-easy header past Troy Perkins.

What threat Portland posed in the first half hour had entirely vanished in the course of six minutes. The once-competitive Timbers retreated into a shell, looking to not cede anymore ground before halftime.

The listlessness of the last 15 minutes of the first half, however, dominated the second half. In the 58^th minute, Brek Shea notched his second goal of the year against the Timbers in cleaning up an Eric Alexander miss off the post.

The response from Portland? A showing of pride? Maybe frustration? Nope. Not a pulse.

Finally, in the 85^th minute, Jackson fired a shot from distance that Perkins couldn’t quite get enough of a hand on to tip over the bar. The result was 4-0, a fitting result to an embarrassing effort.

Ugh.

Match Observations

• After the match I couldn’t help but think back to John Spencer’s introductory press conference, where he said that the one thing that he could promise was that our boys would give everything that had for the shirt. They didn’t on Saturday. That was awful. It was the kind of effort that would make Sounders supporters ask for a refund, and makes Timbers supporters show up the next Saturday and chant their heads off to help pick their boys up off the mat.
• The most disappointing statistic for me was this: 6 fouls. You’re getting punked and you’re only whistled for 6 fouls? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating for the Brian Mullan frustration hatchet job, but 6 fouls shows a troubling lack of aggressiveness. Combine that with the 5 fouls the Timbers were whistled for against New York and a trend begins to emerge. In the last couple weeks John Spencer had advocated patience, but patience doesn’t mean indifference.
• Other than that, I don’t know what there is to be said about the match. In all phases of the game it was a complete and utter failure that, combined with the collapse of the U.S. Men’s National Team, made me spend the rest of the night in my apartment doing my best Troy Perkins post-goal face. For the first time in a while there is general uniformity in the grades. This was a complete team failure.
• One nugget for our glass-half-full friends: Sporting KC comes to town next week! A counter-nugget for our glass-half-empty friends: They have looked halfway decent lately.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 4 His effort was generally pretty indifferent. The thing that bothered me the most, though, was the decided lack of leadership in back. When the Timbers concede a goal, Troy needs to shelve the pouty face and try to put a heartbeat back in his defense.

Rodney Wallace, 3.5 Want to see one of the more pathetic defensive efforts off of a set piece you’ve ever seen? Look back at the first goal. Oh my goodness.

Futty, 4 I didn’t have very many moments where I noticed him as being individually culpable, but you could have built another Dallas subdivision on the amount of real estate that the striped strikeforce had to run around in behind the Timbers defense.

Eric Brunner, 4 See Futty.

Jeremy Hall, 4 Mr. Cellophane showed he is a lot closer to having his desired superpower than maybe he realizes.

Kalif Alhassan, 4 Got beat a couple times in defense and didn’t make much of an impact going forward.

Diago Chara, 4.5 I at least felt like he was trying. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t effective, but at least he was trying.

Jack Jewsbury, 4.5 Had a couple nice moments on set pieces, but didn’t make his presence felt in the center of the field very much.

Darlington Nagbe, 4 You have to wonder how healthy he is after the halftime substitution.

Jorge Perlaza, 3.5 He and Cooper are in a battle for the most offside calls on the team. In that regard, this was a statement match by Jorge.

Kenny Cooper, 3.5 Was culpable on the second goal, as he let George John waltz right by him. Nothing much to speak of coming forward, either.

Adam Moffat, 4 Was exposed in defense a couple times, but on this night, who wasn’t?

Sal Zizzo, 4 When you’re a second half substitution coming on when your team is floundering a little bit, you need to bring a new level of energy to the pitch to try to be a spark. Instead Sal came on and fit right in.

Eddie Johnson, 4 Like his fellow substitutes, failed to genuinely bring anything new to the match.

There's a new internet TV show on the...internet (it can't be on the "air" can it? Media seems to be evolving too fast, the terminology can't keep up). Anyway, it's called "Tell Me About It!" and stars local radio/TV personality Francine Raften. It...streams?...on the Earth2World online network. Francine is a funny lady, who has "spontaneous, uninhibited adventures in Portland and beyond!"

The newest episode of "Tell Me About It!" is all about the Timbers Army; Francine spent a day at the stadium (for the Colorado Rapids game earlier this month) interviewing fans new and old to learn about the history, traditions and character of our big functionally dysfunctional fambly. There's also a segment about the 107ist's recent work with AC Portland, mixed in with game footage and interviews.

My favorite part is Francine's interview with 107ist board member, TA elder, beer guru and billboard model Abe Goldman-Armstrong.

http://vimeo.com/25647333

The entire episode is available here, and it's worth a watch.

—by Garrett Dittfurth

At first I thought that saying Portland had a European atmosphere at Timbers games it was sort of complimentary. I guess it is in a way. In reality in speaks to the misinformation of the media covering soccer in this country. Most of the non soccer media holds the English Premier League on a pedestal and from there falls La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, and the rest falls out somewhere from there. In my own personal opinion the EPL is a very good league. Bundesling and Ligue 1 offer far more entertaining soccer than the EPL and Serie A is boring beyond belief. The South American leagues are really entertaining as well they're just harder to find on a TV dial. I'm not even going to start on the Scottish second division because I don't want you to stop reading now out of sheer boredom.

Here's the thing. The Wall Street Journal wrote an article about soccer in the Northwest. Hannah Karp took every stereotype of the Northwest and made it part of her story even to the point of including one of the rare dread-locked Timbers Army members as her main picture to introduce her woefully misinformed article. I'm going to attempt to not get riled up that she doesn't even know the difference between a hipster and a hippie and get back to my point. OK I can't stop myself. Hannah, we have a website. You can contact us. Next time you want to write an article stereotyping people in Portland and Seattle I'll be happy to sit down with you and make sure you don't write another uninformed piece to run to a national audience where you mistake hippies for hipsters or do people in New York not know the difference? Are your offices located so far from Williamsburg you've never seen an actual hipster in person? Don't get me wrong. I just take issue a writer from the Wall Street Journal focusing on a stereotype of the Northwest and running with it to reinforce to their readership that the Pacific Northwest is still a provincial place full of drunks who live in a constant state of inconsequential argument about meth.

Should I really even start in on Hannah's writing about the dumb internet debates where Seattle calls us meth heads and someone from Portland insults people from Seattle for their love of boating? Wait...where the hell did that even come from? I've been in Portland 14 years and never once heard someone insult Seattle because they like boating. I don't even know if that's true. I went boating two weeks ago. Am I like a Seattleite now? Thanks for the new info, Hannah. I'm now writing a chant about Seattle's love of boating for our July 10th meeting.

Back on point. This European thing. Several years ago I probably would have welcomed it. We were much smaller then. Having one thousand people singing and chanting would have been great and comparing it would have been easy. Here's the thing. We do not create a European atmosphere. In the latest New York Times article we have once again been compared to that. I appreciate the coverage of soccer culture in the U.S. but I'm getting irked on one thing that seems to be common in their articles.

What is happening here and yes in Seattle and Philidelphia and Toronto isn't European. It's American. North American to be really honest. We have taken elements of English support, Serbian support, Italian support, Spanish support and melded it with Bolivian support, Mexican support, Brazilian support, and yes even native United States and Canadian support. What we are creating is not European. It is definitely influenced by Europe and a lot of other countries but it is decidedly North American.

I am not going to try and speak to what is going in Seattle as they are creating something that is unique to their town and decidedly not Portland. What I can say about Portland might be best quoted from a statement from a friend of mine made.

"I would go a step further, I think is uniquely Portland. "American" is too broad. The fan culture we have developed here is very distinct from that of Chicago, DC etc, and I would argue distinct from our Cascadian rivals. Its unique to Portland. I can see a lot of European (continental not British Isles) influence, (tifo, Eastern European style chants, but also the South American elements of the drums, trumpets etc.) I would argue that it is an atmosphere unique in the US and Canada, therefore not "American," or "Cascadian" but "Portlandian."

Here's the deal. Soccer in North America isn't trying to copy anymore. We don't need to have our stands filled with fake London casuals in their latest Puma gear for legitimacy. We have our own thing. Sure there is some influence from England. There is also influence from South America, Eastern Europe, and Italy. Thanks for leading the way. So a note to journalists writing in the future. Please quit comparing us to Europe. It's not Europe. We've got something different. North America is a melting pot and so are the soccer supporters in this part of the world. What happens in Portland is no more European than what happens in the student section at University of Michigan hockey games or Utah State University or are they just really European too?

I wonder if Dirk Nowitzki goes back to Germany to play for the German national team and talks about how the crowd acted so American?

This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the 107ist or the TA.

July is Oregon Craft Beer Month, and the Oregon Brewers Guild is throwing a party to celebrate at Jeld-Wen Field Friday July 1, 5-9pm.

The Oregon Brewers Guild is offering 107ist members a $20 discount on advance tickets (normally $50, reduced to $30) or a $10 discount if you present your 107ist card at the gate.

The OCBM Kickoff Party features an array of 24 fresh, local, seasonal and one off beers for this 21+ event. Your ticket includes twelve tasting tickets, a stemmed tasting glass, program, and BBQ buffet.

—by Garrett Dittfurth

You suck asshole used to be one of my favorite chants. I used to get all riled up about it and scream it with all my might. It was the loudest and clearest chant we did. But here's the thing. You Suck Asshole got old. It started to suck. It still does. It's a complete embarrassment to any group that shouts it in a coordinated fashion at an opposing goalkeeper taking a kick. It's stupid and uncreative.

However, the New England Revolution's front office went WAY overboard in their latest attempt to squash their supporters groups from using this chant. For the last 16 years they basically ignored it. Apparently they decided to try and enforce the ban of it to appeal to the soccer mom crowd after sending out an email and talking to some supporters groups on the side. In order to do that they used their security guards to remove people from their supporters section because they used that chant. The Foxboro police arrested more people for disorderly conduct for using the you suck asshole chant than they arrested Boston residents celebrating the Bruins Stanley Cup win. In addition there are also accusations of improper conduct by the Foxboro Police Department which can be found in the linked article above.

Recently MLS sent their head of marketing to Portland to talk about what's right about soccer in the Pacific Northwest so that the league might implement what is right here in struggling markets. They know Cascadia has it right. We had a problem with the you suck asshole chant years ago. It took almost 2 years to completely kill that thing and we didn't have as many years of doing it like the Revolution's supporters did. Our front office worked with us to kill off that chant long before MLS sniffed Portland. It didn't happen overnight and it didn't happen without some relapses and false starts. It took a lot of work from a lot of dedicated people. You won't hear that chant here because we've had enough time to educate people on why it's not used and the Timbers FO was a good faith partner who understood that working with us as equals and providing positive incentives was a smarter solution than threats and bans.

So a final message to New England's front office. You suck. You're an embarrassment to MLS and all American soccer supporters. You have been unable to draw anyone to your games for years. Your marketing campaigns are crap and the fact you play your games in a NFL stadium miles outside of Boston is ridiculous. You're failing on so many levels it's not even funny anymore. In this latest marketing attempt you viciously attacked the most dedicated supporters that actually will go to your games miles outside of Boston and actually care about your club. These people are the bread and butter of any successful club and you rewarded years of loyalty with a knife in the back. Your ineptitude is bordering mind boggling status at this point. You need help, a lot of it, and the sad part is we know you'll squander that help even when you receive it.

If the USSF ever gets smart and awards USMNT games to Portland we will actively quash that chant along with providing the national team the best support in the country. This is a message to Sam's Army and American Outlaws. When you're in Portland don't even think about doing that chant. We will put people on the capo stands who won't do it and we'll actively use our messaging arm to make sure it's clear that chant never sees the light of day in Portland. We'll represent USA in a smart and witty way that doesn't involve chanting obscenities just because they're kinda funny to scream as an adult. Portland is better than that and so is the USA.

This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the 107ist or the TA.

—by Chris Rifer

If you have a history of heart problems in the family, it’s not a bad idea to consult your cardiologist before becoming a Timbers supporter. On Sunday night the Portland Timbers again left their faithful picking up the pieces. Once again the Timbers took a positive result into second half stoppage time. Once again they fumbled the match away after the clock had struck ninety.

The match started ominously. In the fourth minute Thierry Henry sent a pretty one-touch pass to a dubiously onside Dwayne DeRosario streaking down the left side. DeRo played a pass into the top of the box where an unmarked Austin da Luz fired past an observant Timbers defense and a helpless Troy Perkins.

As the half wore on, The Timbers calmed things down with a bit of old-fashioned offensive conservatism. Portland focused on maintaining possession, and the Timbers were successful largely without objection from New York. The Red Bulls had a few more, but chances for both sides were few and far between as the match turned into a bit of a midfield slog.

That wouldn’t last. In the 48^th minute, after an indifferent clearance by Red Bulls defender Jan Gunnar Solli, Jack Jewsbury blasted a low shot from outside the box into the back of the net.

A minute later, Portland was at it again. Jewsbury played a free kick from the left wing to Eric Brunner at the far post. Brunner deftly nodded the ball down to Kevin Goldthwaite who clipped the ball with the back of his heel past Greg Sutton. The Timbers hadn’t scored a goal in two and a half games. Then they scored two in less than two and a half minutes.

The rout looked to be on in the 56^th minute when Jewsbury played another free kick into the box, this time from the right wing. Brunner got a head on the ball, which sailed over Sutton and seemed destined for goal until Teemu Tainio bicycled the ball off the line.

In the 68^th minute Portland appeared to put the match on ice as Jorge Perlaza’s cross was generously redirected by former Timber Stephen Keel for an own goal. The Timbers were up 3-1 and had complete control.

Thierry Henry wasn’t done, though. In the 73^rd minute Henry bent the Timbers defense out of shape with a clever bit of passing and an aggressive run, got the ball back, and smashed it past Troy Perkins.

The drama continued three minutes later, as Jorge Perlaza again found himself with the ball at his feet on the break. This time Sutton came out to meet him, but instead of making contact with ball, Sutton only hit Perlaza’s shin guard. On the ensuing penalty, Jewsbury stepped to the ball with an opportunity to put the game firmly back into the Timbers’ possession, but only found post.

After a dizzying first 30 minutes to the second half, the game finally settled into a bit of a rhythm. New York found an occasional opportunity, but didn’t seem to have the will to create anything too dangerous.

After Henry was mysteriously sent off three minutes into stoppage time it seemed that Portland had sealed the win. One last Timbers turnover, however, sprung New York onto one last desperate breakaway. A long ball sent forward found Goldthwaite with a little bit of space behind him. Goldthwaite’s clearance, however, only made it as far as DeRosario. DeRo’s hopeful cross into the box was knocked down by Rodney Wallace’s outstretched arm, forcing the referee to signal for a penalty. Given the opportunity to steal a point, the Canadian international wasted little time, striking the penalty just past the outstretched arm of Perkins and into the net.

The result was a devastating tie—the most deflating result in a string of four matches that have seen three heartbreakers. For the second match in a row Portland showed extended periods of brilliance but couldn’t turn that into a well-earned three points.

Match Observations

• This had nothing to do with the referee. I thought the referee was actually pretty good—even if a little bit card-happy in the second half. The handball was blatant and substantially affected the play. It had to be called. That’s Rod’s fault, not the referee’s.
• I think the penalty kick contest needs to become a weekly thing. The Timbers have taken four penalties this year, and made one. That’s not bad. It’s awful. I think the Timbers are trying to be a bit too cute, trying to hit particular spots instead of just choosing a direction and putting the ball on frame with pace. If you do that—regardless of what the keeper does—you’re going to make the vast majority of your penalties. If you miss it’s because the keeper made a great save. You can live with that once in a while.
• The lack of cohesion in back is really obvious right now. I think this is largely due to key absences in the backline. The defense, more than any other unit, relies on communication and awareness of your teammates. Such cohesion is really difficult to have when guys are in and out of the lineup. The last time we had the same starting back four in two consecutive matches? Columbus and D.C. United. Okay, maybe the second of those games isn’t the best example, but you get the point.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 5 None of the goals were really his fault, but if Troy comes up with some of his magic at some point in the match we’re all in a better mood right now.

Rodney Wallace, 2.5 Okay, Chris, keep your cool. Stay calm. Take a deep breath. WHAT IN THE NAME OF BOB BARKER IS WRONG WITH YOU, ROD?! WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU ARE TAUGHT IN KICK AND CHASE?! DEFENDING A COUNTERATTACK IS LIKE GOING ON A ROLLERCOASTER – KEEP YOUR HANDS AND ARMS INSIDE YOUR BODY AT ALL TIMES! AT ALL TIMES! ESPECAILLY WHEN YOU’RE NURSING A ONE-GOAL LEAD IN STOPPAGE TIME! HOWARD DEAN SCREAM! I think I handled that well.

David Horst, 5 Had a couple moments when he wasn’t communicating very well with the midfield in front of him, but on the whole didn’t play poorly. It is telling that the defense was much better when he was on the pitch.

Eric Brunner, 5.5 He gets a good share of the credit for Goldie’s goal for playing a really nice header into the box. That said, he was largely culpable for New York’s second goal—as his marking on Henry there was less than inspired.

Jeremy Hall, 5 Was the only back that really wasn’t on the culpable end of any of New York’s goals, which is an accomplishment I guess. Unfortunately didn’t create that much coming forward, either. Overall a decent, if unspectacular outing.

Darlington Nagbe, 5 Had the quietest day of anybody in the midfield. Had a couple nice runs into the interior, but struggled to create anything truly dangerous.

Diego Chara, 4.5 Hung back a bit more than usual, but for good reason. Jack was awesome in front of him. Diego was exposed on defense a couple times, namely on the first goal where he should have cut out the cross.

Jack Jewsbury, 6.5 A goal, an assist, and a number of other nice plays. The second half was the most we have seen Jewsbury get forward since the arrival of Diego and, I have to admit, I liked what I saw. Beautiful strike from distance. And yes, I docked him a point for missing the penalty.

Kalif Alhassan, 5.5 Had another pretty nice night on the right side. I think that is his new home. Did a good job of creating a bit, and linked up with the forwards well.

Jorge Perlaza, 6 I had a really hard time with this grade. He creates chances so well…and so far has finished them so poorly. There were extended periods of the second half when he was running wild in the Red Bulls defense. I will say this, if he ever finds his finishing touch—which I think probably just requires a bit more willingness to take a crack on goal—he will be a Best XI quality striker. Point is, Jorge, you’re a striker. Be selfish.

Kenny Cooper, 5.5 He must lead the league in nullified goals. I can count four. One against Chicago, two against D.C., and one on Sunday. Did I miss any? Aside from the rightly nullified goal, Kenny had a nice game in getting the ball at his feet and making something happen with it. There has been a fair amount to complain about with Kenny this year, but I don’t think his performance on Sunday is in that category.

Kevin Goldthwaite, 5 This is another one that is tough. Before the game I mentioned to those that I was at the game with that Portland is one defensive heartbeat away from Kevin Goldthwaite seeing the pitch. And then David Horst got taken out by Sutton in the box. But then Goldie scored the best goal a Timber has converted to date with a clever back heel. I was mocked. And then Goldie pulled a Goldie and failed to clear what should have been a routine ball at the end of stoppage time. I was vindicated. I hope either Horst’s head or Futty’s shoulder improve in short order. The goal— while nice—was a fluke. The defensive miscue, as we know all too well, was not.

Sal Zizzo, 5.5 I thought Sallie looked decent on the right side in relief of Darlington. He didn’t have a ton of opportunities, but when he did he was making the right passes.

Adam Moffat, INC The box score tells me he played. I’m not convinced.

Onward, Rose City!

Ok, here's the deal:

If you're not yet familiar, Sunday Parkways has become a Portland summer tradition. The city shuts down a 6-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 to some of the Sunday Parkways events last year that we decided to do it again! So, who wants to help us?

What: North Portland Sunday Parkways

When: June 26th, 11am-4pm

Where: Info and map of route here

(Exact location of volunteers coming soon!)

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. Also, you'll 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 (green is the color?), flags, scarves, a bit of street soccer, etc... make it yours!

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 to fill out a volunteer registration form.
• Then click on the Sign up to VOLUNTEER NOW! button.
• On the next page you'll have to choose a volunteer position. Sign up as an Intersection Superhero for Arbor Lodge Park.
• Alternatively, you can rep the TA by being a Mobile Superhero on your bike for Arbor Lodge Park - which is like being an Intersection Superhero, but involves monitoring several intersections by bike
• Then select either the early (10:00am-1:30pm) shift or the afternoon (12:45pm-4:30pm) shift. 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.
• Note: You'll need to complete some online training if you haven't volunteered with Sunday Parkways before.
• Please also let us know that you've signed up by replying in the comments of this post , then we can get an idea of how many TA will be helping on this fun event

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! 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. Email: joe.wilson@107ist.org

Hope to see you there!

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