The Portland Timbers headed to Canada to take on their old USL foe Montreal Impact for only the third time in MLS play.
On a humid night that eventually led to rain, it was the Impact who got on the board first in the 13th minute. Against the run of play, Justin Mapp came down the right flank and crossed into Andrés Romero who took a touch and scored.
The Timbers kept pushing forward with Darlington Nagbe making numerous fast runs up the middle. In the 34th minute, after a fantastic steal and pass from Diego Chara, Nagbe headed in on goal leaving Impact defenders falling over in his wake. He slipped a ball to Maximiliano Urruti who turned and poked it in.
Six minutes later, Gastón Fernández and Diego Valeri made a dangerous run into the box. Valeri is taken down and referree Silviu Petrescu points to the spot. With the rain pouring down, team captain Will Johnson steps to the spot and calmly slots it home for a 2-1 Timbers lead
But then just before the half, Montreal's Maxim Tissot slipped through and scored for the Impact to even it up again at 2-2.
Then, in the 82nd minute, Valeri does what he does best. After receiving a cross from second-half sub Rodney Wallace, Valeri found himself with space at the top of the box and hammered the ball home for a 3-2 Portland lead and his second straight game-winning goal.
