Playing against each other for the third time in August, the Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake got to business early in the first half.
in the 8th minute, RSL's Luis Gil slipped past the Portland defense and fires the ball past Donovan Ricketts.
Then in the 15th minute, Salt Lake gets another goal to make it 2-0 following some quick footwork from Joao Plata.
But the Timbers weren't done yet. After a nice build-up of play beginning with Michael Harrington, Darlington Nagbe found himself just outside the RSL 18-yard box before he let fly a low skipping shot that got past Nick Rimando in the 31st minute. The deficit is cut in half and it's 2-1.
Heading into the second half, the Timbers found themselves down to ten men following a red card for Ben Zemanski at the end of first half stoppage time. In the 55th minute, Salt Lake played in a corner kick that Javier Morales collected and bicycled into the net to make it 3-1.
In the 67th minute, Salt Lake's Morales played in a free kick that found Alvaro Saborio. Saborio snapped a header past Ricketts to make it 4-1, Salt Lake.
Still, the Timbers would not go down with out a fight. In the 78th minute, Jose Valencia unloaded a cannon on goal that Rimando parried down. However, second half sub Sal Zizzo stayed with it, collected the rebound and easily shoots it in to make it 4-2.
