PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers U-23s face a pair of road matches this week, as they approach the midway point in the 2012 Premier Development League (PDL) season. The Timbers U-23s visit the Washington Crossfire on Wednesday at Redmond High School, before traveling to Bremerton Memorial Stadium on Saturday to face the Kitsap Pumas; kickoff for both matches is 7 p.m. (Pacific).
The Timbers U-23s (5-1-0, 15pts) enter the week in a two-way tie with Kitsap for first place in the PDL’s Northwest Division. The Timbers U-23s opened a stretch of three consecutive road matches with a 1-0 loss to Seattle Sounders FC U-23 on June 1, ending a five-game winning streak to start the season.
Wednesday’s match pits two of the top defensive teams in the Northwest Division, with both the Timbers U-23s and Crossfire (3-1-1, 10pts) having conceded the fewest goals in the division with four. In 2011, the Timbers were 1-1-1 in the season series against Crossfire, including a 6-0 win on May 15 at Redmond High School. Portland is 3-2-1 in the all-time series with Washington. Wednesday is the first of three meetings this season between the two teams.
The Timbers and Pumas (5-2-0, 15pts) square off Saturday for the second time this season. The two teams met previously on May 24 at JELD-WEN Field, with the Timbers U-23s earning a 4-0 win as part of their five-game winning streak to start the season. The Timbers U-23s are unbeaten in their last two regular-season visits (1-0-1) to Bremerton, Wash., and are 3-2-2 overall in the all-time series with the Pumas. Since its loss to Portland on May 24, Kitsap has assembled a three-game winning streak.
Saturday's match at Kitsap will be streammed live online at http://prepzone.kitsapsun.com/pumas/.
Following Saturday’s match, the Timbers U-23s have an eight-day break between matches and return to action Sunday, June 17, when they play host to the North Sound SeaWolves at Sherwood High School.
