2007 May 11

Portland Timbers 2 - 2 Seattle Sounders
PGE Park, Portland, OR

Portland: Josh Wicks; Lee Morrison, Scot Thompson, Lee Knowles, Leonard Griffin; Neil Dombrowski (Tom Poltl 32'), Andrew Gregor, Luke Kreamalmeyer (Jaime Ambriz 83'), Troy Ready (Shaun Higgins 54'); Bryan Jordan, Chris Bagley. Substitutes not used: Bayard Elfvin, Justin Thompson, Lawrence Olum.

Seattle: Chris Eylander; Danny Jackson, Noah Merl, Zach Scott, Adam West; Kevin Sakuda, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Josh Gardner (Kenji Treschuk 66'), Sebastien Le Toux (Andre Schmid 85'); Roger Levesque, Nathan Knox (Greg Howes 63'). Substitutes not used: Ben Dragavon, Jake Besagno, Gabe Sturm, Santa Maria Rivera.

Goals:
8' SEA: Le Toux (Levesque)
77' SEA: Levesque (Le Toux)
78' POR: Jordan (Poltl)
87' POR: Gregor (PK)

Additional match reports: Sounders, Timbers.

Match report by Ron Stickney:

The visiting Seattle Sounders staked a 2-0 lead over the Portland Timbers off goals by Sebastien Le Toux and Roger Levesque, each assisting the other, but they gave up two goals in the last 13 minutes to settle for a 2-2 draw. Bryan Jordan got the Timbers within one and Andrew Gregor converted a penalty kick to close out the scoring.

First Half

Le Toux got an early chance for Seattle when Levesque layed the ball off but the 18-yard shot went wide of the near post.

For Portland in the 7th minute, Chris Bagley's shot from a steep angle on the right cleared goalkeeper Chris Eylander but couldn't catch the top corner.

8' SEA: Le Toux (Levesque). On the counterattack, Levesque's ball over the defense was perfect for Le Toux, who ran through the offside line and was two steps clear of any defender. Goalkeeper Josh Wicks found himself halfway out in no man's land as Le Toux chipped a perfect ball over Wicks. The ball bounced a half yard in front of the center of the goal line on the way into the unguarded net. 1-0 Seattle.

A minute later Bagley had another shot, a 25-yarder up the middle that missed two yards wide.

Seattle had a few chances in a few minutes starting at 25' when Alcaraz-Cuellar's corner kick was head-flicked on goal by Levesque, but Wicks blocked it. Le Toux shot a loose ball from 20 yards but didn't get much velocity on it. Alcaraz-Cuellar's long free kick tried to bend into the top far corner but missed by a yard.

Then the momentum shifted to the Timbers for the last 15 minutes of the half. Luke Kreamalmeyer put a 25-yard free kick on goal but right to Eylander for his only save of the match. A 25-yard rocket by Bagley had Eylander flying but the shot was a yard above the bar. From Gregor's corner kick, S Thompson headed a shot a yard wide of the far post. Near the whistle, a dangerous ball bounced through Seattle's goal area but a defender near the post cleared it from danger.

Halftime: Portland 0 - 1 Seattle

The first shot of the second half came from Josh Gardner on the left, trying for the lower near corner, but Wicks had it covered.

Portland fans and the announcer thought they had a goal in the 62nd minute when Jordan got a through ball, played it wide of the charging Eylander, and finished into the empty net, but assistant referee Desmond Miller was wiggling his flag overhead and motioned that Jordan had played the ball with his arm.

In the 60th, Levesque at the far post finished Nathan Knox' low shot/cross, but was offside.

Seattle's defense was doing a fine job, and Portland didn't get a shot in the half until 66', a very long try by S Thompson, and it was not close. Then in the same minute Jordan tried from 25 yards and was not close.

Seattle's midfield did well the whole match. In the 68th Le Toux sent a diagonal ball for recently entered Greg Howes, who won it in the penalty area and just missed the top far corner with a good shot.

In the 70th an unusual collision occurred in Seattle's penalty area when Jordan leaped over a ball thrown in, dummying it, and Kevin Sakuda came flying in and collided with Jordan in the air, leaving both of them rolling around in pain. Meanwhile, the ball simply bounced into Eylander's arms, and a penalty was not granted by Alejandro Mariscal.

77' SEA: Levesque (Le Toux). On a counter, a long ball was sent to Le Toux in the middle, and he played the ball towards the right corner as his marker missed the tackle. Le Toux was all alone in near the end line to roll a diagonal ball back to Levesque on the near post run. Levesque was wide open and slotted the ball inside the near post, catching Wicks leaning the wrong way. 2-0 Seattle.

78' POR: Jordan (Poltl). It didn't take long for Portland to respond. On a free kick play, the ball was sent into the penalty area and Jordan headed it on towards the lower near corner. Eylander dove and got a hand on it, but not enough of a hand to keep the ball out. 2-1 Seattle.

88' POR: Gregor (PK). Seattle's defense was trying to hold on to the lead, but rookie center back Adam West tripped Jordan just inside the penalty area to give Portland a late penalty kick. Gregor beat Eylander to the lower right corner with a crisp shot. 2-2.

A second before the final whistle, Alcaraz-Cuellar's headed shot settled on top of the roof. Portland felt lucky to escape the match with a draw, and Seattle would lament giving up the 2-goal lead in the last minutes.

Final: Portland 2 - 2 Seattle

Statistics:
          Portland   Seattle
Shots:       11        10
Saves:        3         1
Corners:      5         3
Fouls:       20        18
Offsides:     0         4

Misconduct:
10' SEA: Jackson cautioned
49' SEA: Merl cautioned for wasting time on a throw-in
54' POR: S Thompson cautioned
56' POR: Poltl cautioned
87' SEA: Alcaraz-Cuellar cautioned

Referees: Alejandro Mariscal; Rich Wallace, Desmond Miller; Jeremy Hanson

Attendance: 5,722