MLS Regular Season
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The Portland Timbers are but one team among many in Oregon.
There are college teams, amateur teams, adult coed teams, kids U6 teams.
There are teams that are put together on the fly as two sides divide up, create a goal and start kicking the ball.
There is soccer being played on lunch breaks, in backyards, on park fields, beaches, forests, sidewalks, street corners.
This is Soccer in Oregon.
We want to see what Soccer in Oregon means to you.
Instagram a shot between now and October 12.
Tag it #SoccerInOregon.
It could be from a Timbers match or a pick-up game on the Oregon Coast.
Coaching your kid’s game in Bend or riding with the team on a long bus ride to Medford.
Juggling on top of Mt. Hood, Mt. Bachelor or Steens Mountain.
Show us soccer and what it means to you across this state.
(If you’re not in Oregon, you can still participate but be sure to include #Soccerin “Wherever you are” along with the #SoccerInOregon tag).
We’ll compile all the images to place on our Pinterest page (pinterest.com/portlandtimbers) to put up to a fan vote beginning on Oct. 15 with a winner determined by Oct. 19.
The Grand Prize Winner gets a framed copy of their photo plus two tickets and a media pass to photograph the final Timbers home match against San Jose Earthquakes on Oct. 27. Second through Fifth place receive a Timbers scarf and framed edition of their photo. For full contest rules, visit www.portlandtimbers.com/soccerinoregonrules
So get out there. Show us what #SoccerInOregon means to you.
With October upon us, MLS is once again launching their Soccer Kicks Cancer campaign to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer awareness and treatment.
What this means is the return of the pink balls, special pink MLS W.O.R.K.S. ribbon patch on every player kit, pink shoelaces, pink sweatbands, and more--potentially even pink goalkeeping gloves. All 19 clubs are participating and there will be limited edition Breast Cancer Awareness gear available as well.
Additionally, there will be an auction of the pink match balls and game-worn gear on MLSSoccer.com/works starting on October 15.
Learn more about the whole event here.
Watch them all. Then go vote for Danny Mwanga's second strike to win MLS Goal of the Week.
Photo: GoZips.com
Yo-ho, yo-ho, it’s A Cajun Life for the Portland Timbers and fans on Saturday’s match against DC United (7:30pm PT, ROOT Sports, 750 AM The Game / La Pantera 940).
A Cajun Life will be serving…you guessed it - Cajun food out of the Soccer City Grill concession stand on the east side of the stadium. On the menu is: Authentic Cajun Gumbo - a gumbo including chicken, sausage and tasso; Bayou Boogie – chicken, sausage and tasso gravy served over rice; and Crawfish Étouffée – crawfish tails and sauce served over rice.
Chris Fontenot, owner of A Cajun Life, moved to Oregon with his wife two years ago, and began entertaining new friends with their Cajun food. At the urging of their friends, the Fontenots opened their food cart (affectionately known as Roux) in July. A Cajun Life can be found in Old Dean’s parking lot in Damascus.
“We hope it’ll [JELD-WEN Field] be packed with fans coming to try something they can’t really get in the city,” said Fontenot. “We serve true authentic Cajun food all the way down to getting our specialty meats flown in from Louisiana.”
“We are excited at this amazing opportunity. Having only been open for a few months and being selected to attend is a true honor,” continued Fontenot. “This gives us a chance to serve customers from all over the area and to show them that just because we are in Damascus, that we can hold our own against the great food options the city offers.”
A Cajun Life is the fifth food cart chosen by fans via Facebook to serve at JELD-WEN Field as part of the Portland Timbers Food Cart Alliance (PTFCA). The Local Grind will serve at the stadium for the Timbers last home match against San Jose on October 27.
PTFCA is looking for new members. Applications for PTFCA will be accepted for the remainder of the season.
Bright Dike's second half 61st minute header against Real Salt Lake may not have been enough for the win Saturday night but it was a tremendous display of skill. Check out MLSsoccer.com's special goal GoPro camera capturing the moment.
Dike's got hops.
If you want to see just how close we came to scoring on two other shots only to be stopped by crack RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando, you can see his saves here (Warning: RSL's goals included in this collection too).
This one is for all the marbles.
The Portland Timbers head north to take on the Seattle Sounders on Oct. 7 at 6pm PT. Currently sitting atop the three-team standings for the Cascadia Cup between the Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps, and Sounders, the Timbers could return home with the coveted cup if they draw or win at CenturyLink Field.
Unable to make it north for #SeattleAway? Do not fret, we'll be hosting a big bash at one of our esteemed Timbers Pub Partners but we want your help in deciding where. Vote on the poll at right to have your say about who should host and where you'll want to be when you watch this historic match.
The poll ends September 26 at 5pm PT.
Starting this Saturday, September 22 when the Timbers play Real Salt Lake (5pm PT NBC Sports, KXL Radio / La Pantera 940), fans will be able to receive automated text, score alerts on their phones. The free service (standard messaging rates may apply per your cellular provider) includes automated alerts for goals and red cards, as well as notifications for kickoff, halftime and the end of the match. The service is for all first-team matches and will send messages in real time.
You can sign up now; just text ALERT to 27299 to join.
In his latest Throw-in column for MLSsoccer.com, Jonah Freedman opines on how a precedent can set up a team's expectations. Whether it's the Cascadia Cup, Brimstone Cup, Trillium Cup, MLS Cup, U.S. Open Cup or more, Freedman posits that no matter the silverware, these trophies matter. They can help define, or at the very least, begin to define the direction a team aims to take. Given how close the Timbers are to winning this year's Cascadia Cup in what has been a difficult season, Freedman asks,
So what are fans supposed to make of these trophies? For Portland, it’s a sign of progress, a symbol of success upon which they can hang their hats in their second MLS season. It is perhaps a springboard to future glory, when a young team with a young coach can do great things as they evolve.
Read more on how varying teams aim for glory and how those first steps help set the path.
Photo: SoundersFC.com
Darlington Nagbe has had a very busy couple of weeks. His former Univ. of Akron head coach, Caleb Porter, was named head coach of the Timbers. He had a camera crew follow him around for MLS 36 for NBCSports. He helped out with a special project with MLS Digital and EA Sports that will air soon. His jersey is one of the top selling kits in MLS. And he came in at #15 on the MLS 24 Under 24 list.
But Saturday presented a rare opportunity to reunited with an old friend in Seattle Sounders midfilder Steve Zakuani. Both teammates under Porter while at the Univ. of Akron, the two had yet to actually take the field with each other due to Zakuani's leg injury that had kept him on the shelf for almost a year.
In a great article on SoundersFC.com, Zakuani spoke about playing against a friend with whom he shares a long history:
“It was great, you know. Last year, I didn’t get to play against him, so this year it was just good seeing him out there, and getting the chance to go against him,” Nagbe said. “It was fun. We both had fun.”
Like Zakuani in 2010, Nagbe is having success in his second MLS season. Zakuani was tied for the team-lead with ten goals in 2010, while Nagbe has six goals for the Timbers with still six games left on the schedule.
The success comes as no surprise to Zakuani, who has been carrying the Nagbe flag for years.
“I’ve known Darlington for a very, very long time and always said he’s a great player. He’s maturing more and more,” Zakuani said. “I still think he has a long way to go, because I think he has so much quality. I was happy to, for the first time, play against him at this level. I wish him to continue to become a good player.”
Zakuani goes on to talk about his friendship--he'll be in Nagbe's wedding in the offseason--and says that he'd like to share the pitch with him some day again on the same side:
“He’s someone I like to always look out for and I wish him to keep playing the way he’s playing right now,” Zakuani said. “I wish maybe one day in the future we can play again together. But at this point he is with Portland and I’m with Seattle.
The Akron roots run deep for many players across MLS. Nagbe was reunited with with another former Zip and close friend, Teal Bunbury, earlier this season both for an adidas commercial and on the field. Moreover, wunderkind Vancouver Whitecaps rookie Darren Mattocks, yet another former Akron teammate of Nagbe's, tweeted today about his thoughts on Nagbe's inclusion in the 24 Under 24 list.
@darlingtonnagbe should be in the top 5 easily for 24 under 24. Just saying
— Darren Mattocks (@DarrenMattocks) September 17, 2012
You may have noticed Jimmy Conrad was in Portland recently with KICKTV. He spoke with Merritt Paulson. He received chainsaw lessons with Timber Joey.
However.
Perhaps the biggest moment of all was Conrad actually attending the Cascadia Cup showdown between the Timbers and Seattle Sounders at JELD-WEN Field on Saturday. There were bagpipes, there was facepaint, there was yelling and as part of his indoctrination to the experience, Conrad became a full fledged member of the Timbers Army, No Pity scarf and all.
