Heartbreakingly Close! Timbers Knocked Out of US Open Cup on Penalty Kicks

The Portland Timbers lost 5-4 to the Seattle Sounders in a match that took over 120 minutes and ultimately required penalty kicks to finally decide a winner. The 15,000 plus fans in attendance, including a few hundred Sounders fans who had made the trip, created a thrilling and electric atmosphere inside of PGE Park Wednesday evening. A well played, back and forth match, both teams brought a high intensity level and an aggressive, physical mentality to the field that was fitting for a rivalry of this magnitude.

"We fought hard and won individual battles and we defended with urgency," said a disappointed Coach Gavin Wilkinson after the match. "I'm happy for the group, but I'm just not happy with the result."

A close first half, the Sounders would perhaps find the more quality shots on goal, but Portland's relentless pressure would earn them a higher quantity of opportunities. Seattle would score first in the 13th minute of play, when Eugene native Nate Jaqua knocked in a shot off a lobbing pass into the box from midfielder Sanna Nyassi. Portland would respond, their determination paying off in the 38th minute, when Ryan Pore found Bright Dike streaking up the middle of the field in the offensive third, Dike would fight his way through two Seattle defenders before knocking in a slow rolling shot just past the outstretched arms of keeper Kasey Keller. Dike now has scored 5 goals in his last 3 matches.

"I think we know we can play with anyone if we play to our capabilities," said Dike, "This game shows it, the Boca game shows it, and how we've been playing recently shows it."

"We battled for two hours against them and came away with a 1-1 tie. In league play that'd be a point, against a team that's a league ahead of us." said keeper Steve Cronin, "So all-in-all its a good result. We're disappointed we lost, but going forward - over the last couple weeks we've really instilled a hard working mentality in this team and tonight was no exception."

After 90 minutes of quality and grueling soccer and the teams still knotted at 1-1, the game moved into overtime, with two 15 minute periods added to try and determine a winner. There was no mistaking this was a rivalry game, with physical play resulting in a plethora of fouls and a handful of yellow cards, eventually culminating in a red card in the 101st minute, a hard tackle from defender Taylor Graham on Dike as he tried to make a move into the box. Up a man on the field, the Timbers pressed the action, bringing in forwards Mandjou Keita, George Josten, and Doug DeMartin to push for the potential game-winning goal. Portland would outshoot Seattle overall for the game, but in the closing moments, the Sounders were in survival mode, packing the defense in, and appearing to be happy to just settle for penalty kicks.

"We had a few more attacking players, we were trying to push for that goal, we created some good chances," said Coach Wilkinson, "But we were just unlucky."

"They played to go to penalties after they got their red card, they settled down a little bit and didn't try to attack us as much." said Dike.

After over 2 hours of play, the game finally moved to penalty kicks. Each team alternatively taking 5 set shots on goal, inside the box, one-on-one with the keeper. Pore would shoot first for Portland, but Keller would deny him with a leaping save and deflection. Seattle would go on to hit it's first three shots and would have a 3-2 lead entering into the 4th round of penalty kicks. Keller would then make another save, stopping defender Ross Smith's attempt. However, keeping things interesting, Seattle defender Patrick Ianni fired his shot into the crossbar, allowing midfielder Rodrigo Lopez to put in Portland's final PK, the score standing at 3-3 with one kick remaining.

"It's one missed penalty kick, that's all it came down to." said Coach Wilkinson.

Seattle defender Zach Scott would step into the box with a sold-out PGE Park alive and crazy, screaming in front of his face and blasted in the game-winning goal, barely slipping the shot into the corner of the net. The raucous crowd would instantly fall silent, as the Seattle players swarmed together in celebration.

Said Lopez, "You can tell by the way they celebrated that they were lucky to get out of here with a victory."

"I feel like we could have won that game. The whole team battled, fought through the whole game, both of my knees are bloody." Said Dike, "I think we were really unlucky tonight to not take a win from this match."

After the match, the team was trying to stay positive, pleased by their effort against their MLS rivals, as they should be.

"A real selfless mentality tonight, I'm so proud of our guys. It's unfortunate that we couldn't get it done in the penalty kicks, but that's the nature of the beast when you go to penalty kicks at the end of a game." Said Cronin.

"I'm proud of the guys, the guys gave it their all, we lost the Open Cup and we have to still focus on the season," Said Lopez. "But the team gave it their all and that's all we could ask for."

Former US National team goalkeeper Kasey Keller was gracious as usual after the game. When asked about his heroics during the shootout, Keller was reluctant to take credit.

"I think I just got lucky," Said Keller, "But it was nice to be able to come up for the team."

"Portland gave us a tremendous game and I'm very proud of the way they worked." Added Keller, "They're going to be a tremendous addition to the MLS."

"Kasey is a guy I looked up to when I was young and growing up, just a great example for goal keepers." Said Cronin, " It was a real honor to go against him tonight, he got the best of me, but hopefully he sticks around for another year or two and I'll have the chance to get him back."

Still, Wednesday night was an opportunity to see how far this rivalry has come over the decades and look into the future of what's still yet to come. With Portland and Vancouver entering the MLS fray next season, the Northwest has become the premiere place to be a soccer fan in America. When asked about the upgrade to PGE Park and the potential for an even larger fanbase next season, Cronin responded with enthusiasm: "(The Timbers Army) was awesome. I can't wait until we get seats all the way around this place, its going to be something special that the MLS hasn't really seen yet, and it's going to be an amazing atmosphere"

Said Keller, "This west coast swing with us, Vancouver and Portland is going to really be the focus of the MLS. It's what this sport is all about and the Northwest is leading the way."

"(Tonight) was a great taste of things to come." Said Coach Wilkinson, "I think it was a tremendous game for the fans, its a good group of players we have, they worked extremely hard and maybe deserve a little bit more, but hopefully this is something we can go on for the rest of the season."

The Timbers will have to put the sting of this loss behind them quickly as they play host to their other rivals the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday. Despite the heartbreak, the team seems to have gained a lot of confidence from the match, realizing that nearly beating an MLS team is certainly an accomplishment.

"They're a bunch of superstars, but we're more of a team and we showed that we can play as a team well and work together tonight." said Dike.

"We dominated most of this game. I think we know our standard now and we know we can play against the best teams in the country." said Lopez.

Another chapter complete. Overall, a memorable night at PGE Park and a great showing by not only the players, but also Portland's amazing fanbase. Moments after the initial shock of defeat, thousands of fans broke into song, chanting their love for the team and praising the player's effort despite the disappointing outcome.

"The atmosphere is just great, it's just different than other stadiums and other crowds I've been able to play in front of." said Lopez, "This is unique, this is special and its what the game is all about. And we're happy that (the fans) are here every week and win our lose they're with us and that means a lot."

*photo provided by Alison @ TimberMill