Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers With their position in the Western Conference playoff picture under serious and immediate threat, the Portland Timbers will play their biggest game since MLS Cup 2015 on Sunday afternoon as they face the arch rival Seattle Sounders at Providence Park (2:00 PM, TV on ESPN). Last weekend in Seattle, the Sounders — […]
Abe Asher
Abe Asher covers city news, politics, and soccer for the Portland Mercury. His reporting has appeared in The Nation, VICE News, Sahan Journal, and other outlets.
Posted inSports
Timbers Undone By Surging Sounders in Seattle
Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers When the Portland Timbers’ starting lineup was released one hour ahead of their crucial Sunday night tilt with the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field, there was someone missing. Fanendo Adi was on the bench, with Jack McInerney starting in his place up top. Adi was described only as a “late scratch.” No […]
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Timbers v. Seattle Match Preview
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports The Portland Timbers will make their first and only trip of the 2016 season to Seattle on Sunday night, to face a revitalized Sounders team in a match that suddenly carries major playoff implications for both teams (6:30 PM, TV on FOX Sports 1). This match is the first of a […]
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Timbers Go Quietly in Sweltering DC
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports Last Sunday, down a man against Sporting Kansas City, the Portland Timbers dug deep. This weekend at RFK Stadium against DC United? Not so much. Blame the weather — so oppressively hot that kickoff was pushed back an hour — the cross-country travel, the efforts of a competent opposition, or the […]
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Timbers v. DC United Match Preview
Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are back on the right side of the Western Conference standings after a win equal parts improbable and impressive against Sporting Kansas City last Sunday at Providence Park. This Saturday, the Timbers welcome back captain Liam Ridgewell to the lineup as they make their first trip of the year […]
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The Most Incredible Fifteen Minutes in Portland Timbers History
Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers On Sunday, the Portland Timbers scored what might be their most improbable and most important win of the 2016 season to date — overcoming an early Diego Chara red card to beat Sporting Kansas City by a resounding 3-0 scoreline. It was a big day. That being said, nothing we saw on […]
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Timbers Surge Past Kansas City For Biggest Win of 2016
Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers When Diego Chara flattened Benny Feilhaber not two feet away from referee Baldomero Toldeo just twelve minutes into the Portland Timbers’ crucial Sunday afternoon matchup against Sporting Kansas City at Providence Park, the odds facing the Timbers verged on insurmountable. Portland was staring at an eighty-minute slog down a man against a […]
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Timbers v. Sporting Kansas City Match Preview
USA Today Last weekend, the Portland Timbers dropped a hard-fought game at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas. Now, Sporting Kansas City returns to Providence Park for the first time since last year’s Wild Card game for another critical six-pointer in the Western Conference playoff race (1:00 PM, TV on ESPN). This isn’t a must-win game […]
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Timbers Drop Close Decision in Kansas City
USA Today The last time Sporting Kansas City played the Portland Timbers, Matt Besler chipped a spot-kick into the Timbers Army, Kevin Ellis sent his potential game-winning penalty off the left post, and Saad Abdul-Salaam sent his off the left post, off the right post, and into Timbers lore. That shootout ended when Sporting’s goalkeeper […]
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Timbers v. Sporting Kansas City Match Preview
Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports For the very first time since the beginning of the 2015 season, the Portland Timbers will start an MLS match with neither Nat Borchers nor Liam Ridgewell on the field. Borchers ruptured his Achilles tendon against the LA Galaxy last Sunday. He underwent successful surgery on Thursday, but is out […]
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Borchers’ Season Ends With Achilles Injury
From the moment Nat Borchers collapsed to the turf at Providence Park on Saturday, it seemed more likely than not that his 2016 season was over. On Monday morning, those fears were confirmed: The beloved center back, the heart and soul of the club’s 2015 MLS Cup championship, has a ruptured left Achilles tendon. He’ll […]
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Borchers Injured, Timbers Lose 2-1 to LA
Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers Upon arrival at Providence Park before the Timbers’ marquee meeting with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday afternoon, Nat Borchers delivered a six-pack of Widmer to a Timbers fan celebrating her 21st birthday at the stadium. It was a gesture typical of one of the most gracious, big-hearted athletes this city has […]