Midfielder Kalif Alhassan recorded two assists and midfielder Jack Jewsbury added a three-point performance to lead the Portland Timbers to a second straight win, defeating FC Dallas 3-2 in front of a sellout crowd of 18,627 at JELD-WEN Field on Sunday afternoon. For a second consecutive match, the Timbers posted a 2-0 lead over their opponent at the break, getting goals from Jewsbury and striker Kenny Cooper. Defender Rodney Wallace tacked on a third goal for Portland, before the tandem of David Ferreira and Brek Shea sparked a two-goal comeback for FC Dallas inside the final seven minutes of the match. Jewsbury, playing in his 200th career MLS regular-season match on Sunday, finished his milestone day with a goal and an assist against FC Dallas. Cooper scored against his former club, recording his second goal of the season, while Wallace notched his second goal in as many games and goalkeeper Jake Gleeson made three saves in the victory for Portland (2-2-1, 7pts). Ferreira and Shea each finished with a goal and an assist and combined for six of the nine shots taken by FC Dallas (1-3-1, 4pts) in the loss. Ferreira nearly converted a second goal in second-half stoppage time, but his effort rang off the crossbar. A hard-working effort by Alhassan in the left corner led to an early Timbers goal in the 13th minute. Alhassan, covered by two defenders, found Jewsbury streaking into the left side of the box. Jewsbury collected the ball and then ripped a shot past FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, off the near post, which then deflected off the back of the goalkeeper and then bounced into the back of the net. Cooper, one of FC Dallas' all-time leading scorers, put the Timbers on top 2-0 before the break. Jewsbury, from the right corner, delivered a well-placed ball into Cooper stationed at the top of the six-yard box. Falling away, Cooper headed a shot over the out-stretched reach of Hartman and into the top left corner of the frame in the 35th minute. Pressure by Cooper in the box led to the Timbers' third goal of the day in the 55th minute. From Cooper, the ball rolled to Alhassan inside the box, who then weaved his way through the FC Dallas penalty area. Alhassan laid the ball off for Wallace, who, from a short distance, drilled a shot past Hartman for a 3-0 Portland advantage. FC Dallas pressured late in the match, getting Shea from his left back position forward. He teamed up with reigning MLS MVP Ferreira to spoil the Timbers' bid for their first shutout. In the 83rd minute, Shea found Ferreira slashing through at the left post and with a sliding effort, Ferreira poked the ball past Gleeson for his third goal of the season. Ferreira then returned the favor three minutes later, setting up Shea for a shot from inside the box. From an arching pass over the top, Shea one-timed his shot into the back of the net in the 86th minute and cut Portland's lead down to a single goal at 3-2. In the closing stages of the match, Ferreira had a chance to knot the score at 3-3. His bid for the equalizer from the top, right side of the box deflected off the crossbar, and the Timbers were able to finish out their second straight win at home. The Timbers take to the road for their next match Saturday, April 23, as they face the LA Galaxy for the first time at The Home Depot Center at 8 p.m. live on FOX Soccer. A live radio broadcast will be available on Sportsradio 95.5 The Game and in Spanish on La Pantera 940 AM. Notes: - With his 200th career regular-season match Sunday, Jewsbury joined a group of notable MLS veterans (active) with 200-plus career matches, including Landon Donovan, Kyle Beckerman, Jimmy Conrad, Brian Carroll, Josh Wolff, Pablo Mastroeni and FC Dallas' Hartman. Jewsbury has scored two goals in his last three games. - Cooper played four seasons with FC Dallas previously in his career from 2006-09. He ranks among the club's career scoring leaders, tallying 40 goals in 90 matches. - With two assists on the day, Alhassan becomes the first Timbers player this season to record multiple assists in a game and assists in back-to-back matches. Now with three on the season, Alhassan is tied for second in the league among assist leaders. - With seven goals in their last two matches, the Timbers now share the league lead in total goals scored with D.C. United at nine. - With his second-half strike, defender Rodney Wallace becomes the first Timbers player to score in back-to-back games. He scored his first goal of the season Thursday against Chicago. - For a fourth consecutive game, Portland wore its primary green kits, with white shorts and green socks. - Sunday marked the first day match at JELD-WEN Field; kickoff was 3 p.m. (PT). - Between Portland and FC Dallas, the lineups included a combined five Colombian natives in Sunday's match - FC Dallas' Castillo, Ferreira, Rodriguez and Benitez and Portland's Perlaza; each player made an appearance. - FC Dallas backup goalkeeper Chris Seitz had a short loan stint with the Timbers' second-division club in 2009, while with Real Salt Lake. Seitz recorded two shutouts in a win and draw, spearheading Portland's United Soccer Leagues First Division-record, 24-game unbeaten streak that season.
was wondering about that.. NateDogg as an employee there, how is all this working with the new capacity and all that.. I keep hearing complaints that concession and bathroom lines are too long, and that doesnt bode well for opening up more tarped seats. Any updates on that?
I think I read that with the Tarped seats included it can hold 22,000, and can be expanded to 25,000 somehow, but for the life of me I have no idea how lol.
