Forward Darlington Nagbe scored his third goal of the season and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts made four saves as the Portland Timbers earned a 1-1 draw against MLS leader FC Dallas at FC Dallas Stadium on Wednesday to extend their unbeaten streak to an MLS-best eight games. Portland and FC Dallas, two of the top clubs in the Western Conference, entered the match each on a string of seven-match unbeaten streaks. FC Dallas trailed at home for the first time this season when Nagbe lifted the Timbers to a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute. FC Dallas then took advantage of a penalty kick awarded seven minutes later and forward Kenny Cooper converted the attempt to tie the match at 1-1. The Timbers (3-1-6, 15pts) remain the only club in MLS that is unbeaten on the road this season and extend their overall club-record road unbeaten string to six games dating back to the 2012 campaign. Portland sits in third place in the Western Conference. Nagbe becomes the Timbers' MLS career leader in goal-scoring with his 11th career goal. Midfielder Rodney Wallace registered his first assist of the season and Ricketts recorded three of his four saves in the second half to help Portland earn its second result in its last three visits to FC Dallas Stadium. Cooper scored his second goal of the season on the penalty-kick attempt, midfielder Fabian Castillo recorded three shots and goalkeeper Raúl Fernández made three saves for FC Dallas (6-1-3, 21pts), who, with the draw, dropped their first points at home this season. FC Dallas had won each of their first five home matches to open the 2013 campaign. Portland claimed the lead 20 minutes from time, scoring its eighth goal on the road this season, which is tied for second-most in MLS. Wallace chipped a pass from the left side of the box across the penalty area, where Nagbe was on the back side and volleyed a bouncing shot by Fernández inside the right post. The go-ahead strike by Nagbe was the first goal allowed by FC Dallas at home since March 17, ending a run of 347 consecutive shutout minutes at home, and marked the first time in 10 games this season in which FC Dallas conceded the opening goal of a match. Referee Juan Guzman issued a yellow card to Portland defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste inside the box during play away from the ball in the 76th minute as the Timbers attempted to clear out an FC Dallas threat. The yellow set up a penalty-kick opportunity for the home side and Cooper was able to beat a diving Ricketts to the right side of the goal to tie the match at 1-1. Ricketts made clutch save in the final minutes of the match to preserve the draw, tipping a deflected shot by Cooper from just beyond the top of the box over the goal in the 86th minute. In the first half, Timbers midfielder Diego Chara made a perfectly-timed tackle just inside the box on FC Dallas midfielder David Ferreira charging in on goal to put an end to scoring chance by the home side in the 32nd minute. Making his first start for the Timbers, forward Frederic Piquionne had one of his three first-half shot attempts tipped by Fernández off the left post in the 19th minute. FC Dallas striker Raul Perez had a header from near the penalty spot also rattle of the woodwork in the 67th minute. On short turnaround, the Timbers return home to play host to Chivas USA on Sunday at JELD-WEN Field at 2 p.m. (Pacific). The match will be televised live locally on KPTV and nationally in Spanish on UniMás, with radio broadcasts available on 750 The Game and in Spanish on La Pantera 940AM. Notes: * The Timbers extended their MLS-club record unbeaten streak to eight matches and are tied with FC Dallas for the longest unbeaten run in MLS this season. * With the draw at FC Dallas, the Timbers are unbeaten in their last six road matches dating back to the 2012 campaign - a club record. * Portland remains the only club in MLS that is unbeaten away from home this season (5 games), with a record of 1-0-4 on the road, and owns the best road winning percentage (.600) in MLS. * The Timbers recorded their eighth goal on the road this season in the draw at FC Dallas, which is tied with Houston for the second-most in MLS. * The Timbers have earned results in two of their last three visits to FC Dallas Stadium, and improve to 1-2-3 in the all-time MLS series against FC Dallas. * With his goal in the second half, forward Darlington Nagbe became the Timbers MLS career leader in goals scored with 11 career goals. * Nagbe scored his second career goal against FC Dallas, both of which have come at FC Dallas stadium. He is now tied with Jack Jewsbury and Kalif Alhassan as the club's all-time goal-scoring leaders against FC Dallas. * Nagbe's goal was Portland's 12th goal scored in the second half this season, which ranks among the most in the league. * The go-ahead goal by Nagbe was just the third goal allowed by FC Dallas at home and the first since March 17, ending a string of 347 consecutive shutout minutes at home for FC Dallas. * Portland's goal also marked the first time in 10 games this season in which FC Dallas conceded the first goal of a match and the first time FC Dallas trailed at home in 2013. * The penalty-kick goal by FC Dallas was just the second goal allowed by the Timbers over the final 30 minutes of a match this season. * Midfielder Rodney Wallace recorded his first assist of the season and first career assist against FC Dallas on Nagbe's goal. He has now registered both a goal and an assist in substitute appearances this season - the only Timbers player to record a point as a substitute in 2013. * Portland recorded 15 shots against FC Dallas, setting a new season-high for shots on the road. The club's previous season-high was 13 in a 1-1 draw at Seattle Sounders FC on March 16. * The Timbers had four different players - Nagbe, Will Johnson, Frederic Piquionne and Kalif Alhassan - record three or more shots against FC Dallas. * The Timbers attempted eight shots in the first half, the second-most shots attempted by the club in a half on the road this season. * The Timbers held an 8-4 lead in shots at halftime against FC Dallas, marking the third time in five games on the road this season in which Portland held a lead in shots over its opponent at the break. * Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts recorded four saves against FC Dallas and has logged four or more saves in each of his last four games, three of which have come on the road. He recorded a season-high six saves in a 3-2 road victory against Sporting KC on April 27. * Forward Frederic Piquionne made his first MLS start in the match against FC Dallas. His previous seven appearances this season have all come in a substitute role. * Midfielder Kalif Alhassan returned to the Starting XI for the first time since April 14 vs. San Jose; it was his fourth start of the 2013 campaign.
