The Portland Timbers moved into a two-way tie with Real Salt Lake for the best record in MLS and a share of first place in the Western Conference with a 3-0 win over the Colorado Rapids before a sellout crowd of 20,674 at JELD-WEN Field on Sunday afternoon. Forward Frederic Piquionne and midfielder Will Johnson each registered one goal and one assist and forward Rodney Wallace recorded three assists to help the Timbers (7-1-9, 30pts) extend their MLS-club record unbeaten streak to 15 games, which is the longest unbeaten run in the league this season and tied for the fourth-longest in MLS history. Portland's defense recorded its sixth straight shutout at home in league play and has not conceded a goal at JELD-WEN Field since March 9 - a span of 570 consecutive minutes. Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts earned his MLS-best eighth clean sheet of the season. The Timbers were tested early by the Rapids, but were able to take control of the match with the opening strike in the 12th minute. Piquionne and Johnson each recorded a goal and an assist in the first half to help Portland build a 2-0 lead by halftime. Forward Ryan Johnson scored Portland's third goal late in the match to secure the club's third straight victory at home. The Rapids (5-7-5, 20pts) allowed three goals for the first time this season and, despite attempting 18 shots, suffered a third straight loss. A quickly taken free kick led to the Timbers opening strike in the 12th minute. Will Johnson played the ball down the left flank, setting up Wallace for a sharply driven cross into the box from near the end line. Piquionne out-jumped his marker and snapped a header off the crossbar and the ball deflected down inside the goal line for a 1-0 lead; it was the Timbers' 100th goal as an MLS club. Portland doubled its advantage just before halftime as Will Johnson scored his third goal this season against the Rapids. A long ball from the back was flicked on by Piquionne near midfield to Wallace out on the left side near the top of the box. Wallace laid the ball off as Johnson came slashing into the box, and Johnson took one touch before driving the ball past Colorado goalkeeper Clint Irwin for his team-best sixth goal of the season. Wallace became the first MLS Timbers player to record three assists in a single match in the 84th minute, helping set up the club's third goal. Midfielder Ben Zemanski brought the ball down the middle of the park before slipping a pass to Wallace in the left side of the box. Wallace gave a one-touch pass to Ryan Johnson running down the middle of the penalty area. Johnson was ball side of his defender and one-timed a left-footed shot into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season. Ricketts recorded his lone save against the Rapids in the second half, catching a firmly hit ball by Nathan Sturgis from just beyond the top of the box in the 83rd minute. Defender Jack Jewsbury provided a key stop in the 58th minute, denying a close-range shot by Colorado's Nick LaBrocca towards the left side of the goal. The Timbers close out their June slate with their sixth match of the month across all competitions on Wednesday as they travel to face FC Dallas in the quarterfinal of the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at FC Dallas Stadium; kickoff is 6 p.m. (Pacific). The match will be broadcast live on 750 The Game and a video web stream will also be available. Notes: * The Timbers reached the midway point in the 2013 MLS regular season, playing their 17th match. * The Timbers (7-1-9, 30pts) and Real Salt Lake (9-5-3, 30pts) are tied for MLS's best record at 30 points; the Montreal Impact and FC Dallas are close behind with 29 points each. * Portland extended its MLS-best unbeaten run to 15 matches with the victory over the Rapids, which his tied for the fourth-longest in MLS history. The LA Galaxy assembled 15-match unbeaten streaks on two occasions, spanning the 1997-98 and 2009-10 seasons. * Timbers head coach Caleb Porter owns the longest unbeaten streak by a first-year MLS head coach in the history of the league at 15 games. * The Timbers have the fewest losses in MLS this season (1) and are the only MLS club that has yet to lose to a conference opponent this season. Portland is 4-0-6 against clubs from the Western Conference. * The Timbers improve to 2-4-1 in the all-time MLS series against the Rapids, including a 1-0-1 mark in 2013. Between the two clubs, only Portland's Jack Jewsbury has played in all seven matches of the all-time series. * With three goals against the Rapids, the Timbers have scored an MLS-best 28 goals this season. * Portland improves to 6-0-3 this season when scoring the first goal of the match. * The Timbers defense recorded their eighth shutout of the season and has not conceded a goal in six consecutive league matches at JELD-WEN Field, a span of 570 minutes. The last goal allowed by Portland was in the 60th minute against Montreal on March 9. * Portland has recorded three consecutive clean sheets and held opponents scoreless in five of their last seven league games. * Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts had recorded four straight shutouts - a Timbers MLS record. He has an individual shutout streak of 396 minutes (May 18-25; June 15-current), which is the third-longest in MLS this season, beating out his 312-minute shutout streak from March 30-April 21. Ricketts missed the Timbers' June 8 match at Chicago while on international duty. * Ricketts' 396-minute shutout streak is a new Timbers MLS record, surpassing the previous mark of 376 minutes set by Troy Perkins April 21-May 20, 2012. * Forward Frederic Piquionne's goal in the first half was his first MLS goal and the Timbers 100th goal as an MLS side. Coming in the 12th minute, it was also the quickest goal scored by the Timbers in league play in 2013. He also delivered the club's quickest goal across all competitions this season, finding the back of the net in the second minute on May 29 in U.S. Open Cup play. * With a goal and an assist in the first half, Piquionne has recorded five goals and five assists over his last seven matches across all competitions since May 25. * Portland's Rodney Wallace returned to the Starting XI on Sunday after rejoining the club Wednesday from international duty with Costa Rica. Wallace missed three matches (June 8-19) while with Costa Rica for recent 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. * Wallace became the first Timbers MLS player to record three assists in a single match, and leads the team with five assists on the season. * Defender Jack Jewsbury surpassed 20,000 minutes played in his MLS career on Sunday, and ranks among the all-time active league leaders in minutes played. * Midfielder Will Johnson recorded a goal and an assist in the first half and is the Timbers' leading scorer with six goals. With two goals in a 2-2 draw against the Rapids on March 30, he has scored three of his five career goals against the Rapids this season. * Forward Ryan Johnson tallied his fifth goal of the season in the match against the Rapids; it was his first goal since April 27 at Sporting Kansas City. Johnson's strike was the Timbers' 20th second-half goal, which leads MLS. * Defender Ryan Miller made a second consecutive start on Sunday, playing right back; it was his fourth regular-season start. * Defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste made his 20th career MLS appearance on Sunday starting against the Rapids. Also, midfielder Ben Zemanski made his 85th career MLS appearance, entering as a sub in the second half.
