Kicking off the 2015 season presented by Simple, the Portland Timbers registered a clean sheet, outshooting Western Conference foe Real Salt Lake 18-9, in a scoreless draw in front of a sold-out crowd of 21,144 fans at Providence Park on Saturday night. Holding Real Salt Lake without a shot on goal until the 73rd minute, the Timbers recorded their fourth consecutive clean sheet dating back to the final three matches of the 2014 MLS season and extended their run without conceding a goal in regular-season play to a Timbers MLS-record 394 minutes. Portland doubled Real Salt Lake's shots in each half, finishing the match with a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal. Portland (0-0-1, 1pt), which extended its unbeaten streak in home-opening matches to five games (2-0-3) since 2011, nearly grabbed the lead in the 29th minute when midfielder/forward Dairon Asprilla delivered a well-struck header just wide of the left post. The Timbers created another good chance in the 53rd minute when midfielder/forward Rodney Wallace saw an effort from the top of the goal box stopped by Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who made six saves on the night. During a flurry of chances in the third minute of second-half stoppage time, substitute midfielder Michael Nanchoff had an attempt saved off the goal line by defender Chris Schuler. Midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe's rebound was blocked and, as Real Salt Lake struggled to clear the ball out of the area, a third attempt by forward Gastón Fernández was blocked. Four Timbers players made their team debuts on Saturday night, including midfielder George Fochive, who finished with a game-high five tackles. Along with Fochive, goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey and Asprilla made their MLS debuts, while defender Nat Borchers made his Timbers debut - playing against his former club on Saturday night. With the shutout, the Timbers extended their home unbeaten streak against Real Salt Lake (0-0-1, 1pt) to four straight regular-season matches, dating back to Aug. 21, 2013. Playing its second straight home game to open the 2015 season presented by Simple, the Timbers play host to 2014 MLS Cup-champion LA Galaxy on Sunday, March 15, in a nationally televised match at Providence Park; kickoff is set for 4 p.m. (Pacific). Sunday's match will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 with local radio broadcasts on 750/102.9 The Game and in Spanish on La GranD 1150 AM. Press release from the Portland Timbers
