Portland wins regular season championship

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Saturday, September 12, 2009

PORTLAND, OR -- With two regular-season matches remaining, the Portland Timbers won the 2009 USL First Division Commissioner’s Cup as the regular-season champion Saturday, the result of the Carolina RailHawks 2-1 victory over the Puerto Rico Islanders in Cary, N.C.



The Timbers, who occupy first place in the USL First Division standings with a record of 15-3-10 (55 pts), have captured their second Commissioner’s Cup in modern-franchise history. Portland won its first regular-season title in 2004, assembling a league-best 18-7-3 (57 pts) record.

While the second-place RailHawks and the fourth-place Charleston Battery can still reach 55 points by winning their remaining regular-season matches, the Timbers hold the advantage in the three-way tiebreaker should they all finish even in points, as well as the head-to-head tiebreaker over both clubs should one of the two catch them in the standings.

As the Commissioner’s Cup winner, the Timbers will enter the USL First Division playoffs as the No. 1 seed and receive a first-round bye to the semifinals slated for Oct. 1-4.

“Winning the Commissioner’s Cup is a special honor for our organization,” said Timbers head coach and general manager Gavin Wilkinson. “Credit needs to be given to the hard work put in by the players and the organization as well as our outstanding fan support. With the support the city of Portland has given the Timbers, we will continue to work hard towards our goal of bringing a championship here as well.”

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Thursday, September 17, 2009



PORTLAND, OR -- A pair of goals by forward George Josten guided the Portland Timbers to a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland City Stars in their regular season finale before 12,567 Thursday at PGE Park.

Thursday’s win helped the Timbers (16-4-10, 58pts) snap a two-game losing skid. Portland enters the postseason as the USL First Division’s No. 1 seed after capturing the 2009 Commissioner’s Cup as the regular season champion, earning a first round bye to the semifinal round slated for Oct. 1-4.

Josten recorded his first two-goal performance of the season, midfielder Johan Claesson and forward Mandjou Keita each earned an assist to lead the Timbers. Goalkeeper Steve Cronin logged two saves to record his 15th win of the campaign, matching a modern-franchise record set in 2004.

With his seventh assist of the season, Keita finished the regular season with 29 points and leads the USL First Division in scoring. He holds a five-point lead in the race as the league’s scoring champion, and he is also in a three-way tie for the league’s goal-scoring title at 11 goals.

Midfielder Ryan Stewart tallied his second goal of the season and forward Teteh Bangura attempted three shots to pace Cleveland (4-18-7, 19pts), which wraps up its inaugural season in the USL First Division Saturday.

The Timbers looked to put the City Stars under pressure from the opening whistle, and finished the match with a 19-15 advantage in shots. Josten opened the scoring with the first shot of the night.


usl1.uslsoccer.com/home/366725.html

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PORTLAND HAS 1ST ROUND BYE

Quarterfinal Pairings & Schedule

#2 Carolina RailHawks 0:1 #7 Vancouver Whitecaps
Sept 27 at Carolina – 5:00 pm ET

#3 Puerto Rico Islanders 1:2 #6 Rochester RhinosSept 27 at Puerto Rico – 6:00 pm ET

#4 Charleston Battery 0:2 #5 Montreal Impact
Sept 27 at Charleston – 7:00 pm ET

Fox Soccer Channel Broadcasts

The USL on FSC schedule shifts to Sunday for the next two weeks and will feature the Charleston Battery playing host to Montreal at 7:00 pm ET on Sunday, September 27. The following week, the regular season champion Portland Timbers will play host to the lowest remaining playoff seed at 7:00 pm ET Sunday, October 4.

The playoffs will conclude with the USL-1 Championship Series Saturday, October 11 and Saturday, October 17. Both games will air on Fox Soccer Channel.

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Quarterfinals

Sept 24 #2 Carolina RailHawks 0:1 #7 Vancouver Whitecaps
Sept 27 #2 Carolina RailHawks 0:0 #7 Vancouver Whitecaps
#7 Vancouver Whitecaps wins 1:0

Sept 24 #3 Puerto Rico Islanders 1:2 #6 Rochester Rhinos
Sept 27 #3 Puerto Rico Islanders 4:1 #6 Rochester Rhinos
#3 Puerto Rico Islanders wins 5:3

Sept 24 #4 Charleston Battery 0:2 #5 Montreal Impact
Sept 27 #4 Charleston Battery 1:2 #5 Montreal Impact
#5 Montreal Impact wins 4:1

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SEMI-FINALS

Puerto Rico Islanders v. Montreal Impact
Thu, 10/1/09 7:45 PM Saputo Stadium
Sun, 10/4/09 6:00 PM Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium

Portland Timbers v. Vancouver Whitecaps
Thu, 10/1/09 10:30 PM Swangard Stadium
Sun, 10/4/09 7:00 PM PGE Park

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SEMI-FINALS

Thu, 10/1/09 Puerto Rico Islanders 1:2 Montreal Impact
Sun, 10/4/09 Puerto Rico Islanders 1:2 Montreal Impact
Montreal Impact wins 4:2

Thu, 10/1/09 Portland Timbers 1:2 Vancouver Whitecaps
Sun, 10/4/09 Portland Timbers 3:3 Vancouver Whitecaps
Vancouver Whitecaps wins 5:4

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The Montreal Impact (5th) will face the Vancouver Whitecaps (7th) in the USL First Division championship final, in a two-leg aggregate goal series, October 10 and 17.

The first match of the series this Saturday at 9:30 pm (Eastern time) at Swangard Stadium, in Burnaby (radio-canada.ca, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, FSC).

The decisive match of the series will be held the following Saturday at Saputo Stadium at 2:30 pm (Radio-Canada Television, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, FSC).

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The Montreal Impact (5th) faced the Vancouver Whitecaps (7th) in the USL First Division championship final, in a two-leg aggregate goal series,
October 10 - MTL 3:2 VAN
October 17 - MTL 3:1 VAN

MTL 6:3 VAN

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