And thats the game! Portland Timbers have defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps and are going to the Western Conference finals! Your final score, Timbers 2-0 Whitecaps! My name is Tyler Fisher, thank you for joining me this evening. Goodnight!
Fourth official Ricardo Salazar has said they have added another minute. And now a goal by the Timbers! Diego Chara slots the ball calmly past Ousted! The Timbers are on their way to the Western Conference Finals!
90+3 Waston goes in hard on a challenge. More added time most likely. Looking at another two minutes
Five minutes of added time to this second half.
90' Robert Earnshaw earns a yellow for interferring with the keeper. Can't take the ball out of the possession of the keeper on a punt.
The Timbers are just three minutes away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals against FC Dallas.
84' Jack Jewsbury will replace Diego Valeri.
83' Earnshaw with an acrobatic bicycle kick, but it goes over the crossbar.
82' Whitecaps burn their last sub.
Lucas Melano for the Timbers is getting set to come into the game. core still 1-0 Timbers.
77' Great passing by the Timbers, but play is broken up
72' Beitashour is called for taking down Valeri. Whitecaps are getting frustrated right about now.
67' Villafana is taken off the field limping. Paparotto is his replacement.
Whitecaps make their second cub. Mattocks comes on for Koffie.
62' Diego Valeri is booked for a foul on Techera. Dangerous area to concede a free kick.
60' Great setup by the Whitecaps but they can't complete it. Now, a yellow card is being issued to Rodney Wallace of the Timbers.
55' Rivero is issued a yellow card. Whitecaps concede a free kick.
48' Borchers is down, and holding his head. Not good, but he's back on his feet.
Second half is underway! Score, Timbers 1-0 Whitecaps
And there's the halftime whistle. Score, 1-0.
One minute of added time to the first half. Score still 1-0 to the Timbers.
44' Kwarasey handles the ball up and over the crossbar for a Whitecaps corner kick.
The Timbers Army very vocal at BC Place tonight. Very intriguing.
37' Tensions arise as a small scuffle happens, but luckily nothing major. Adi took offense to Techera kicking the ball at his head; Seems to be the cause of the players joining together.
Ismail Elfath is a little late with his calls. I would be hesitant also if I was under this kind of pressure as a Pro Referee. One bad cal and its blown for either team. Credit where it's due, he is confident in his calls.
31' GOAL! Fanendo Adi puts the away side up 1-0! Timbers now lead 1-0 on aggregate!
29' Timbers making a good opportunity, but can't seem to make it work.
25' Not good for the Whitecaps. Manneh is down again, and now will be substituted off. Mauro Rosales will be his replacement.
Whitecaps playing down a man
21' Kekuta Manneh is down. A great counter attack by the Whitecaps and Manneh slips on the turf. Will he continue?
16' Whitecaps get a free kick awarded to them. Both teams looking good so far.
12' Liam Ridgewell gets a warning for interferring with goalkeeper David Ousted.
9' A wild shot hits the post, then bounes off keeper Kwarasey and out for a Whitecaps corner.
4' A build up of an opportunity for the Timbers but the ball is cleared out.
1' Kickoff has started. Whitecaps in their home white, Timbers in their third forest green kits.
10:33 PM EST: Kickoff moments away!
10:28 PM EST And that's it from Dallas! FC Dallas defeat the Sounders 4-2 on penalty kicks.
10:15 PM EST: Crazy action coming out of Dallas. And now, they are going to penalty kicks.
10:06 PM EST: Right now, the game is delayed about 15 minutes. The Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas match is currently in the second half of extra time. Dallas leads 2-1, but the score is tied 3-3 on aggregate.
10:03 PM EST: Hello! Tyler Fisher back with you again! I took you from a chilly night in Columbus, Ohio, and now I'm here bringing you the action in the Western Conference Semifinals between the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps.
As always, it's time for a prediction. Now, another writer here at VAVEL USA got his prediction right. Let's see if this prediction will come out correct as well. Given what was left on the field in leg one, both teams will throw everything they have at each other tonight, in order to secure their place in the Western Conferene Finals. The aggregate total is tied at 0-0. A wild prediction, but the Portland Timbers will advance with a 2-1 win over their rivals. Although the 'Caps impressed during the regular season, they will just barely get outplayed in their last home match. Timbers win, 2-1.
No new news (say that five times fast. No, not "that that that that that") coming out from either team's Twitter outlets. I'm sure things will pop up as we near gametime. Stay tuned for coverage of this match.
As a reminder, here is the casual game info. Venue: BC Place in Vancouver, B.C. Game time: 10:00 PM EST. National TV courtesy of Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports Deportes in the US. TSN1/RDS1 in Canada.
Here is the officiating crew for today's match. The referee is Ismail Elfath, and his assistants are Corey Rockwell and Peter Manikoski. The fourth official is the infamous Ricardo Salazar. Funny story real quick, assistant referee Corey Rockwell actually follows me on Twitter. Great guy!
There was also big news coming out of Portland this week as midfielder Darlington Nagbe was named in the United States Men's National Team roster for their upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. He also recently became an official United States citizen.
And for the Portland Timbers (4-2-3-1)
Kwarasey; Powell, Borchers, Ridgewell, Villafana; Nagbe, Jewsbury; Melano, Valeri, Wallace; Adi
Here is the projected lineup for the Vancouver Whitecaps (4-2-3-1)
Ousted; Harvey, Parker, Waston, Beitashour; Teibert, Laba; Manneh, Koffie, Techera; Rivero
For the Whitecaps to advance, they have to catch the Timbers at their worst: in the midfield, and when losing possession. Yes, the Timbers do lose the ball very easily, in the midfield area. That's where the 'Caps can capitalize and earn themselves a hard fought win at home.
In order for the Timbers to advance to the Conference Final, they will need to use their counter attack to the best of their ability. Players such as Fanendo Adi, Diego Valeri and Maxi Urruti can be incredibly dangerous. The Whitecaps defense will have to be alert and aware of the runs they make on the field. Hopefully for them, goalkeeper David Ousted can come up big with saves to help his team advance.
As far as previous meetings between these two teams, they met three times in the regular season. The Whitecaps took one out of the three meetings, defeating the Timbers by a score of 2-1. The other two meetings resulted in draws, seeing scorelines of 1-1 and 0-0.
On the flip side, the Whitecaps bypassed the knokout stages by finishing second in the West. There, they awaited the winners of the wild card games to see who they would face. Then Whitecaps are hosting the second leg due to them having the higher seed.
After an equalizing goal from Maximiliano Urruti, the game went to penalties. However, five wasn't enough. The game saw all 11 players take a penalty, including the goalkeepers. Timbers keeper Adam Kwarasey proved to be the hero of the night when he slotted home his attempt to give the Timbers a 7-6 lead. As Sporting keeper Jon Kempin stepped up to take his attempt, he could feel the pressure on his shoulders. A miss and the game is over, or a goal and the shootout keeps going. Kempin took his shot to Kwarasey's right, and the Ghanaian made the save, sending the Timbers to the Semifinals.
The Timbers got to the position that they are in now by finishing third in the West. From there, they went on to face Sporting Kansas City in the knockout stages. This game would go down in the history books. A do-or-die game that would eventually go into penalty kicks, had never been more intriguing than this game.
In the previous leg, the teams fought to a 0-0 draw, meaning it is all there to play for this afternoon. A win means a certain place in the 2015 MLS Western Conference Final. There, they will take on the winner of the Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas matchup. Could it be a Cascadia clash for a place in the final?
The Portland Timbers held their rivals scoreless in leg one of the 2015 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs back at Providence Park. This leg, they reverse the venue and take their talents north of the border. This leg determines who continues their quest for the cup, and who goes home.
Hello and welcome to VAVEL USA's LIVE coverage of the 2015 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs! It is my pleasure to bring you live coverage of the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinals between Cascadia Cup rivals Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps. My name is Tyler Fisher and I will be your guide for this game tonight!