PORTLAND, Ore. – With one lunge from FC Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer, the Portland Timbers’ 2020 was over. Or if you choose to look at it a different way, the goal the Timbers gave away stood out: a score that flew in the face of how the game, to that point, had played out. But this is soccer, a sport that requires neither being outplayed nor an actual loss for your season to end. And end, the Timbers’ season did.
After eight rounds of a penalty-kick shootout, the Timbers were eliminated from the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs on Sunday night, giving up a late goal in second-half stoppage time to draw FC Dallas, 1-1, ahead of a 8-7, tiebreaker loss.