BEAVERTON, Ore. – The Portland Timbers have met Sporting Kansas City 18 times in the team’s Major League Soccer history. They’ve only won four times; have been shutout in half of the games. But, as they often say in sports, you’re only as good as your last result.
That last result was one of the most memorable in Timbers history, a 3-2, second-leg win at Children’s Mercy Park in last year’s Western Conference finals. It was the game that delivered one of the best goals in team history – Sebastián Blanco’s long-distance bomb over Tim Melia – and secured the club’s third piece of silverware – a second conference championship trophy.