When the MLS season started, the Portland Timbers faced an unprecedented challenge: an MLS record 12-game opening road trip. After a grueling, up-and-down few months that saw the Timbers hit rock bottom as well as finding season-defining victories, the schedule has now completely flipped in the Timbers’ favor. After a rough week in Minnesota, the Timbers will play eleven out of its final twelve matches at Providence Park. Saturday night’s game against the Whitecaps will kick off a string of ten consecutive matches in the Rose City.
Saturday’s game will also be the first Cascadia Cup match played at the renovated Providence Park — and it is already a game with substantial stakes.