The first half saw the majority of the action and both goals in the first half of Cascadia Summit's second match, with Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps winding up Saturday with a 1-1 draw. Ryan Pore opened the scoring at the fifth minute, with 'Caps keeper Jay Nolly only able to push away Brian Umony's shot as far as Pore's foot. Portland had most of the possession and many of the chances through the first thirty minutes, with Vancouver only starting to come into it in the last fifteen of the first half.
The second goal may have been a Portland own-goal, but it was certainly a result of increased pressure by the Whitecaps. Blake Wagner sent in a shot that was blocked by the Timbers keeper, Adin Brown, but his push bounced off David Horst for an own-goal.
After the excitement of the first half, the second was a bit tame. Both sides had shots on goal, but nothing much troubled either keeper. Unfortunately for the Whitecaps, the physical play of the Portland Timbers may have been less friendly than they'd have liked. Not only did the Timbers collect a handful of yellow cards, they also sent defender Alain Rochat hobbling off the pitch -- not a good sign with the season less than two weeks away.
Injury time saw the best effort from Portland in the second, with Rodrigo Lopez (who still is not signed with the Timbers) forcing a save from Joe Cannon with his shot from 30 yards. An on-target shot from that distance is like a giant flashing billboard saying "Pick me! Pick me!" Meanwhile, Vancouver answered with their own shot from distance, but it ended up over the fence behind goal.
The match leaves Portland at four points on the weekend. If the Whitecaps manage a win tomorrow, they'll be even, but there's no way for Seattle to catch up.