(7.10.2011) Portland, Ore.  Forty-five minutes before kick off and from a quarter mile away you could hear the chants and screams of rabid fans from within Jeld-Wen Field drowning out the rest of the city, as Major League Soccer prepared to take its roost for the afternoon.  

The raucous crowd gathered for the 10^th consecutive sell-out, and to celebrate the major rivalry that exists between Portland and Seattle, one that extends far beyond the soccer pitch.

After a riveting opening ceremony featuring fireworks, a spine-tingling rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and the dramatic unfurling of the Timbers ‘King of Clubs’ Banner – the game settled off into a lollygagging funk.

To say the game got off to a slow start would be an understatement, with the first half feeling more like a Victorian-era gentleman’s sport, with both sides sharing a fairly equal split on shots to goal, corner kicks, fouls and saves.

However, the momentum shifted dramatically for both teams as the second half became a feeding frenzy of goal scoring, totaling five in all.

It began in the 46^th minute after Portland’s Alhassan dribbled the ball down field and made a sprint towards the right side of the goal.  Just before running out of bounds and into the Timbers Army, he mustered off a pass to the front of the goal intended for Perlaza, but it was instead deflected off of Seattle’s Jeff Parke and into the net to make it 1-0 Timbers.

In the 53^rd minute Timbers fans got an extra jolt of adrenaline when the Timbers’ Wallace executed a great cross to an outstretched Perlaza who just barely missed burying the second Timbers goal of the game.  It could have been all that was needed to shift momentum in favor of the Timbers.

Instead, the Timbers first lead of the game was scratched when in the 57^th minute the Sounders Montero took a free kick and slapped it over the Timbers wall and into the corner of the net to tie the score at 1-1.

Passions spilled over onto the field at the 60^th minute when Friberg, Riley and Jewsbury got into a tussle after confusion over a free kick.  The scene was cleared by the ref, with no cards issued, but perhaps lending a shot in the arm to the Timbers offense.

Moments later the Timbers took their second lead of the game after Perlaza broke away to fire a shot, which bounced off a Seattle defender and into the goal, making it 2-1 Timbers.

However, that would be all the offense the Timbers would be able to muster for the day.  Just four minutes later, Montero would answer the call with a pass from Rosales to even the score.

Ten minutes later we had a bit of a scare after the Sounders’ Neagle made a break for the goal, trailed closely by the Timbers Brunner.  From within the box, Brunner decided to kick the ball away from behind, nearly kicking Neagle in the face in the process.  He was issued a red card and Alonso put the pentalty kick into the back of the net to put the Sounders ahead once and for all.

The final moments of the game saw a few last ditch efforts from a frustrated Timbers offense, but it was too little too late to avoid the 3-2 victory by the Sounders.

On the last weekend of World Cup action, Major League Soccer had a full schedule of games on tap. There were several results of importance, perhaps none bigger than the Landon Donovan-less LA Galaxy loss at the New England Revolution. In Seattle, the young Sounders provided a spark but it was 19-year-old Miguel Montano’s red card that changed the balance of the game and allowed FC Dallas to steal a late 1-1 draw from Seattle. Nick Schiffler has that report, complete with player ratings. A full photo gallery is available as well.

In front of a crowd of 17,158 at the second-ever game at PPL Park, two counter attacks led to two San Jose goals locking up three vital away points for the Earthquakes. In an otherwise engaging and entertaining performance, the Philadelphia Union defense on counter-attacks were best summed up by Piotr Nowak as “professionally naive”. Breton Bonnette reports from Chester, Pa., with Union player ratings supplied by San Toma.

The New York Red Bulls and DC United played a drab scoreless stalemate at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night, in a match that was short on highlights of any kind and from either team. The Red Bulls extended their MLS unbeaten streak to five and captured the Atlantic Cup – the regular season series between the two sides – for the first time since 2003. Short match report and full photo gallery.