Vancouver Whitecaps Lose to Portland Timbers but Win Semifinal Spot
The Portland Timbers (#4 seed) were looking forward to hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps (#5 seed) on Sunday evening in this evenly-matched playoff series. But the Timbers had put themselves in a hole by being down 2 goals after a 2-0 loss to the Whitecaps at Swangard Stadium last Thursday evening. The 2-goal loss meant Portland would have to score three more goals than Vancouver to take the total-goal series. Although James Marcelin scored in the 49th minute for Portland, a goal that would hold and eventually be the game winner, they lose the playoff series 2-1 aggregate.
The win closes the books not only on the season for the Timbers but on Portland’s 10-year history as a United Soccer Leagues Division 2 team. The Timbers will make the move to Major League Soccer next season as will Vancouver. But for now, the Whitecaps are alive and well and begin the semifinals against the Puerto Rico Islanders this Thursday.
With Sunday’s result, all USL-affiliated clubs have been eliminated from the playoffs even though they were all top seeds coming into the quarterfinal matchups. The remaining four NASL-affiliated teams all start their semifinal home and away series starting midweek.
Carolina and Montreal will meet at 7:30 p.m. E.T. at Stade Saputo in Montreal, Quebec on Thursday, Oct. 14, and Puerto Rico will face Vancouver at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel, Bayamon, Puerto Rico at 8:05 p.m. E.T.
The playoffs consist of a two-leg, aggregate goals series in the first round, semifinals and finals. Away goals will not be considered a tie-breaker in the aggregate goal series. If teams are tied on aggregate goals after the conclusion of the second leg, they will play two 15-minute overtime periods. Penalty kicks will follow overtime if the teams have not broken the deadlock.
USSF D-2 Pro League Playoff Schedule and Results
First Round, Leg 1
| Date | Match | Venue |
| Oct. 6 | Montreal Impact 2, Austin Aztex 0 | Stade Saputo; Montreal, Quebec |
| Oct. 6 | NSC Minnesota Stars 0, Carolina RailHawks 0 | National Sports Center; Blaine, Minn. |
| Oct. 7 | Puerto Rico Islanders 2, Rochester Rhinos 0 | Bayamon FC Soccer Complex; Bayamon, Puerto Rico |
| Oct. 7 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, Portland Timbers 0 | Swangard, Stadium; Burnaby, British Columbia |
First Round, Leg 2
| Date | Match | Agg. Score | Venue |
| Oct. 9 | Rochester Rhinos 2, Puerto Rico Islanders 1 | 2-3 | Marina Auto Stadium; Rochester, N.Y. |
| Oct. 9 | Carolina RailHawks 4, NSC Minnesota Stars 0 | 4-0 | WakeMed Soccer Park; Cary, N.C. |
| Oct. 9 | Austin Aztex 2, Montreal Impact 3 | 2-5 | House Park; Austin, Texas |
| Oct. 10 | Portland Timbers 1, Van. Whitecaps 0 | 1-2 | Merlo Field (Univ. of Portland); Portland, Ore. |
Semifinal, Leg 1
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | Venue |
| Oct. 14 | Puerto Rico Islanders vs. Van. Whitecaps | 8:05 p.m. | Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel; Bayamon, Puerto Rico |
| Oct. 14 | Montreal Impact vs. Carolina RailHawks | 7:30 p.m. | Stade Saputo; Montreal, Quebec |
Semifinal, Leg 2
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | Venue |
| Oct. 17 | Van Whitecaps vs. Puerto Rico Islanders | 7 p.m. | Swangard |
| Oct. 17 | Carolina RailHawks vs. Puerto Rico Islanders | 7 p.m. | WakeMed Soccer Park; Cary, N.C. |
Final, Leg 1
Match will be played on the weekend of Saturday, Oct. 23
Final, Leg 2
Match will be played on the weekend of Saturday, Oct. 30
Playoff bracket courtesy of Alison Andrews and USL Fans.com.
Comments are closed.
Only one team from the US in the USSF D2 Pro league semi-final?
Piss poor soccer stuff from the US, again.
Rochester = flopped
Austin = flopped
Portland = flopped
Minnesota = surprised a few people by making the playoffs, then fell flat on it’s face because of uncontrolled emotional reactions by defenders after the ball was dead.
@jw7 – i think you are a bit harsh on the criticism. It’s not that the US teams were poor; it’s simply that they were faced with the best (and only) power-house club in Puerto Rico, and two definite soccer-powers in Canada.
Really happy for Vancouver. I was a bit worried for them, but they pulled it off.
Am I too bold to predict another all-Canadian final? That would be 2 years in a row that Canadian clubs perform very well. That says a great deal about the progress of soccer in Canada.
@BQ – you are right to point out that Portland produced great D2 soccer for an entire decade. Congrats to Portland and good luck in MLS!
It is going to be interesting what competition that Puerto Rico prioritizes. They also have a must win game in Honduras on the 20th for the CCL. I suspect that if the Islanders don’t win in Bayamon in the first leg they will field a weakened squad in the second leg in Vancouver.
The NASL people must be feeling pretty good right now.