They finished the season with three wins, two draws, and seven losses to almost fall out of the postseason altogether.
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It also seemed unlikely when Saad Abdul-Salaam stepped to the spot with a chance to win it for Sporting in the ninth round of penalties. Vancouver visits Portland on Sunday with the second match in British Columbia on November 8. 10 of his 16 goals has come in the final 30 minutes of the match, with seven coming in the fifteen minutes.
Of the eight teams in the knockout round, Sporting Kansas City was the only club to start a rookie draft pick.
The Timbers went 3-1 in October.
The Portland Timbers squared off against rivals Vancouver Whitecaps on July 19, 2015.
What a start we have seen to the playoffs with two exciting matches yesterday including a thrilling match just up the road at CenturyLink Field.
After a late-season surge and a 3-game winning streak, the Timbers host Sporting Kansas City in a first-round playoff game Thursday night at Providence Park.
Portland opened the scoring in the 57th minute courtesy of Rodney Wallace, when a Nat Borchers header at the top of the box fell free in the area.
The goal was the first conceded by Sporting KC at Providence Park since April 2012.
Sporting Kansas City enters the playoffs as a surprising five seed.
Graham Zusi notched the assist, his sixth assist in MLS competition this season including the playoffs.
That scenario seemed unlikely when Krisztian Nemeth scored early in overtime to put the visitors up 2-1. The goal was Nemeth’s 11th in MLS competition this season. It was Maximiliano Urruti with the finish, assisted by Dairon Asprilla. The Seattle Sounders FC able to finally get the Galaxy monkey off their backs with a 3-2 win on a sensational goal from Erik Friberg.
Paulo Nagamura is now 4-4 in penalty kick shootouts with Sporting Kansas City.
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Only once-in the opening round, when he turned away Diego Valeri and Benny Feilhaber converted his attempt-did Sporting, who held second-shot advantage, make their try after a miss or a save.
