Timbers take round one

Suzuki leads Portland to 2-0 home win over defending champion Seattle

By Steve Brandon

LocalNewsDaily.com, Apr 27, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Takayuki Suzuki's early goal and late assist fueled the Portland Timbers' 2-0 home victory over Seattle at PGE Park Saturday night.

L.E. BASKOW / PORTLAND TRIBUNE

The Portland Timbers have held service — and served notice that they’re the top team in the United Soccer Leagues First Division.

Portland solidified its league lead (3-0-0, nine points, all the games at home) with a 2-0 victory Saturday night at PGE Park over the defending champion Seattle Sounders (0-1-1, one point, both games on the road).

“They’re a good team, we’re a good team,” Portland defender Tim Karalexis says, defining what seems to be the prevailing attitude in the Timber locker room.

Was the win over Seattle a “statement” game?

“I think it is,” Timber midfielder Miguel Guante says, “but we can’t get too carried away

“It’s certainly a great start for us, getting the full nine points (at home), but we’re not at the level where we need to be.”

Karalexis and Guante played key roles in Saturday’s triumph before a crowd of 9,894.

Karalexis started and went the distance for Justin Thompson, who was getting a rest in central defense.

Guante also got to start, taking the spot that had gone to Lawrence Olum, and he scored the second goal — his first in USL regular-season play — in the 76th minute. Guante, from the University of Portland, had a goal and an assist as a guest player when the Timbers faced MLS Toronto last year.

The offensive man of Saturday’s showdown of Northwest rivals, though, was newcomer Takayuki Suzuki. He got Portland off to a great start with a goal in the sixth minute and made the moves and assist on Guante’s score.

“One of the longest goals I’ve ever scored,” Suzuki says, through an interpreter, of his 22-yarder.

"A world-class goal," Portland coach Gavin Wilkinson says. "I'm already putting my money on that being the goal of the year."

The play began after Portland defender Scot Thompson took a ball away from Seattle and Chris Brown sent a long ball up the field to Suzuki. The Sounders had three defenders in the area, but Suzuki was able to maintain control and maneuver from the right side to the middle, just outside the goal box. From there, he struck a hard shot that beat standout Seattle keeper Chris Eylander.

In setting up Guante, Suzuki made a short run up the right sideline and an on-target, line-drive cross. Guante faked out a Sounder player and scored from 15 yards.

Seattle had Portland on its heels for most of the first half but couldn’t convert. The Sounders, who also had a few chances late in the game, finished with a 17-12 edge in shots and took 13 corner kicks to Portland’s six.

“The first half was a little rough; they had nothing to lose at that stage,” Wilkinson says. “I wouldn’t say we were shaky, we were just not connected. The second half, we started working better together and closing things down.”

In goal, Portland’s Ray Burse made three saves in each half and “did extremely well,” Wilkinson says.

Seattle players took the loss in stride.

“We did OK,” says midfielder Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, the former Timber star. “At times, we had great control. … To give up two goals on plays like we did was not good."

The Sounders will play host to the Timbers May 10 at Qwest Field, and Seattle returns to PGE Park one final time, in the regular season, at least, when the squads meet Aug. 7.

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