Fresh off thrilling conference semifinal wins over fierce rivals, top-seeded Sporting Kansas City and the No. 5 seed Portland Timbers are on a collision course in the Western Conference Championship of the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs.
The first leg of the aggregate-goal series will take place at Providence Park on Sunday, Nov. 25, at 6:30 p.m. CT on FS1. The decisive second leg in Kansas City is slated for Thursday, Nov. 29, at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. Tickets for the latter match at Children’s Mercy Park, Sporting KC’s final home game of 2018, are available at SeatGeek.com.
Taking a glance at head-to-head results between Sporting KC and Portland, one trend becomes evident. The Timbers have had trouble putting the ball in the back of the net. Indeed, Portland have been shut out in eight of their last 10 regular season meetings against Sporting KC, and no one is more responsible for that than goalkeeper Tim Melia.
In six regular season games versus Portland as a member of Sporting KC, Melia has conceded a single goal and owns five shutouts. Including playoffs, he has allowed just two goals in 624 minutes of action against the Timbers.
Not surprisingly, Melia has racked up numerous saves—29 to be exact—at Portland’s expense over the last four seasons. SportingKC.com takes a look at the five best in the space below.
Kick Save and a Beauty
Portland Timbers 0-0 Sporting KC (Sept. 9, 2015)
Melia made seven saves, his MLS career-high at the time, in a late-summer stalemate at Providence Park in 2015. None were better than his kick save to deny Fanendo Adi on the breakaway.
Valeri Denied
Portland Timbers 0-1 Sporting KC (Oct. 3, 2015)
Less than a month after his first strong showing in Portland, Melia conjured a repeat performance as Sporting KC earned a gutsy road win just three days after lifting the U.S. Open Cup on the opposite side of the country in Philadelphia. This sprawling save denied Diego Valeri and helped set the stage for Krisztian Nemeth’s stunning game-winner in the dying embers of the match.
Midas Touch
Portland Timbers 0-1 Sporting KC (April 15, 2017)
To date, this is probably the save of Tim Melia’s professional career. With Sporting KC nursing a 1-0 lead in the 79th minute of an even battle at Providence Park, Portland midfielder Darlington Nagbe unleashed a dipping effort from long-range. The excellent strike would have beaten most keepers on most nights, but Melia was up to the test. Leaping at full extension, the Sporting KC goalkeeper got the slightest of fingertips on Nagbe’s missile to touch it onto the crossbar and preserve his team’s clean sheet.
Stoned from the Spot
Sporting KC 1-1 Portland Timbers (July 1, 2017)
With the score tied 1-1, Valeri stepped to the penalty spot with an opportunity to fire Portland into a late lead at Children’s Mercy Park. Amidst an MVP season, the talismanic Argentine chose to go straight down the middle for what would have been his second goal of the game. Melia wasn’t fooled.
Pawed off the Line
Portland Timbers 0-0 Sporting KC (June 9, 2018)
In another scoreless stalemate at Providence Park, Melia delivered the goods with four saves. His stop to thwart Adi off a cross proved pivotal as Sporting KC emerged with a road point earlier this year.
