And then there were four.
Sporting Kansas City, the Portland Timbers, the New York Red Bulls and Atlanta United FC are the last four teams still kicking in the hunt for MLS Cup 2018.
The Western Conference Championship will see Sporting KC and Portland lock horns in a rematch of the 2015 Knockout Round, a wild 2-2 draw that ended with the Timbers prevailing in an even wilder penalty shootout. This time around, Manager Peter Vermes’ side will aim for revenge and an MLS Cup date at either New York or Atlanta.
The first leg of the aggregate-goal conference championship 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.
Head-to-head matchups between Sporting KC and Portland have tilted toward the low-scoring side of the spectrum—the Timbers have been shut out in eight of the last 10 regular season meetings, after all—but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some banging goals in the bunch.
In the space below, SportingKC.com looks back at Sporting KC’s five best goals scored against the Timbers.
Graham Cracker
Sporting KC 3-1 Portland Timbers (Aug. 17, 2011)
Pardon the pun, but Graham Zusi’s long-range blast in August 2011 certainly qualified as a cracker. This strike remains one of Zusi’s best ever as a professional.
Nemo Goes Solo
Portland Timbers 0-1 Sporting KC (Oct. 3, 2015)
No one who saw it live will ever forget it. Krisztian Nemeth’s swashbuckling run ripped the Timbers to shreds and resulted in Sporting KC’s first MLS Goal of the Year winner.
Nemo in the Knockout Round
Portland Timbers 2-2 (7-6) Sporting KC (Oct. 29, 2015)
Just 26 days after breaking social media, Nemeth bagged another brilliant goal at Providence Park to give Sporting KC a temporary lead in an epic Knockout Round clash.
Salloi’s First
Sporting KC 1-1 Portland Timbers (July 1, 2017)
Daniel Salloi has scored 16 goals in his young MLS career. This was his very first, and what a fine goal it was.
Rubio’s Rocket
Sporting KC 3-0 Portland Timbers (Aug. 18, 2018)
Arguably no MLS player was more devastating during the month of August than Diego Rubio. This daisy cutter is one of the best he has scored all season.
