2021 Portland Timbers season

Portland Timbers
2021 season
President	Merritt Paulson
Head coach	Giovanni Savarese
Stadium	Providence Park; Portland, Oregon; (Capacity: 25,218)
Major League Soccer	Conference: 4th ; Overall: 5th
MLS Cup Playoffs	Runners-up
U.S. Open Cup	Canceled
Cascadia Cup	2nd
CONCACAF Champions League	Quarter-finals
Biggest win	League/All:; POR 5–0 MAR (4/13, CCL); POR 6–1 RSL (9/25, MLS)
Biggest defeat	League/All:; SEA 6–2 POR (8/15)
Home colors	Secondary colors
	← 2020 2022 →
	All statistics correct as of May 5, 2021.

The 2021 Portland Timbers season was the club's 35th season of existence and the 11th season for the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. The season covers the period from the end of the Timber's last match in MLS or MLS Playoffs in 2020 (November 22, 2020) to their final match in MLS Cup Plays on December 11, 2021.

Background

The 2020 season was heavily altered due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Portland played its first two matches as scheduled, before the season was suspended on March 12, 2020. The season resumed with a bubble tournament near Orlando, Florida, dubbed the MLS is Back Tournament, which began on July 13, 2020, and concluded on August 11, 2020. Portland defeated Orlando City SC in the championship, and earned a berth into the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League for winning the tournament.

The league resumed, with Portland playing their remaining matches behind closed doors. The number of regular season matches from 2020 decreased from 34 to 23 due to the pandemic. Ultimately Portland finished with an 11–6–6 regular season record, and earned a berth into the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs. Portland was defeated by FC Dallas in the opening round. Diego Valeri lead the team in MLS goals with six total, and Jeremy Ebobisse lead Portland in goals across all competitions with eight.

Season review

The season was postponed from the normal late February 27–28 starting weekend and instead began on the weekend of April 16–18 due to the pandemic. Ahead of the start of the regular season, Portland began competitive fixtures in the Champions League on April 6, 2021.

Non-competitive

Preseason friendlies

Win Draw Loss Upcoming fixture

March 16	Colorado Rapids	2–0	Portland Timbers	Tucson, Arizona
11:00 PST	Barrios 18' Acosta 42'	Report		Stadium: Kino Sports Complex
Note: Match was 45 minutes long.

March 16	Phoenix Rising	0–1	Portland Timbers	Tucson, Arizona
13:00 PST		Report	25' (o.g.)	Stadium: Kino Sports Complex
Note: Match was 45 minutes long.

March 20	Phoenix Rising	1–3	Portland Timbers	Tucson, Arizona
15:00 PST	Quinn 34'	Report	Ikoba 17' (Bonilla) Valeri 59' McGraw 60' (Valeri)	Stadium: Kino Sports Complex

March 24	Sporting Kansas City	3–3	Portland Timbers	Tucson, Arizona
11:00 PST	Shelton 44' Harris 48' Espinoza 64'	Report	Valeri 52' Asprilla 66' Tuiloma 88'	Stadium: Kino Sports Complex

March 30	Seattle Sounders FC	1–1	Portland Timbers	Tukwila, Washington
13:00 PST	Montero 62'	Report	Asprilla 85' (Y. Chara)	Stadium: Starfire Sports

March 30	Seattle Sounders FC	0–0	Portland Timbers	Tukwila, Washington
15:00 PST		Report		Stadium: Starfire Sports
Note: Match was 75 minutes long.

Midseason friendlies

Competitive

Major League Soccer

Standings

Western Conference

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Colorado Rapids	34	17	7	10	51	35	+16	61	Qualification for the Playoffs Conference semifinals and CONCACAF Champions League
2	Seattle Sounders FC	34	17	8	9	53	33	+20	60	Qualification for the Playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League
3	Sporting Kansas City	34	17	10	7	58	40	+18	58	Qualification for the Playoffs first round
4	Portland Timbers	34	17	13	4	56	52	+4	55
5	Minnesota United FC	34	13	11	10	42	44	−2	49
6	Vancouver Whitecaps FC^[a]	34	12	9	13	45	45	0	49
7	Real Salt Lake	34	14	14	6	55	54	+1	48
8	LA Galaxy	34	13	12	9	50	54	−4	48
9	Los Angeles FC	34	12	13	9	53	51	+2	45
10	San Jose Earthquakes	34	10	13	11	46	54	−8	41
11	FC Dallas	34	7	15	12	47	56	−9	33
12	Austin FC	34	9	21	4	35	56	−21	31
13	Houston Dynamo FC	34	6	16	12	36	54	−18	30

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) fewer disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goals differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)
Notes:

^ Canadian clubs cannot qualify for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League through the MLS regular season or playoffs.

Overall

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
3	Seattle Sounders FC	34	17	8	9	53	33	+20	60	Qualification for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League^[a]
4	Sporting Kansas City	34	17	10	7	58	40	+18	58
5	Portland Timbers	34	17	13	4	56	52	+4	55
6	Philadelphia Union	34	14	8	12	48	35	+13	54
7	Nashville SC	34	12	4	18	55	33	+22	54

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) fewer disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goals differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)
Notes:

^ As highest-ranked U.S. based Division I club (based on 2021 MLS regular season record) not already qualified (USA4)^[1]

Matches

April 18 1	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	1–0	Portland Timbers	Sandy, Utah
19:00 PST	Veselinović 21' Cavallini 49' Baldisimo 64'	Report	Župarić 68'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Allen Chapman

April 24 2	Portland Timbers	2–1	Houston Dynamo FC	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PST	Asprilla 6', 26' Bravo 39' Paredes 73'	Report	Paredes 28' (o.g.) Valentin 36' Urruti 37'	Stadium: Providence Park Referee: Ismail Elfath

May 1 3	FC Dallas	4–1	Portland Timbers	Frisco, Texas
17:00 PST	Ricaurte 2', 82' Munjoma 12' Obrian 14' Bressan 45+3' Hollingshead 78' Sealy 85'	Report	Williamson 62' Bodily 69' Valeri 87'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 8,621 Referee: Alan Kelly

May 9 4	Portland Timbers	1–2	Seattle Sounders FC	Portland, Oregon
12:00 PST	Loría 21' Tuiloma 90'+4'	Report	Tolo 17' Ruidíaz 63' (pen.) Montero 79' Delem 90'+4'	Stadium: Providence Park Referee: Chris Penso

May 15 5	San Jose Earthquakes	0–2	Portland Timbers	San Jose, California
19:00 PST	Wondolowski 45+3'	Report	Y. Chará 5' Tuiloma 25' Župarić 42' Loría 74'	Stadium: PayPal Park Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

May 22 6	Portland Timbers	3–0	LA Galaxy	Portland, Oregon
12:30 PST	Mora 47' 60' Valeri 69'	Report	Williams 44'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: unknown Referee: Alan Kelly

May 30 7	Philadelphia Union	3–0	Portland Timbers	Chester, Pennsylvania
14:30 PST	Mbaizo 5' Przybyłko 26' Santos 31' Elliott 63'	Report	Župarić 62' Bravo 72'	Stadium: Subaru Park Attendance: 6,635 Referee: Robert Sibiga

June 19 8	Portland Timbers	2–1	Sporting Kansas City	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PST	Asprilla 36' Župarić 38' Loría 45+1' Zambrano 87'	Report	Lindsey 28' Fontàs 69' Espinoza 74' Ilie 83'	Stadium: Providence Park Referee: Alan Kelly

June 23 9	Houston Dynamo FC	2–2	Portland Timbers	Houston, Texas
17:30 PST	Picault 15', 59' Pasher 33'	Report	Bonilla 38' Asprilla 50' Mabiala 72' Blanco 73' Ebobisse 90+1'	Stadium: BBVA Stadium Attendance: 10,791 Referee: Armando Villarreal

June 26 10	Portland Timbers	0–1	Minnesota United FC	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PST	Bravo 15' D. Chará 70'	Report	Hunou 2' Dotson 74' Reynoso 85'	Stadium: Providence Park Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

July 1 11	Austin FC	4–1	Portland Timbers	Austin, Texas
8:00 PM CT	Gallagher 28' Fagúndez 33' Kolmanič 44' Pochettino 45+1' Ring 77' Jiménez 81'	Report	Tuiloma 45+5' Ebobisse 45+7' Asprilla 68' Župarić 90+1'	Stadium: Q2 Stadium Attendance: 20,738 Referee: Ted Unkel

July 17 12	Portland Timbers	1–0	FC Dallas	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PST	Bonilla 5' Župarić 52' Ebobisse 84'	Report	Quignon 57' Pomykal 69'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 23,255 Referee: Joseph Dickerson

July 21 13	Portland Timbers	2–1	Los Angeles FC	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PST	Valeri 2' Paredes 86' Mora 90+3'	Report	Vela 17'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 23,500 Referee: Victor Rivas

July 24 14	Minnesota United FC	2–1	Portland Timbers	Saint Paul, Minnesota
17:00 PST	Gasper 74' Lod 85', 90+4'	Report	Mora 10'	Stadium: Allianz Field Attendance: 19,691 Referee: Marcos De Oliviera

July 30 15	LA Galaxy	4–1	Portland Timbers	Carson, California
19:00 PST	Raveloson 27' Vázquez 34' Kljestan 53' (pen.) Grandsir 56' Villafaña 62'	Report	Ebobisse 29' Van Rankin 74' D. Chará 83' Mabiala 90+6'	Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park Attendance: 15,644 Referee: Robert Sibiga

August 4 16	Portland Timbers	1–1	San Jose Earthquakes	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PST	Van Rankin 29' Mora 45+6' Williamson 85' D. Chará 90+2' 90+3' Blanco 90+6' Mabiala 90+9'	Report	J. López 24' Salinas 90+6' Cardoso 90+8' M. López 90+9'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 22,233 Referee: Allen Chapman

August 7 17	Portland Timbers	3–2	Real Salt Lake	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PST	Asprilla 10' (pen.) D. Chará 29' Mora 62' Valeri 89'	Report	Glad 6' Menéndez 13' Rusnák 40' Luiz 45+1' Herrera 48' Kreilach 80' Chang 87'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 23,577 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

August 15 18	Portland Timbers	2–6	Seattle Sounders FC	Portland, Oregon
17:30 PST	Blanco 32' Fochive 52' Mabiala 54' Zuparic 66' Paredes 76'	Report	Montero 13', 29' Ruidíaz 55', 72' Paulo 69' Medranda 77' Benezet 90+4'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 25,218 Referee: Jair Marrufo

August 18 19	Sporting Kansas City	1–1	Portland Timbers	Kansas City, Kansas
17:30 PST	Sallói 25', 90+1' Pulido 62'	Report	Mora 17' D. Chará 28' Van Rankin 43' Bonilla 77' Valeri 84'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 17,081 Referee: Ismail Elfath

August 21 20	Austin FC	3–1	Portland Timbers	Austin, Texas
18:00 PST	Domínguez 11' (pen.) Fagúndez 14' Driussi 29' Pochettino 83'	Report	Asprilla 55' Župarić 64'	Stadium: Q2 Stadium Attendance: 20,738 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.

August 29 21	Seattle Sounders FC	0–2	Portland Timbers	Seattle, Washington
19:30 PST		Report	Van Rankin 44' Blanco 58' Valeri 76' Mora 90+5'	Stadium: Lumen Field Attendance: 45,737 Referee: Alan Kelly

September 3 22	Houston Dynamo FC	0–2	Portland Timbers	Houston, Texas
17:00 PST	Parker 50'	Report	Y. Chará 15' Mora 20' (pen.) Bravo 51' Zambrano 86' Mabiala 90+2'	Stadium: BBVA Stadium Attendance: 9,872 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

September 10 23	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	0–1	Portland Timbers	Vancouver, British Columbia
19:00 PST	Bikel 29' Dájome 58'	Report	Veselinović 66' (o.g.) Mora 90+3'	Stadium: BC Place Referee: Marcos de Oliveira

September 15 24	Portland Timbers	2–2	Colorado Rapids	Portland, Oregon
19:00 PST	Blanco 31', 90+1' Tuiloma 33' 42' Paredes 67' Mora 67' Clark 82'	Report	Trusty 31' Lewis 64' Kaye 66' Barrios 86' Abubakar 88'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 16,808 Referee: Armando Villarreal

September 19 25	Portland Timbers	2–1	Los Angeles FC	Portland, Oregon
15:00 PST	Asprilla 21' Mabiala 24' Blanco 26' Bravo 42' Fochive 68' Valeri 83'	Report	Arango 27' (pen.)	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 21,311 Referee: Chris Penso

September 25 26	Portland Timbers	6–1	Real Salt Lake	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PST	Mora 27' Asprilla 36' Y. Chara 45+4', 48' D. Chara 68' Niezgoda 85' Paredes 88'	Report	Kreilach 41' Ruíz 51' Glad 73'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 21,579 Referee: Fotis Bazakos

September 29 27	Los Angeles FC	1–2	Portland Timbers	Los Angeles, California
19:00 PST	Palacios 29' Musovski 55' Arango 90+9'	Report	Paredes 25' Y. Chará 45' Asprilla 45+2', 59' Valeri 76'	Stadium: Banc of California Stadium Attendance: 22,056 Referee: Joseph Dickerson

October 3 28	Portland Timbers	1–0	Inter Miami CF	Portland, Oregon
2:30 PM PDT	D. Chara 67' Niezgoda 83'	Report	Figal 6'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 22,006 Referee: Robert Sibiga

October 16 29	LA Galaxy	2–1	Portland Timbers	Carson, California
19:30 PST	Hernández 38', 62' Kljestan 87', 90+2' (pen.) Joveljić 90+5'	Report	Bonilla 44' D. Chará 65' Blanco 72'	Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park Attendance: 15,322 Referee: Victor Rivas

October 20 30	Portland Timbers	2–3	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Portland, Oregon
19:00 PST	Y. Chará 15' Asprilla 42' Paredes 90+2'	Report	Caicedo 63' White 75', 90+2' Dájome 82' (pen.)	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 16,722 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.

October 23 31	Colorado Rapids	2–0	Portland Timbers	Commerce City, Colorado
18:00 PST	Badji 45+2' Rubio 63' Price 90+3'	Report	Asprilla 68' Fochive 81'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 12,200 Referee: Ted Unkel

October 27 32	Portland Timbers	2–0	San Jose Earthquakes	Portland, Oregon
19:00 PST	Paredes 20' D. Chará 27', 34' Asprilla 55', 57'	Report	J. López 19' Remedi 50'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 16,086 Referee: Alex Chilowicz

November 3 33	Real Salt Lake	1–3	Portland Timbers	Sandy, Utah
18:30 PST	Ruíz 36' Rusnák 88' (pen.)	Report	Blanco 17', 45' Herrera 38' (o.g.) Tuiloma 82' Bravo 87'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 18,405 Referee: Chris Penso

November 7 34	Portland Timbers	3–0	Austin FC	Portland, Oregon
15:00 PST	Paredes 17' Niezgoda 45' Blanco 53'	Report	Berhalter 47'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 23,127 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

MLS Cup Playoffs

November 21 First Round	Portland Timbers	3–1	Minnesota United FC	Portland, Oregon
14:30 PST	Blanco 19' Blanco 46', 66' Mabiala 43', 86'	Report	Fragapane 11', 85' Trapp 32' Gasper 40' Boxall 73' Dibassy 90+7'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 22,533 Referee: Armando Villarreal

November 25 Conf. Semifinals	Colorado Rapids	0–1	Portland Timbers	Commerce City, Colorado
13:30 PST		Report	Župarić 45' Župarić 90' Asprilla 90+4' Mora 90+8'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Referee: Ted Unkel

December 4 Conf. Finals	Portland Timbers	2–0	Real Salt Lake	Portland, Oregon
3:30 PM PST	Mora 5' Moreno 61', 61'	Report	Herrera 58' 79' Ruíz 90+3'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 25,218 Referee: Alan Kelly

MLS Cup

December 11, 2021

12:00 p.m. PST

Portland Timbers	1–1 (a.e.t.)	New York City FC
Mora 90+4'	Report	Castellanos 41'
Penalties
Mora Valeri Moreno Paredes	2–4	Castellanos Morales Moralez Talles Magno Callens

Providence Park, Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Attendance: 25,218

Referee: Armando Villarreal

U.S. Open Cup

CONCACAF Champions League

Round of 16

April 6 First leg	Marathón	2–2	Portland Timbers	San Pedro Sula, Honduras
3:00 PM PDT	Castillo 39' Ramírez 68'	Report	Mora 35' Torres 59' (o.g.) Williamson 77'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano Attendance: 0 Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)

April 13 Second leg	Portland Timbers	5–0 (7–2 agg.)	Marathón	Portland
5:00 PM PDT	Župarić 8' Y. Chará 19', 36', 79' Valeri 66' Bodily 87' Loría 89'	Report	López 43'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)

Quarter-finals

April 28 First leg	Portland Timbers	1–1	América	Portland
7:30 PM PDT	Mora 19', 90+7' (pen.) Župarić 40' Bravo 52' D. Chará 87'	Report	Suárez 33' Martínez 45+1' (pen.), 82' Aquino 61' Fuentes 70' Sánchez 71'	Stadium: Providence Park Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)

May 5 Second leg	América	3–1 (4–2 agg.)	Portland Timbers	Mexico City, Mexico
7:15 PM PDT	Viñas 21', 59' (pen.) Suárez 70'	Report	Valeri 56', 64' (pen.) Tuiloma 60' Mabiala 75' Van Rankin 79'	Stadium: Estadio Azteca Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)

Statistics

Appearances and discipline

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as a substitute.

(T2) = Players called up from Portland Timbers 2 for short-term contracts.

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS				MLS Playoffs				Champions League				Total
No.	Pos.	Name	Apps				Apps				Apps				Apps

Goalkeeper stats

The list is sorted by total minutes played then by jersey number.

No.	Player	MIN	GA	GAA	SV	MIN	GA	GAA	SV	MIN	GA	GAA	SV	MIN	GA	GAA	SV
No.	Player	MLS				MLS Playoffs				Champions League				Total

Top assists

The list is sorted by shirt number when total assists are equal.

Rnk	Pos	No.	Player	MLS	MLS Cup Playoffs	Champions League	Total

Shutouts

The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal.

Rnk	No.	Player	MLS	MLS Cup Playoffs	Champions League	Total

Summary

Games played	2 (2 Champions League)
Games won	1 (1 Champions League)
Games drawn	1 (1 Champions League)
Games lost	0
Goals scored	7 (7 Champions League)
Goals conceded	2 (2 Champions League)
Goal difference	+5 (+5 Champions League)
Clean sheets	1 (1 Champions League)
Yellow cards	3 (3 Champions League)
Red cards	0
Most appearances	Tied (2 appearances)
Top scorer	Yimmi Chará (3 goals)
Top assists	Josecarlos Van Rankin (2 assists)
Top shutouts	Steve Clark (1 shutout)
Winning percentage	Overall: 1/2 (50%)

Last updated: April 13, 2021.
Source: Competitions

Top scorers

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Rnk	Pos	No.	Player	MLS	MLS Cup Playoffs	Champions League	Total

References

^ "Procedure Set to Determine Final U.S. Representative in 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League". United States Soccer Federation. September 14, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.

[table_note_VAN0.97397701068501-1] Canadian clubs cannot qualify for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League through the MLS regular season or playoffs.

[table_note_res_CCL40.59767018891762-3] As highest-ranked U.S. based Division I club (based on 2021 MLS regular season record) not already qualified (USA4)^[1]

[2] "Procedure Set to Determine Final U.S. Representative in 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League". United States Soccer Federation. September 14, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.

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