Perlaza, Cooper score as Timbers defeat Sounders 2-0

Published: Friday, March 04, 2011, 10:08 PM     Updated: Friday, March 04, 2011, 11:06 PM      

 By Geoffrey C. Arnold, The Oregonian 

TUKWILA, Wash. _ Round one of the rivalry goes to the Portland Timbers.

Jorge Perlaza scored in the first half and Kenny Cooper added an insurance goal late in the game to give the Timbers a 2-0 win against Seattle in a Major League Soccer preseason game. 

The win kept the Timbers unbeaten (2-0-4) in preseason play and marked the Timbers' fourth consecutive shutout. The defense played well in stretches, and survived a ferocious attack by the Sounders in the second half. 
With the Timbers and Sounders' supporter groups chanting at each other back and forth across the field, flags being waved and smoke wafting in the air after smoke bombs were ignited, the game at the Starfire Sports Stadium provided a glimpse of what this decades-old rivalry is all about. 

Even though it was a preseason game, the contest was an important one for the Timbers. As an expansion team, they were the new kids on the block and they dearly wanted to quickly establish themselves as a legitimate player on the MLS stage. 

"That was a great win for us. Whenever you beat your rival, it's always a great win. I think our morale is up and our confidence is up," defender Steve Purdy said. "There was definitely more of a MLS environment, like a regular season (game) with energy. It was actually a really good test for us." 

The Timbers overcame some early jitters before settling down. The Sounders came out with an aggressive attitude that may have caught the Timbers by surprise. 

"The first five minutes of the game, I thought we looked a little bit nervous at times," Portland coach John Spencer said.  "We then realized there wasn't that much of a gulf in talent on the field. We got a little bit confident and started to attack in the right areas and eventually created a couple of chances."

Once the Timbers settled down, their athletic ability and desire began to change the momentum. 

Purdy, who played a very good game with numerous runs up the right side and solid defense on Seattle midfielder Steve Zakuani, was the initial catalyst for the Timbers' first goal.

Purdy gained possession of a loose ball and advanced up the field before making a pass to midfielder Sal Zizzo. 

"Whenever we have a chance to counter-attack, I feel like that's a really big strength of mine," Purdy said. "I think there was a loose ball, and I was able to play it off to Sal. Sal with his speed, whenever you play it into space, you're always going to have a chance."  

Zizzo, who also made some nifty runs during the game, was able to drop the ball off the Kenny Cooper, who fired a shot that Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller couldn't handle cleanly and the ball deflected to his right side. A wide open Jorge Perlaza easily tapped in the deflection for the score in the 21st minute.

The Purdy-Zizzo combination on the right side was clicking all night long. 

"Today was the best its been," Zizzo said. "The style we like to play, sometimes, it's not pretty, but it gets the job done." 

 Down a goal going into the second half, the Sounders came out firing. They applied constant pressure and outshot the Timbers 11-4 and had five corner kicks to none for the Timbers in the second half. 

  The Timbers were barely hanging on in the half, simply trying to escape the barrage without allowing a goal. And they barely escaped when Seattle midfielder Alvaro Fernandez ballooned a shot over the net from point-blank range in the 60th minute. 

Purdy and his teammates were able to stay with the speedy Zakuani. It seemed as the Sounders occasionally forgot about dangerous Zakuani, who scored 10 goals last season, who didn't touch the ball for long stretches of the first half and appeared frustrated. But Zakuani made his presence felt by causing problems for the Timbers defense in the second half. 

"When you're playing against a powerful unit like the Sounders...we expected them to come out in the first 15 minutes and throw everything they had at us," Spencer said. "I felt like we weathered the storm and again looked a little bit nervous. I felt by the 65th minute, they had gave us everything they had." 

The Sounders' energy level fell off as the minutes elapsed. That allowed Cooper, who was wide open on the right side to receive a ball from Zizzo. He took a couple of touches and fired a shot into the net, far post in the 93rd minute and the Timbers and their fans erupted in joy. 

 Notes: Timbers starting lineup was Troy Perkins at goalkeeper. Steve Purdy (right back) and Rodney Wallace (left back) at the wings defensively, with Kevin Goldthwaite and Eric Brunner central defenders. Jeremy Hall (left) and Sal Zizzo (right) as outside midfielders, with Peter Lowry and Jack Jewsbury inside. Kenny Cooper and Jorge Perlaza at forward. ...Timbers wore white training jerseys

-- Geoffrey C. Arnold