Game takes place on Wednesday at the Rio Tinto Stadium, Utah, 9.30pm.
Wednesday’s US Open Cup semifinal match is the first meeting between the Timbers and Real Salt Lake this season. The cup game will be one of three meetings between the two sides during the month of August with two regular-season games to be played on the 21st and the 30th.
Portland advanced to the USOC semifinal with a 3-2 win over FC Dallas on June 26 at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas. Real Salt Lake advanced by beating the Carolina Railhawks 3-0 on June 26 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
This is the first US Open Cup semifinals for both the Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake with RSL previously making it to the quarterfinals in 2011. Real Salt Lake are 6-2-3 at Rio Tinto Stadium in all competitions, building a six-game undefeated streak at home from May 4 to July 3.
Timbers coach Caleb Porter believes the two sides’ style of play will make for an entertaining game.
The Timbers earned a spot in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals for the first time in club history following a dramatic 3-2 win over FC Dallas on June 26 at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas. After conceding the opening goal to FC Dallas in the 15th minute, Portland’s Darlington Nagbe and Diego Valeri rallied with back-to-back goals just two minutes apart in the second half, before forward Frederic Piquionne added a third in the 72nd minute. Nagbe became Portland’s second U.S. Open Cup Player of the Round honouree for his performance against FC Dallas. Previously, Piquionne was named Player of the Round in the Third Round after scoring four goals in 45 minutes in a 5-1 win over the Wilmington Hammerheads (USL PRO) on May 29 at JELD-WEN Field. The Timbers followed that win up with a 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL) on June 12 as midfielder Michael Nanchoff and Jack Jewsbury scored on either side of halftime at JELD-WEN Field.
Prematch notes taken from PortlandTimbers.com
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