One clean sheet in a whole season
Portland have kept a clean sheet once. Once, across an entire MLS campaign. They have conceded 39 goals, the third-highest total in the Western Conference, and that single number explains why the Timbers spent Thursday signing a center back rather than a forward.
Joel Waterman arrived from the Chicago Fire and will be available on Saturday night when Portland host Minnesota United. He is 30, in his seventh MLS season, and he brings 151 league appearances with 142 of them as a starter. Five and a half of those years were spent at CF Montreal, the last one-plus at Chicago.
He was also part of Canada’s World Cup squads in 2022 and again in 2026.
“I’m really excited for the new chapter here and hopefully we’ll win some trophies,” Waterman said on Thursday.
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Cifuentes wants the problem fixed earlier in matches
Timbers coach Marti Cifuentes has not tried to dress up the numbers.
“The one on the stats is there for everyone (to see),” he said of the lone shutout. “We need to start the games better because we tend to have slow starts. We need to have less turnovers. When you check the data, we lose the ball quite often.”
Portland sit on 28 points from an 8-10-4 record, tied for 10th in a Western Conference where almost nobody has pulled clear. They have taken four points from their last four matches, a run of 1-2-1 that included a 2-1 home defeat to Austin FC last Saturday.
Minnesota arrive scoring, and short a goalkeeper
Minnesota United are a point better off on 29, ninth in the West, currently occupying the final playoff place. They have also found their range in front of goal, scoring eight times in two matches.
They put five past San Jose on Aug. 22, then drew 3-3 at home with Orlando City. That one was strange. Minnesota went 2-0 down, scored three times inside five minutes, then conceded a stoppage-time equalizer.
“Incredible comeback in that span of time,” coach Cameron Knowles said. “The energy that was in the stadium when the third goal goes in, then just the disappointment in not hanging on in the last three minutes and seeing out three points.”
The Orlando match cost them their goalkeeper. Drake Callender, who has five shutouts this season, was pulled at halftime with a concussion and remains in protocol. Alec Smir finished that game and is expected to make the fifth MLS start of his career on Saturday.
Minnesota won the reverse fixture 2-0 on April 18.
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