Jeff Agoos' biggest move to date as Thorns GM was an important step away from "good enough" and towards "nothing but excellence" – the standard the Thorns have been striving towards reclaiming over the past three seasons.
The mood leaving the stadium on Saturday could not have been further from the mood leaving the stadium on that rainy day back in February. Joy and hope juxtaposed with misery and deflation.
The Portland Timbers saved their season and stayed alive in the playoffs for at least one more game as they prevailed over San Diego FC in dramatic fashion, winning Game Two in a penalty kick shootout.
There is a strong argument that San Diego are a better team than the Portland Timbers. The expansion team should advance.
But that doesn't mean the Timbers don't have a chance. In fact, I think Portland actually has a semi-plausible path towards flipping the script and advancing.
Finding themselves in the same spot as they did a year ago, Portland flipped the script and put in maybe their best performance of the season. It wasn't pretty or straightforward, and at times it was excruciating, but my goodness it was exhilarating.
