November 13, 2025, was a big day for Major League Soccer. While the Portland Timbers invited media to their Beaverton, OR, training facility for season-ending exit interviews, league owners
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.
The match had everything: Kristoffer Velde being a menace, Gage Guerra scoring a stoppage time equalizer (again!), multiple saved & missed penalties, and Portland somehow prevailing in spot kicks.
So you know we had to talk about it.
The Portland Timbers had a chance to steal game one of their best-of-three first round series against San Diego FC, but couldn't overcome a torrid opening
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.
