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MLS Preseason Rewind: Boyd nets debut winner, Galaxy beat Revs and more

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By CALEB SONNELAND

Well, that didn't take long. Seven minutes, to be exact.

The Portland Timbers' big summer investment looks to be a worthwhile one as Kris Boyd, the newly-acquired Designated Player, grabbed the go-ahead goal in the 7th minute of Portland's 1-0 win over Swedish outfit AIK.

Boyd was on hand to head home a Jorge Perlaza cross to send the JELD-WEN faithful into a frenzy. The result means that the Timbers finish the preseason unbeaten at 4-0-3. 

Portland opens its MLS season next Monday the 12th against the Philadelphia Union (9:30pm ET), where Boyd will undoubtedly get the nod from coach John Spencer once more.

Here is the weekend round up to keep you thinking about Opening Weekend:

GALAXY TOPPLES REVS FOR TOURNEY TITLE, RSL BEATS NEW YORK

Despite limping into the Desert Diamond Cup on goal difference, the Los Angeles Galaxy dispatched the New England Revolution on penalties to take home the trophy last Saturday.

The Revolution had beat the Galaxy 3-2 earlier in the first game of the tournament but failed to repeat the effort as Ryan Guy and Benny Feilhaber missed the decisive penalties in the final loss.

Head coach Bruce Arena fielded a youthful lineup as 17-year-old striker Jack McBean got the nod up front while 2012 draftees Tommy Meyer and Bryan Gaul were paired together in the center of defense.

Despite only one outright win in the competition, the Galaxy and its young guns takes home the preseason tournament silverware.

In the consolation match, Real Salt Lake claimed a 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls with Chris Wingert finding the lone goal of the game.

Wingert fired the Royals ahead in the 28th minute with a long-range strike from the edge of the area after receiving the ball in space from Ned Grabavoy.

Both teams fielded strong lineups that included the likes of Theirry Henry, Kenny Cooper and Rafael Marquez for New York while RSL threw Nick Rimando, Jamison Olave and Kyle Beckerman into action.

WHITECAPS EDGE TFC FOR TROPHY, SHEA PENALTY ENOUGH FOR WIN

Last season's MLS whipping boys made light work of what could have been a tough preseason schedule. 

The Vancouver Whitecaps is taking home some silverware after toppling Toronto FC 1-0 in the final of the Disney World Pro Soccer Classic with Camilo Sanvezzo notching the winning goal.

Camilo picked up possession in the TFC half after some chaotic defending, skipped into the Reds' area, eluded several challenges before smashing a shot off Toronto's Jay Chapman and into the net for the lead.

Toronto opted to rest several of its more experienced players as a big-time CONCACAF Champions League game with the LA Galaxy on Wednesday looms. The starting lineup included trialists as well as academy players with Eric Avila and Nick Soolsma the most seasoned players on the field.

After trampling Pool 1 and winning the final, the Whitecaps finish the tournament with a +8 goal difference and four clean sheets. Vancouver dispatched Sporting Kansas City, the Houston Dynamo and the Montreal Impact en route to the final.

Vancouver finished its preseason in a loss to the Carolina Railhawks on penalties the next day after finishing 90 minutes locked at 2-2.

In the consolation match of the Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, a Brek Shea penalty was enough to see FC Dallas top the Houston Dynamo 1-0 in a rematch of the Texan rivalry.

Houston's Bobby Boswell was alleged to have fouled Blas Pérez in the box for the penalty which Shea had no problem putting away to give his side the lead.

The same can't be said for Brad Davis, who saw his own penalty saved well by Kevin Hartman in the 50th minute to keep Dallas on top, a lead it held on to for the win.

FIVE STAR SAN JOSE THRASHES CHIVAS

Playing at Portland’s JELD-WEN Field on Sunday, the San Jose Earthquakes thrashed Chivas USA 5-0 to put an exclamation point on the club's 3-1-4 preseason.

Chris Wondolowski opened the scoring in the 27th minute with a low blast for the only goal of the first period. The goal marks Wondolowski's fourth of the preseason.

The second half told a different story as Justin Morrow (52'), Tressor Moreno (80'), Sercan Guvenisik (84'), and Sam Garza (88') polished off the decisive win in style.

COLORADO CRUISES TO FINAL PRESEASON WIN

The Colorado Rapids ended its preseason with a 4-0 win over the Colorado School of Mines with braces coming from Tony Cascio and Jaime Castrillón.

CAROLINA CHALLENGE CUP CALLED OFF

The final round of the Carolina Challenge Cup was unfortunately cancelled due to inclement weather as rain pelted Charleston, South Carolina.

The third slate of games withstanding, DC United sat atop the table with two wins and six points while the Chicago Fire landed second with a win and a loss and three points. Hosts Charleston Battery and the Columbus Crew were level on one point with a draw and loss each.

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Who impressed you during preseason? What can we expect from the Whitecaps this season? How key will Kris Boyd be to Portland?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. sounds like there are variable degrees of quality when it comes to turf. i have also heard that the pitch size is the same as Craven Cottage and many other smaller/older pitches.

    As far the US playing there it should happen sometime soon. However they probably want to see some actual top players come out of the PNW before acknowledging the top fan support. Besides Churundolo and Keller who went to college there all of the players seem to be from So. Cal, Texas, Florida and NJ/NY. which is pretty much where all of our games have been lately.

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  2. Donovan turned 30 on Sunday – Robbie Keane turns 32 in July. I was thinking Keane was an old man, but Donovan’s right up there with him. Time flies…..

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  3. From an article on AIK’s first days in Portland:

    The artificial turf at Jeld-Wen Field has caused no problems for AIK apart from a few players slipping from time to time. Unlike many clubs that visit Portland (or the Pacific Northwest for that matter), AIK is quite used to turf. “Every team has to train and play on this all pre-season because there’s so much snow in Sweden. I think this year almost half the teams in the league have turf as their home ground. We always play a lot of games on it so there’s no excuses. This is as good as it gets for turf, so you can play good football on this,” explained Daníelsson. In fact, Alm went as far as to say, “It’s better than being on natural grass. Nothing to complain about. It’s the other way around – it’s perfect.”

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  4. Every player who plays on the turf at Jeld-Wen raves about it. No reason USMNT team couldn’t play there. Pitch size, that’s a different issue. Not a lot of room to add width there.

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  5. The galaxy lineup was practically U21,, most of whom will see little time if they are even offered a deal. The Revs had a starter-heavy lineup for the whole game. And they lost.

    Good that they kept it close though…

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  6. my only wish is they increase their pitch size and add grass.

    that’d be one hell of a home field advantage for the Nats.

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  7. Too bad the School of Mimes was shutout in this match. People that have seen it say their goal celebration is awesome. Maybe next year. They probably didn’t score because their top goal scorer was out for this match. That guy is “silent but deadly”.

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  8. Is playing the Colorado School of Mimes really the best way to finish off your preseason schedule and prep for the MLS season?

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