Portland TimbersThe Aztex play the first of a 2-game Pacific Northwest road trip Thursday night. Kickoff for the match against the Portland Timbers is at 9:00 PM CT.

Portland has 34 points from their 9-7-7 record, putting them 3rd in the USL Conference, 4th in the league overall. Their most recent match was a 1-0 win at the NSC Minnesota Stars last Saturday. That game was narrowly decided by a red card to Minnesota’s goalkeeper and the accompanying penalty kick, converted by league-leading scorer Ryan Pore (match report/box score).

This will be Austin’s last league game — ever — with the Timbers, as the franchise will be moving up to MLS next year. Portland’s only other meeting with the Aztex, here in Austin on June 9, resulted in a 0-0 draw.

Austin will be without the services of key defender Jay Needham, who didn’t make the trip due to the hamstring injury he picked up on Sunday. They’ll also be without Yordany Alvarez, who has a hard time traveling out of the country due to his exile status. On the other hand, we’re happy to have Jamie Watson on the trip, back from being on the injury list for a fractured collar bone.

Despite the distance, the Red & White will have at least two traveling fans on hand: Chase Hoffman won the Aztex Alliance grand prize drawing: a trip to Portland for this game. Chantico’s Army gaffer Matthew Gray will be with him, as well. Here’s hoping the guys have a great trip, and that they aren’t beaten up by a mob of angry Timbers Army members after the Aztex win. I also hope they packed their long underwear; the forecast calls for a downright frosty mid-60s temperature.

Back here in Austin, where it will still be a toasty 90 degrees an hour after sunset, loyal fans will be gathering at Mister Tramps on 183 to watch the action. Sure, kickoff isn’t until 9:00 PM, and sure, it’s a school and/or work night. But you wouldn’t want to miss the Aztex closing the gap with the Rhinos by 3 more points, would you? You wouldn’t want to pass up the chance to see who’s going to score Austin’s goals this time around, would you? You wouldn’t leave the person who’s on the hook to hook up the video (yours truly) to sit there all by himself, would you? Of course not! See you there! (Psst! If you get there early, and the setup works out right, I might have a pre-game treat for you: video of the 1977 NASL Soccer Bowl, Cosmos vs Sounders.)