One point never hurt so good

A month ago, a tie with Vancouver might have seemed like a favorable outcome for the Portland Timbers, but it wasn't Saturday night.

The Timbers scored on the field for the second-straight game, but gave up a goal in the final six minutes and settled for a draw before 20,438 fans at Jeld-Wen Field.

Kris Boyd scored his team-leading fourth goal of the year in the 67th minute to give the Timbers a 1-0 lead, and Jorge Perlaza appeared to have drawn a foul in the penalty box a short time later, but there was no call and Vancouver survived and achieved its fourth draw of the season.

"This is a very frustrating outcome because I feel like we were the better team," Portland coach John Spencer said.

Portland scored a draw for the fourth time this season, which finished its first month in Major League Soccer without a loss. Portland is 3-5-4, 13 points, and is 1-0-3 in its last four games. The Timbers have scored just three goals in that span, but solid defense has not only moved the team from last place in the Western Conference, but into a tie for seventh after FC Dallas lost to Real Salt Lake Saturday.

Vancouver is fourth at 5-3-4, 19 points.

The match was the first for Portland int he Cascadia Cup, the annual competition run by fans in Portland, Vancouver and Seattle. Vancouver tied Seattle 2-all last week. The Timbers have three weeks off from MLS games before playing at Los Angeles, June 17, and then plays host to Seattle, June 24.