PORTLAND, Ore. – Diego Chara, Kenny Cooper and Darlington Nagbe each scored single goals to lift the Portland Timbers to a 3-0 win over the New England Revolution on Friday night at JELD-WEN Field.

Chara scored what proved to be the game winner in the ninth minute, while Cooper doubled Portland’s lead with an opportunistic strike in the 32nd minute. Nagbe rounded out the scoring in the 66th minute, while Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins made two saves to preserve the shutout.

The loss snapped the Revolution’s (5-12-12, 27 pts.) modest four-game unbeaten run, while the Timbers (10-12-6, 36 pts.) claimed their 10th win to climb past D.C. United into the final wildcard playoff spot.

There were no changes to the Revolution lineup which claimed a 2-0 win over FC Dallas last weekend at Gillette Stadium, marking just the third time this season head coach Steve Nicol named an unchanged starting lineup.

Portland opened the scoring in just the ninth minute when Chara snuck through New England’s backline to bag his second goal of the season. Lovel Palmer’s right-wing cross found Chara as he arrived late into the box and the Colombian pushed the ball between a pair of defenders before toe poking his shot inside the right post, just past charging Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis.

Milton Caraglio almost engineered an immediate response for the Revs in the 13th minute. The Argentine used a clever turn at the top of the box to set up a ferocious volley with his left foot and forced Perkins into a smart save, diving low to his left.

The Timbers extended their lead to 2-0 in the 32nd minute when Cooper buried his fifth goal of the season from close range. Again the scoring sequence began on the right wing as a long cross found Mike Chabala at the back post. Chabala settled before lashing a cross into the middle with the outside of his right foot, finding Cooper, who redirected the pass into the roof of the net with his hip.

Palmer almost had a third for Portland before the halftime break, but his 20-yard drive hit the face of the right post and his follow-up effort blazed over the crossbar in the 38th minute.

New England didn’t completely escape the first half without further damage, however, as forward Rajko Lekic limped off with a left ankle injury to be replaced by Zack Schilawski in stoppage time.

The Revs threatened shortly after the interval when Caraglio directed a left-footed shot over the crossbar, the chance arriving in the 51st minute as Monsef Zerka set him up with a clever cushion header. Nine minutes later Zerka crossed for Shalrie Joseph, whose header flew inches high.

After New England failed to cut the deficit in half, Portland upped its lead to 3-0 in the 66th minute. Kalif Alhassan was given time and space to line up a curling left-wing cross, which found Nagbe free near the penalty spot. The Timbers rookie rose unchallenged to guide a header just inside the right post.

Second-half substitute Bright Dike almost had a fourth for the Timbers in the 81st minute when he rounded Reis, but Darrius Barnes was on hand to clear Dike’s tight-angle shot from danger.

The Revs will be on the road again next weekend when they visit the Chicago Fire on Sunday, Sept. 25. Kickoff from Toyota Park is set for 4 p.m. ET.

September 16, 2011 – JELD-WEN Field (Portland, Ore.)
Portland Timbers 3, New England Revolution 0

Scoring Summary:
POR – Diego Chara (Lovel Palmer) 9
POR – Kenny Cooper (Mike Chabala) 32
POR – Darlington Nagbe (Kalif Alhassan) 66

New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Darrius Barnes, A.J. Soares (Ryan Guy 58), Franco Coria, Kevin Alston, Chris Tierney, Shalrie Joseph ©, Benny Feilhaber, Monsef Zerka (Kenny Mansally 71), Rajko Lekic (Zack Schilawski 46+), Milton Caraglio

Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Kheli Dube, Pat Phelan, Ryan Cochrane

Portland Timbers: Troy Perkins, Mike Chabala, Mamadou Danso, Eric Brunner, Lovel Palmer, Kalif Alhassan, Jack Jewsbury ©, Diego Chara, Sal Zizzo (Eric Alexander 82), Kenny Cooper (Bright Dike 80), Darlington Nagbe

Substitutes Not Used: Jake Gleeson, Steve Purdy, Rodney Wallace, James Marcelin, Jorge Perlaza

STATS: Shots: 20; Shots on Goal: 6; Saves: 2; Corner Kicks: 7; Offside: 6; Fouls Committed: 7 

Note that all statistics are unofficial

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Franco Coria (caution) 62

Team Records:

New England Revolution – 5-12-12, 27 pts.

Portland Timbers – 10-12-6, 36 pts.

Referee: Hilario Grajeda
Assistant Referees: Bill Dittmar, Paul Scott
Fourth Official: Daniel Fitzgerald
Weather: Partly cloudy, 69 degrees
Attendance: 20,323

NOTES

• With the loss, the Revs fell to 0-1-1 all-time against Portland since the Timbers entered the league prior to the 2011 season
• The loss snapped the team’s modest four-game undefeated streak (1-0-3)
• The loss extended the team’s winless streak in the Pacific time zone to 10 games (0-8-2) since the team’s last win on the West Coast, a 1-0 victory at Seattle on Aug. 20, 2009
• The loss also further extended the team’s winless streak in matches played in both the Mountain and Pacific time zones to 16 games (0-11-5) since the team’s last win in Seattle in Aug. 2009
• Tonight’s game marked the first time since May 21 (at San Jose) and May 28 (vs. LA) that the Revs used the same lineup in back-to-back games … it’s just the third time this season the Revs have used a repeat lineup as well … Steve Nicol has now used 25 lineups in 29 games
• Portland’s goal in the ninth minute marked the first time in six games - and the third time in 13 games - that the Revs did not score the first goal of a match … the Revs had scored the game’s first goal in each of the last five games entering this evening’s contest in Portland
• Portland’s goal in the ninth minute was the fastest goal against the Revolution in 2011 … previously, Carlos Ruiz had scored in the 12th minute on July 17 in the match against Philadelphia
• With Portland scoring the game’s first two goals, it marked the first time the Revs fell behind by two goals since Aug. 6 when Chivas USA took a 2-0 lead at Gillette Stadium
• Tonight’s game was also the first time the Revs trailed at halftime since Aug. 6 at home against Chivas USA, when the Goats had a 1-0 lead at the intermission
• When Rajko Lekic came off in first-half stoppage time with a left ankle injury, Zack Schilawski came on and made his first appearance since Aug. 17 in a 1-1 draw with Houston at Gillette Stadium
• When A.J. Soares was forced to leave the game in the second half with a left groin injury, Ryan Guy came on at right  midfield, moving Monsef Zerka to left midfield, Chris Tierney to left back and Darrius Barnes to his natural center back position … tonight’s game marked Guy’s third straight appearance, all in a substitute’s role
• The Revs suffered their first attacking shutout since a 3-0 loss to Philadelphia at home on July 17 … it snapped a season-best stretch of nine games in which the Revs scored at least one goal
• The loss was also the Revs’ first road shutout since June 4 when the team fell, 1-0, at Dallas … the Revs had recorded at least one goal in eight straight road games since that match
• After the game, x-rays on Rajko Lekic’s ankle came back negative and he was diagnosed with a sprain … Franco Coria’s nasal x-rays were inconclusive