Der Fremde » My Picks for the Final

PORTLAND, OREGON – Uruguayan midfielder Sebastian Fernandez scored his first goal of the preseason as Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Portland Timbers played to a hard-fought 1-1 draw Saturday at Providence Park. After the host Timbers opened the scoring in the third minute, Fernandez smashed home a late second-half penalty to salvage Whitecaps FCs undefeated record at the Rose City Invitational. The Caps finish the tournament as the top team with a 2W-0L-1D record and enter next weekends season opener undefeated in four preseason matches. Vancouvers squad on Saturday looked similar to the one that defeated Portmore United 5-1 last weekend, though there were a few changes. Right back Ethen Sampson and striker Kenny Miller came in to replace Steven Beitashour and Darren Mattocks, who are both away on international duty. Midfielder Gershon Koffie also drew into the starting lineup, which moved Russell Teibert up to the right wing. And goalkeeper David Ousted made his first appearance of the tournament. Saturdays contest got off to a physical start at Providence Park, which is often the norm in meetings between these Cascadia rivals. In fact, there were a total of 16 fouls committed in the first half alone. Unfortunately for the Blue and White, however, an early foul led to Portlands first goal of the match – a Will Johnson free kick from 25 yards in the third minute. The Caps nearly equalized a few minutes later when Fernandez let loose a curling strike from distance, but Timbers goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts tipped it just over the goal. Aside from the early marker, there wasnt much between Vancouver and Portland in the opening 45 minutes. The host Timbers came on in spurts, but the Caps back line anchored by Jay DeMerit and Andy OBrien kept them at bay. For Whitecaps FC, Uruguayan midfielder Nicolas Mezquida looked particularly dangerous. The 22-year-old showed great vision on a throughball to Miller in the 18th minute and some nifty footwork in midfield a few minutes later. The Caps couldnt connect in the final third, however, and it just about cost them . Portland had a great chance to double their lead in the 35th minute, as Maximilano Urruti slipped behind the Caps defence only to float his ensuing effort over the crossbar. They came close again just after the break, when Darlington Nagbe found some space in the middle of the park before letting loose a heavy strike from 20 yards that went just wide. At the other end of the park, Whitecaps FC showed some attacking flair again in the second half. And they received a boost just after the hour-mark, when local lad Erik Hurtado and Argentine midfielder came Matias Laba into the match – followed shortly by winger/striker Kekuta Manneh. And the trio combined to set up Vancouvers equalizer in the 79th minute. After a receiving a pass from Laba in midfield, Hurtado took a touch and released Manneh into the box before the Gambian was hauled down by Timbers defender Jack Jewsbury. Then Fernandez smashed home the ensuing penalty kick to level the score at 1-1. Manneh had a pair of half-chances in the dying stages of the match, but in the end the Cascadia rivals battled to a hard-fought 1-1 draw – just as they did in each of their three regular season meetings in 2013. With the draw, Whitecaps FC conclude the preseason with 4W-2L-1D record. College Football Jerseys . It was the first game back in Columbus for Rangers star Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets franchise leader in goals, assists and games. He was given a standing ovation during a video tribute in the first period, but was booed loud and long after a second-period, two-handed shove up high on Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. College Jerseys . Tepesch, back from the minor leagues, earned his first major league victory in more than 10 months and the Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Wednesday. https://www.cheapncaajerseysjustwholesale.com/. He liked what he saw on Tuesday night. Not only did his team post a comeback 3-2 victory in a shootout over the Montreal Canadiens, but the rival Washington Capitals were beaten 5-1 in Buffalo. Authentic NCAA Jerseys . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship. Cheap NCAA Jerseys China .1 Sam Stosur will meet Germanys second-ranked player Andrea Petkovic in the opening match of the Fed Cup World Group semifinal.TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on the impressive run of the Phoenix Suns, the absence of Patrick Patterson in the Toronto Raptors lineup, and the upcoming mayhem of NCAA March Madness. 1. PHOENIX SUNS: Second time this year Ive seen them in person and watched them countless other times on TV. Quite impressed with this squad. Ten games over .500 in the brutal Western Conference. Who would have thought that in the Fall? Heres the amazing thing - theyve got a very favourable salary cap situation as well as three first-round picks and a second-round selection in this years deep draft. Long term it really puts them in a nice situation bringing players into a winning and competitive environment internally where talented young picks will have to earn their minutes rather than having them handed to them as it happens on lousy teams. Good for the growth of the franchise. 2. PATRICK PATTERSON (Raptors): Even though his team is 3-2 without him and lost both games by less than 10 points, you can clearly see that they miss him big-time. His ability to shoot the three, rebound, defend on the perimeter and in the post and overall smart play is really missed. TThe second unit was absolutely dominated yesterday by the Suns and when youre missing one of your main focal points of your second unit youll get exposed some days.dddddddddddd Yesterday was one of them. 3. CANADIANS IN THE NCAAS: Theyll be a bunch of them to watch and well have it covered on TSN starting on Thursday. Really cool to see some of the elite teams having young Canadian players who have vital roles. The game keeps growing and the stories get better. 4. NCAA FINAL FOUR & CHAMPS: My Picks for the Final Four are: Florida, Duke, Oklahoma and Virginia. My Pick for the champs is: Florida. 5. A FEW NCAA LOWER SEEDS THAT CAN WIN A 1ST ROUND GAME : Harvard, St. Josephs, Providence, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Arizona State. Always fun to see who will be this years Cinderella which makes the tournament really special. Have fun and enjoy the games! I cant wait! ' ' '