Inland Waterways » I think you look back to the pre

PORTLAND, Ore. - With a potential playoff spot in the balance, as well as a chance to climb to the top of the Cascadia Cup standings, the Vancouver Whitecaps travelled to Portland on Saturday looking to make amends for the drubbing suffered at the the hands of the Timbers less than a month ago. It was not to be. In a near-replica of that August 20th matchup at B.C. Place Stadium, Vancouver got off to a lively start before giving up a goal and then fading down the stretch. Portland dominated for long stretches en route to another 3-0 trouncing of the Whitecaps in front of 20,814 at Providence Park. Fanendo Adi scored twice, Diego Valeri added a goal and an assist, and Donovan Ricketts had his fourth shutout as the Whitecaps ceded the fifth and final Western Conference playoff spot to their Pacific Northwest rivals with just five games remaining. "Were chasing them now," said Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson. "Its a different scenario when youre chasing a team rather than them chasing you." The game started with the visitors creating some good chances in the opening 15 minutes, including a Sebastian Fernandez shot in the games first minute that went just wide of the post. "For the first 20-odd minutes we were excellent but werent able to capitalize on that," said Robinson. "And goals change games, as we all know." Unfortunately for the Whitecaps, it was the Timbers that changed the game to their benefit. Following an end-to-end first twenty minutes, momentum started to shift in Portlands favour, culminating in the opening goal from Valeri at the 28-minute mark. The sequence started with Steven Beitashour getting caught in a two-on-one situation on the right wing. With Beitashour unable to commit, Portlands Jorge Villafana had time and space to neatly pick out Valeri running unmarked through Vancouvers penalty area. "My initial reaction was to go out, but I saw I had guy," said Beitashour. "I didnt want to go out and have them just play in behind, so I sat in and he whipped in a good ball. Great finish." Beitashour, a question to start prior to the match, had words with Mauro Rosales about the defending mixup, but the damage was already done. "The goal took the wind out of our sails," said centre back Andy OBrien. Robinson agreed that there was a bit of a drop-off in Vancouvers performance once the home side took the lead. "When we go a goal down, were probably not playing with the same energy, desire or confidence we should," Robinson said. "But weve got to learn, because were not always going to score the first goal." The Timbers put a choke-hold on the remainder of the first half and Vancouver took a one-goal deficit into halftime. The visitors regrouped to start the second half, but a costly mistake in the 66th minute by Matias Laba gave Portland a chance to double the lead, and Adi capitalized on the chance for the first of his two goals on the night. Laba tried to cut the ball back near midfield with his teammates mostly in the attacking third. Valeri took it cleanly off Laba and easily found Adi breaking towards David Ousteds net all alone. "Ninety-nine times out of 100 (Laba) makes that play," said Robinson. "Valeris a good player, hes knicked the ball." Adi put the finishing touches on just four minutes later, slipping a ball between Ousteds legs for the final goal of the game. The additions of Kekuta Manneh, Darren Mattocks and Nicolas Mezquida created a flurry of half-chances in the waning moments of the game, but Portland saw out the match to keep the visitors scoreless for the the sixth time in nine games. Vancouver is winless on the road in that stretch as well. "Its not a fun way to lose," said Ousted. "Its not a fun place to lose, especially with the fan support we had out today. There are five games left and we cant feel sorry for ourselves, we cant get down. We need to continue to work." The Whitecaps face three playoff-bound teams in their remaining five games, starting next Saturday at home against Real Salt lake. Despite the recent form and a tough outlook for upcoming games, Robinson doesnt feel his team is wilting. "People can say whatever they want," he said. "Its a good challenge for us. If we want to play in big games, important games, weve got to cope with this pressure. Theres a little bit of pressure on next week." Marquis Flowers Jersey . -- Ben Brust scored 19 points to lead six Wisconsin players in double figures as the No. Matt Ioannidis Jersey . The flanker began his comeback from a right shoulder injury by coming off the bench on Saturday when Wales opened with a victory over Italy. Warburton replaces Justin Tipuric, one of three changes announced on Tuesday by coach Warren Gatland. http://www.cheapredskinsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-jojo-wicker-jersey . The fourth-year guard from Carleton University kicked off his varsity career with rookie of the year honours in 2011, before racking up three straight Mike Moser Memorial Trophies for outstanding player. Sean Taylor Jersey . Despite Arsenals financial firepower, the 31-year-old midfielder was the only arrival in the January transfer window. Signed until the end of the season as injury cover, Kallstrom might not be fit until mid-March after arriving Friday at Arsenal having injured his back earlier in the week while training with Spartak Moscow. J.P. Holtz Jersey . The 30-year-old Kottaras served as Kansas Citys backup catcher last season after being claimed off waivers from Oakland in January.Who are some of your favorite former players?Probably former Red Wings defensemen Brian Rafalski and Niklas Lidstrom. With Mr. Rafalski, hes kind of similar to me in the way that he played. Hes a smaller guy who played in the NHL for a while and he won so I liked to watch him as much as I can.Out of your brothers, who tends to mess with you the most?Definitely P.K., hes a prankster. Malcolm is more a laid back quiet guy, but P.K tries to prank us as much as he can.Whos moms favorite?Malcolm [laughs], I dont think she has any favorites, but Malcolm definitely caused her the least grief growing up.Do you ever get sick of talking about your brothers?Uh no, not really, I love hearing about my brothers success and Im just happy for them and when people ask me about it Im happy to talk about it.Is it cool to see them succeed at the pro level (PK in the NHL, Malcolm in the AHL)?Yeah definitely, I think you look back to the preseason when they played against each other for half a game thhat was pretty exciting for my family and I.dddddddddddd We enjoyed it.What is one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?I taught myself how to play piano a little bit. What can you play on piano? I can play some soft songs [laughs] I can play Apologize by One Republic, ladys like that one Im sure.When you play NHL 14, which team do you pick?Vancouver, no doubt. Have you ever played as yourself? Yes I have. What are your thoughts on your player rating? Not bad [laughs] I could be a little bit better Im sure every player would agree. I boost some attributes, my shot and speed.Have you seen this .gif of P.K? What do you think of it?No I havent seen that, thats hilarious, thats pretty funny. It looks pretty funny when hes hopping up and down dancing.Out of the Subban brothers, whos the best at going BarDown?Me. PK just tries to put it through the net, I try to p