If every team at the top of the Western Conference was to win their games in hand on Sporting Kansas City, meaning that all would have played 20 games on the season, the Portland Timbers would sit in second position, just two points behind FC Dallas.
The longest unbeaten run in the league of 12 games is still intact, even if they lost the 14-game unbeaten streak in all competitions with a dramatic and pulsating 3-2 loss to Los Angeles FC on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup, the team is playing some of the best football in the league, and hopes are high for the latter half of the season and another run at the postseason.