ORLANDO, Fla. – Seven days ago, Portland Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark came off one of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex’s training fields, faced a sideline interview for the first time since March, and gave an answer that was both optimistic and, amid a four months between games, unverifiable.
“We're certainly ahead of where we were in March,” he said, the day after the team’s first 11-versus-11 action in Orlando. “I feel really good about it.”
Perhaps it’s apt, then, that the Timbers’ 2-1 victory over the LA Galaxy to open their MLS is Back Tournament Group Play presented by Heineken was sparked by Portland’s number one.