TUCSON, Ariz. – Were it a regular season game, the match would be defined by revenge – the Portland Timbers seeking retribution from the team that upset them in the Audi 2017 MLS Cup playoffs. But this isn’t the regular season. It’s mid-February, and while Portland’s preseason match against the Houston Dynamo won’t have much Valentine’s Day love, it’s too early in the MLS calendar for any real animosity.
“The time the season comes around, we’ll be talking about that,” defender Liam Ridgewell said, “but Houston is just another team in a preseason friendly that we’ve got to get through one hundred percent, keep stepping up our game.