# 2002 Portland Timbers season

The 2002 Portland Timbers season was the second season for the Portland Timbers—the third incarnation of a club to bear the Timbers name—of the now-defunct A-League, the second-tier soccer league of the United States and Canada at the time.

## Competitions
### A-League
#### Western Conference, Pacific Division standings

Bye to conference semifinal round of playoffs  First round of playoffs
| Pos | Club | Pts | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 1 | Seattle Sounders | 107 | 28 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 71 | 27 | +44 |
| 2 | Portland Timbers | 63 | 28 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 47 | 39 | +8 |
| 3 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 54 | 28 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 41 | 39 | +2 |
| 4 | El Paso Patriots | 54 | 28 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 38 | 48 | −10 |
| 5 | Calgary Storm | 22 | 28 | 4 | 21 | 3 | 26 | 66 | −40 |
Point system: 4 points for a win; 1 point for a draw; 1 point for scoring 3 or more goals in a game; 0 points for a loss

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Stadium | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A |
| Result | L | L | L | L | L | T | W | W | L | W | T | L | W | T | L | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | W | W | L |

### A-League Playoffs
#### Playoff bracket

| First Round | First Round | First Round | First Round | First Round | | | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | | | | W1 | Seattle Sounders | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | W5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2 | 6 | 8 | | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Portland Timbers | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | W5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2 | 6 | 8 | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | W2 | Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.) | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.) | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | | | W2 | Milwaukee Rampage | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | W3 | Minnesota Thunder | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| W3 | Minnesota Thunder | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | W3 | Minnesota Thunder | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | El Paso Patriots | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | El Paso Patriots | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.) | Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.) | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Richmond Kickers | Richmond Kickers | 1 |
| | | | | | | | E1 | Charleston Battery | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | E4 | Richmond Kickers | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Richmond Kickers | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | E4 | Richmond Kickers | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | E4 | Richmond Kickers (p) | 1 | 0 | 1 (9) | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E4 | Richmond Kickers (p) | 1 | 0 | 1 (9) | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 1 | 0 | 1 (8) | | | |
| | | | | | | | E2 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | E3 | Montreal Impact | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Montreal Impact (p) | 0 | 1 | 1 (6) | | | E3 | Montreal Impact | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Charlotte Eagles | 1 | 0 | 1 (5) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

#### First round
## Club
### Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Bobby Howe |
| Assistant coach | Jimmy Conway |
| Goalkeeper coach | Jim Brazeau |
| Athletic trainer | Brock Rutherford |
| Strength and conditioning Coach | Carl Davison |
Source:

### Management

| Owner | Portland Family Entertainment |
| President | Mark Schuster (from February 14) |
| General Manager | Jim Taylor |
| Ground (capacity and dimensions) | PGE Park ( / ) |
Source:

## Squad
### Kits

| Home | Away |

### Final roster

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Chris Smith |
| 2 | DF | USA | Bryn Ritchie |
| 3 | DF | IRL | Keith Costigan |
| 5 | DF | NZL | Gavin Wilkinson |
| 6 | MF | USA | Ben Somoza |
| 7 | MF | MEX | Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar |
| 8 | MF | USA | Erik Ozimek |
| 9 | FW | USA | McKinley Tennyson |
| 10 | FW | SYR | Fadi Afash |
| 11 | MF | USA | Brian Winters |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 12 | FW | USA | Greg Howes |
| 14 | DF | USA | Scott Benedetti |
| 15 | MF | KGZ | Vadim Tolstolutsky |
| 16 | FW | USA | Chugger Adair |
| 17 | MF | MEX | Jesús Ochoa (on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy) |
| 18 | GK | USA | Matt Napoleon |
| 20 | MF | USA | Jake Sagare |
| 24 | MF | USA | Chris Roner (on loan from San Jose Earthquakes) |
| 26 | DF | TRI | Brent Sancho |

### Recognition

A-League Scoring Champion
| Player | G | A | Pts |
| McKinley Tennyson | 18 | 6 | 42 |
A-League Goal Scoring Co-Champions
| Player | GP | G |
| Fadi Afash | 22 | 18 |
| McKinley Tennyson | 24 | 18 |
A-League Young Offensive Player of the Year
| Pos | Player | GP |
| FW | McKinley Tennyson | 24 |
A-League All-League First Team
| Pos | Player | GP |
| FW | McKinley Tennyson | 24 |
A-League All-League Second Team
| Pos | Player | GP |
| FW | Fadi Afash | 22 |
A-League Player of the Week
| Week | Player | Opponent(s) |
| 8 | Fadi Afash | Calgary Storm, Vancouver Whitecaps (x2) |
| 18 | McKinley Tennyson | El Paso Patriots, Minnesota Thunder |
A-League Team of the Week
| Week | Player | Opponent(s) |
| 8 | Fadi Afash | Calgary Storm, Vancouver Whitecaps (x2) |
| 8 | Greg Howes | Calgary Storm, Vancouver Whitecaps (x2) |
| 9 | Brent Sancho | Calgary Storm |
| 10 | Matt Napoleon | El Paso Patriots, Hampton Roads Mariners, Seattle Sounders |
| 10 | Brent Sancho | El Paso Patriots, Hampton Roads Mariners, Seattle Sounders |
| 11 | Greg Howes | Hampton Roads Mariners, Richmond Kickers |
| 12 | Fadi Afash | Indiana Blast |
| 12 | Sean McAuley | Indiana Blast |
| 13 | McKinley Tennyson | Calgary Storm |
| 14 | McKinley Tennyson | Seattle Sounders, Calgary Storm |
| 15 | McKinley Tennyson | Cincinnati Riverhawks |
| 17 | McKinley Tennyson | Vancouver Whitecaps |
| 18 | Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar | El Paso Patriots, Minnesota Thunder |
| 18 | McKinley Tennyson | El Paso Patriots, Minnesota Thunder |
| 19 | Brent Sancho | Milwaukee Rampage, Minnesota Thunder |
| 20 | Fadi Afash | Montreal Impact |

### Statistics
#### Appearances and goals

All players contracted to the club during the season included.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | A-League | A-League | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | USA | Chris Smith | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | USA | Bryn Ritchie | 14 | 1 | 9+5 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | IRL | Keith Costigan | 30 | 0 | 28+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| (4) | DF | ENG | Sean McAuley (released) | 16 | 0 | 15+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | NZL | Gavin Wilkinson | 28 | 0 | 26+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | USA | Ben Somoza | 22 | 1 | 12+9 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | MEX | Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar | 29 | 0 | 26+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | USA | Erik Ozimek | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | USA | McKinley Tennyson | 26 | 18 | 20+4 | 18 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | SYR | Fadi Afash | 23 | 18 | 22+0 | 18 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | USA | Brian Winters | 28 | 0 | 26+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | USA | Greg Howes | 21 | 5 | 15+4 | 5 | 2+0 | 0 |
| (13) | FW | USA | Rees Bettinger (released) | 5 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | USA | Scott Benedetti | 15 | 1 | 8+5 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | KGZ | Vadim Tolstolutsky | 13 | 1 | 6+6 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | USA | Chugger Adair | 20 | 2 | 6+13 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | MEX | Jesús Ochoa | 6 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | USA | Matt Napoleon | 30 | 0 | 28+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | USA | Jake Sagare | 28 | 0 | 20+7 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| (21) | MF | USA | Noah Delgado (released) | 5 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| (22) | MF | USA | Scott Bower (2 short-term loans from San Jose Earthquakes) | 4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | USA | Chris Roner | 4 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | TRI | Brent Sancho | 29 | 0 | 27+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |

#### Top scorers

Players with 1 goal or more included only.
| Rk. | Position | Player | Total | A-League | Playoffs |
| 1 | FW | Fadi Afash | 18 | 18 | 0 |
| 1 | FW | McKinley Tennyson | 18 | 18 | 0 |
| 3 | FW | Greg Howes | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | FW | Chugger Adair | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Scott Benedetti | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Bryn Ritchie | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Ben Somoza | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Vadim Tolstolutsky | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 47 | 47 | 0 |

#### Disciplinary record

Players with 1 card or more included only.
| No. | Position | Player | Total | Total | A-League | A-League | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| 2 | DF | Bryn Ritchie | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Keith Costigan | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| (4) | DF | Sean McAuley | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Gavin Wilkinson | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Ben Somoza | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | McKinley Tennyson | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Fadi Afash | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Brian Winters | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Greg Howes | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Vadim Tolstolutsky | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Jesús Ochoa | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | Matt Napoleon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Jake Sagare | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| (22) | MF | Scott Bower | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Chris Roner | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Brent Sancho | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 50 | 2 | 47 | 2 | 3 | 0 |

#### Goalkeeper stats

All goalkeepers included.
| No. | Nat. | Player | Total | Total | Total | Total | A-League | A-League | A-League | A-League | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Nat. | Player | MIN | GA | GAA | SV | MIN | GA | GAA | SV | MIN | GA | GAA | SV |
| 1 | | Chris Smith | 11 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 18 | | Matt Napoleon | 2776 | 41 | 1.33 | 113 | 2596 | 39 | 1.35 | 107 | 180 | 2 | 1.00 | 6 |
| | | TOTALS | 2787 | 41 | 1.32 | 113 | 2607 | 39 | 1.35 | 107 | 180 | 2 | 1.00 | 6 |

### Player movement
#### Transfers in

| Date | Player | Position | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| January 7, 2002 | Fadi Afash | FW | Sacramento Knights | Free |
| January 17, 2002 | Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar | MF | San Diego F.C. | Free |
| March 4, 2002 | Sean McAuley | DF | Rochdale | Free |
| March 4, 2002 | Erik Ozimek (R) | MF | Davidson Wildcats | Free |
| March 21, 2002 | Ben Somoza (R) | MF | Washington Huskies | A-League College Player Draft, 2nd round |
| March 21, 2002 | Jake Sagare (R) | MF | Washington Huskies | A-League College Player Draft, 3rd round |
| March 26, 2002 | McKinley Tennyson | FW | GIF Sundsvall | Free |
| March 29, 2002 | Rees Bettinger | FW | Seattle Sounders | Free |
| April 2002 | Chris Smith | GK | St. Louis Steamers | Free |
| May 3, 2002 | Noah Delgado (R) | MF | Fresno State Bulldogs | Free |
| May 9, 2002 | Bryn Ritchie (R) | DF | Washington Huskies | A-League College Player Draft, 1st round |
| May 28, 2002 | Greg Howes | FW | Milwaukee Wave | Free |

#### Loans in

| Date | Player | Position | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| July 19, 2002 | Jesús Ochoa | MF | Los Angeles Galaxy | Short-term loan; returned to Los Angeles Galaxy after two games |
| July 25, 2002 | Scott Bower | MF | San Jose Earthquakes | Short-term loan; returned to San Jose Earthquakes after one game |
| July 25, 2002 | Chris Roner | MF | San Jose Earthquakes | Short-term loan; returned to San Jose Earthquakes after one game |
| August 2, 2002 | Jesús Ochoa | MF | Los Angeles Galaxy | Short-term loan; returned to Los Angeles Galaxy after one game |
| August 9, 2002 | Scott Bower | MF | San Jose Earthquakes | Short-term loan; returned to San Jose Earthquakes after three games |
| August 9, 2002 | Chris Roner | MF | San Jose Earthquakes | Short-term loan; returned to San Jose Earthquakes after three games |
| August 20, 2002 | Jesús Ochoa | MF | Los Angeles Galaxy | Short-term loan; returned to Los Angeles Galaxy after two games |
| September 4, 2002 | Jesús Ochoa | MF | Los Angeles Galaxy | Short-term loan to end the season |
| September 4, 2002 | Chris Roner | MF | San Jose Earthquakes | Short-term loan to end the season |

#### Transfers out

| Date | Player | Position | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| End of 2001 season | Darin Lewis | FW | N/A | Contract expired and not re-signed |
| End of 2001 season | Dan Moss | GK | N/A | Contract expired and not re-signed |
| October 4, 2001 | Michael O'Neill | MF | Unattached | Released |
| November 27, 2001 | Mark Baena | FW | Unattached | Released |
| November 27, 2001 | Tony McPeak | FW | Unattached | Released |
| November 27, 2001 | Neil Ryan | DF | Unattached | Released |
| December 5, 2001 | Matt Chulis | DF | Unattached | Released |
| December 20, 2001 | Darren Sawatzky | FW | Unattached | Released |
| March 4, 2002 | Jeff Clarke | MF | Unattached | Released |
| March 4, 2002 | Greg Howes | FW | Unattached | Released |
| March 21, 2002 | Jesús Ochoa | MF | Unattached | Released |
| June 25, 2002 | Rees Bettinger | FW | Unattached | Released |
| June 25, 2002 | Noah Delgado | MF | Unattached | Released |
| August 6, 2002 | Sean McAuley | DF | Unattached | Released |

#### Loans out

| Date | Player | Position | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| July 12, 2002 | Matt Napoleon | GK | Dallas Burn | Short-term loan; returned to Portland after one game |
| August 5, 2002 | Matt Napoleon | GK | Colorado Rapids | Short-term loan; returned to Portland after one game |
| August 26, 2002 | Matt Napoleon | GK | Colorado Rapids | Short-term loan; returned to Portland after one game |