In the 35th minute, a whole section of Portland followers joined two Whitecaps supporter groups and some Vancouver fans in leaving their seats to show solidarity with female players impacted by allegations of bullying and harassment by a former coach.
Similar protests were held at two previous Whitecaps matches.
More than a dozen women who played for the Whitecaps and were part of Canada’s under-20 talent pool around 2008 have come forward to allege Bob Birarda, a former coach for both squads, acted inappropriately with members of the team. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
WHITECAPS 1, TIMBERS 0
Portland 0 0—0
Vancouver 1 0—1
First half—1, Vancouver, Montero, 3 (Teibert), 9th minute.
Second half—None.
Goalies—Portland, Steve Clark, Jeff Attinella; Vancouver, Maxime Crepeau, Zac MacMath.
Yellow Cards—Vancouver, Godoy, 61st. Portland, Blanco, 28th; Paredes, 48th; Chara, 90th.
A—18,356.
Lineups
Vancouver—Maxime Crepeau; Ali Adnan, Erik Godoy, Doneil Henry, Jake Nerwinski; Jon Erice, Hwang In-beom (Andy Rose, 65th), Russell Teibert; Lass Bangoura (Brett Levis, 76th), Fredy Montero (Joaquin Ardaiz, 87th), Lucas Venuto.
Portland—Steve Clark; Larrys Mabiala, Jorge Moreira (Lucas Melano, 83rd), Bill Tuiloma, Zarek Valentin (Julio Cascante, 83rd); Sebastian Blanco, Diego Chara, Andres Flores (Andy Polo, 73rd), Cristhian Paredes, Diego Valeri; Jeremy Ebobisse.