The Timbers came out like they were shot out of a cannon, no doubt remembering the 4-0 drubbing the Wave United had given them earlier this season in Milwaukee. In just the 2nd minute, the Timbers found the woodwork for the first (but not the last) time on this evening, when a cross from the right side by Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar ended up being a dangerous shot as it hit the left post and caromed back in front of the goal, but no Timber could put a foot on it to finish. In the 9th minute, Portland's Jake Sagare had a good look from 15, but his shot was just over the bar.

In the 10th minute, the Timbers had an apparent Sagare goal disallowed for a foul call inside the box. In the 16th minute, the Wave United had their first good scoring chance, and they made it count when a chip from midfield by Todd Dusosky over the Portland defense and into the run of Josh Timbers had the Milwaukee midfielder in alone, and he buried the shot past a charging Josh Saunders to put the visiting side up 1-0.

The lead would not last however, because just two minutes later, a shot from outside the box by Portland's Brian Winters was deflected just inside the right post by Byron Alvarez, and the score was level at 1-1. Seven minutes later, the Timbers had turned a one goal deficit into a one goal lead when after McKinley Tennyson's header was off the crossbar, the ball was headed back to him by Scott Benedetti, and this time Tennyson made no mistake with the header, and the Timbers had a 2-1 lead.

In the 31st minute, Milwaukee had a good chance to level the score when off a free kick, Todd Dusosky hit a strong header from just 10 yards out, but the ball was right at the Portland keeper. The Timbers had good chances to widen the lead in the 40th and 43rd minutes, when shots from Tennyson and Nick Downing were wide right, and right at the Milwaukee keeper. In first half stoppage time, the Timbers had another good opportunity when after an Alvarez breakaway had been stopped by a charging Jim Larkin, the rebound was out to Portland's Aaron Heinzen, whose shot from the top of the box was off the crossbar, so the Timbers held a 2-1 lead at the half.

Just three minutes into the 2nd half, the Timbers stretched their lead to two goals on a perfect give-and-go between Alvarez and Tennyson, with Alvarez burying the shot inside the right post to put the Timbers up 3-1. In the 55th minute, the Timbers were inches away from a fourth goal when an Alvarez shot was kicked barely off the line by Larkin as he was caught going the wrong direction. Two minutes later, only a sprawling save to his left by Larkin kept Alvarez from scoring another Portland goal.

In the 57th minute, the Wave United pulled a goal back when a loose ball inside the Timbers box was pounded into the upper right corner of the net by John Ball, pulling Milwaukee to within 3-2. In the 72nd minute, a hard shot from 20 yards out by Milwaukee's Jeremy Aldrich was only kept out when Saunders seemed to see it late, and had to punch the ball clear at the last minute. In the 77th minute, a dangerous loose ball inside the Timbers box was only put out of danger by a last-minute clearance by Lee Morrison. In the 79th minute, the Timbers looked ready to widen the lead again when Alvarez once again had an open breakaway, but his shot from near the top of the box was barely a yard wide right.

In the 83rd minute, a confusing sequence of events led to the 3rd Milwaukee goal, when a cross towards the far post was grabbed by Saunders, but he appeared to be knocked down by a Milwaukee player, with the ball coming loose. Portland players appeared to be waiting for a whistle that never came, and Chad Dombrowski would eventually bury the ball into the net to level the score at 3-3.

In the 85th minute, the Timbers may have regained momentum on a late tackle by Ball while earned the Milwaukee midfielder his second yellow card, plus the automatic red card, so the Wave United would have to play a man down for the rest of the match. But the Timbers may have lost midfielder Adam Wilson on the play as he appeared to suffer a serious ankle injury on the play and was carried off the pitch by his teammates.

With the match appearing headed for overtime, the Timbers used the fourth shot off the woodwork on the day to get the game winner, when an Alcaraz-Cuellar shot from just five yards out hit off the right post (see picture #6 below), but rebounded directly to Alvarez, who buried the rebound to give the Timbers a 4-3 lead. The Timbers were able to hold onto that lead for the one goal victory, their eighth in their last ten matches.