Central Plains FFA Chapter

10/28 22:34 CDT Kristoffer Velde helps Timbers stay in playoff hunt with 3-2 victory over St. Louis City Kristoffer Velde helps Timbers stay in playoff hunt with 3-2 victory over St. Louis City ST. LOUIS (AP) --- Kristoffer Velde scored a goal in each half and added an assist to lead Portland to a 3-2 victory over St. Louis City on Wednesday night, keeping the Timbers' postseason hopes alive. Portland (11-14-7) pulled within two points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with two matches remaining. Neither team scored until Velde used assists from Cole Bassett and Kamal Miller to find the net in the 42nd minute. Velde and Jimer Fory set up David Da Costa three minutes into stoppage time for a 2-0 advantage at halftime. Velde notched his ninth goal --- to go along with nine assists in his first full season in the league --- when got an assist from Da Costa three minutes into the second half for a three-goal lead. Da Costa has six goals and nine assists this season after totaling four goals and eight assists last year as a rookie. St. Louis City (14-9-9) got a goal back in the 58th minute when Daniel Edelman notched his career-high fifth netter with assists from first-year midfielder Carlo Holse --- his third --- and Jeong Sang-bin. Rafael Navarro added his ninth goal in the first minute of stoppage time --- with assists from Sang-bin --- his career-high fifth --- and Chris Durkin to cap the scoring. Miller was charged with a second yellow card five minutes later and will miss the next match for the Timbers with the red-card exit. James Pantemis stopped four shots on goal for Portland. Ben Lundt had three saves for St. Louis City in his fourth start this season. St. Louis City has lost three in a row following a single-season MLS record-tying 19-match unbeaten streak. Portland won for the third time in 16 tries on the road, while St. Louis City lost for the third time in 16 matches at home. The two clubs played to a 2-2 draw in Portland in early September.

Up next Portland: Hosts Houston Dynamo on Sunday. St. Louis: Hosts San Diego FC on Saturday. ___ See AP's full MLS coverage here