The Portland Timbers defeated the Sonoma County Sol tonight in Santa Rosa, Calif., 3-0, in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup.

That sets up a dream pairing in the third round, as Portland of the USL first division will host Seattle Sounders FC of MLS.

The game will be played at 7 p.m. July 1 at PGE Park in Portland.

As an addition to the blog post below, it now seems certain that if Portland defeats the Sonoma County Sol tonight, that the Timbers will host the Sounders on July 1.

Here's a release put out today by the Timbers:

U.S. Soccer announced today that the date for a possible third-round U.S. Open Cup pairing between the Portland Timbers and Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC has been changed to Wednesday, July 1.

The Timbers face the Sonoma County Sol of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association tonight in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup in Santa Rosa, Calif., at 7 p.m. The result of tonight’s match will determine if Portland advances to host Seattle at PGE Park in the third round of the tournament.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which is recognized as U.S. Soccer’s National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion for 95 consecutive years dating back to 1914.

If the Sol wins, the third-round game would be played in Seattle, perhaps on the originally mentioned date of June 30. (The extra day is most valuable to the Sounders if they must travel, and is less of an issue if they host.) Regardless of date, a Sol-Sounders match would be played at Starfire. (The Sounders feel that they could expand the seating at Starfire a bit, if the demand, um, demanded it. They don't anticipate moving to Qwest until probably the semifinals or finals, assuming they get that far.)

Speaking of ticket demand, the Sounders expect to sell all of the extra tickets that will available through added capacity at Qwest starting with Colorado's visit on June 28. And once those tickets are gone, no more sections are going to be opened. Bottom line: If you want to see these guys in person this season, your ticket window of opportunity is about to close.

The Portland Timbers visit the Sonoma County Sol tonight in the second round of U.S. Open Cup action. It is widely assumed that the winner will advance to play Seattle Sounders FC in the third round.

Here's a report from the Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat.

And here's a game preview from the Timbers:

The Portland Timbers continue their run in the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday with a second-round match against the Sonoma County Sol of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association in Santa Rosa, Calif., at 7 p.m.

The winner of the second-round match between the Timbers and Sol, taking place at Santa Rosa High School, will advance to face Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC in the third round of the tournament. Live updates from Tuesday’s match will be available through the Timbers’ Twitter account at www.twitter.com/TimbersFC.

In the first round, the Timbers defeated the Kitsap Pumas of the Premier Development League 3-0 on June 9, in Bremerton, Wash. Midfielder Brian Farber, forward Jason McLaughlin and defender David Hayes each scored in the second half and goalkeeper Steve Cronin recorded two saves in the shutout to help Portland advance to the second round.

Since 2001, the Timbers are 4-5-0 in U.S. Open Cup matches and have advanced as far as the fourth round, facing MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes in both 2004 and 2005.

Led by head coach Benjamin Ziemer, the Sonoma County Sol knocked out the Orange County Blue Star of the PDL in the first round to advance in the U.S. Open Cup. The Sol feature 12 former NCAA Division I players, including three All-Americans, on its roster along with former USL First Division players Shawn Percell (Seattle Sounders) and Lee Sandwina (Charleston Battery). Sonoma County competes in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), which is sanctioned by the USASA.

The Timbers return home and to USL First Division action Friday as they play host to the Minnesota Thunder at PGE Park at 8 p.m., live on Fox Soccer Channel.