The Seattle Sounders’ Albert Rusnak, left, wrestles with the Portland Timbers’ Blake Bodily for a ball near midfield in the second half of Wednesday night’s game in the Desert Showcase at Kino North Stadium.

 Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

Tucson native Donny Toia made his Portland Timbers debut Wednesday night in the first match of MLS spring training.

His appearance capped a chaotic week. Toia met with the Portland brass on Friday night at their hotel and joined the side as a non-roster invitee in time for the Timbers’ 0-0 draw with the Seattle Sounders. The Cascadia Cup rivalry match kicked off the Desert Showcase, a series of training-camp friendlies at Kino North Stadium.

“It’s good to be back,” Toia said. “Obviously a new team, that’s the downfall, but at least I got another opportunity and I’m just trying to take full advantage of it right now.”

Toia, an FC Tucson alum, was Real Salt Lake’s first homegrown player. However, RSL released the Canyon del Oro High School and Pima College product during the offseason.

Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said the Timbers looked organized and that Toia is a “great person, unbelievable human being.”

“The first time that we’ve seen him playing with us, I thought he did well today,” Savarese said. “He’s been training well as well, he’s an experienced player, he knows the league.

“We’re looking at him as a left back, potentially as a back up at left back and we have to see a little bit more but he’s an experienced player, we know him really well and we’ll see what’s going to happen.”

Toia, who also played at Pima College, started the match and was subbed out in the 69th minute.

“I thought I did pretty well,” Toia said. “Some minor mistakes but I can easily adjust them, now it’s just improving and hopefully coach liked what he saw.”

Portland Timbers goalkeeper David Bingham, left, and Justin Rasmussen foil the shot from Seattle Sounders Cody Baker in the second half.

Supporters cheered Toia often and when he was subbed out got an ovation, some of which he thought was former Tucson Soccer Academy club teammates.

“That was pretty cool,” Toia said. “I think that was a couple of my buddies back from club soccer drinking a bit and hanging out, so that was pretty cool.”

Attendance was 2,018.

“I thought we had some good opportunities to try and score (which) would’ve sent some of the home Sounder fans home happy, but unfortunately we didn’t have that one little bit of quality or luck to get the ball in the back of the net,” said Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer.

The second of third MLS Desert Showcase matches will be Sporting Kansas City against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday at 4 p.m. SKC reached the conference semifinals of the MLS Cup last year and the Rapids were the top seed in the west.

Corner kicks

On Thursday afternoon FC Tucson will host a watch party for the United States men’s national team’s World Cup qualifier against El Salvador. The party begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Pueblo Vida Brewing Company, 115 E. Broadway Blvd.

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