The Portland Timbers’ meteoric rise to the top of the Western Conference may have ended one step short of MLS Cup, but their momentum certainly hasn’t stopped during awards season.

Major League Soccer announced Tuesday that the club landed a league-leading three players on the 2013 Best XI squad, one day after head coach Caleb Porter was named Coach of the Year for the Timbers’ remarkable turnaround this season.

Portland’s three players – midfielders Will Johnson and Diego Valeri and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts – were all heroes this year in the Rose City, where the Timbers resurrected their reputations after finishing next-to-last in the Western Conference in 2012.

Portland finished with the best regular season in the Western Conference this season and dumped the rival Seattle Sounders out of the playoffs before they were eliminated by Real Salt Lake in the Conference Championship last month.

The Argentine import Valeri, 27, is also one of three finalists for the league’s Newcomer of the Year award after scoring 10 goals and adding 13 assists this season, while the 36-year-old Ricketts is up for his second career Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year award after posting a career-high 14 shutouts this season. Both awards will be announced on Wednesday.

MLS players, club leadership, and media members voted one goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards to the Best XI this year. Johnson is one of six newcomers to the Best XI squad, while Ricketts, who was a Best XI selection in 2010, is among five players who have made the All-Pro side in the past.

Three players are back on the Best XI for a second consecutive year, and two will play in MLS Cup at Sporting Park on Saturday. Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler and midfielder Graham Zusi – who both emerged as stalwarts this year for the World Cup-bound US national team – are back after nods in 2012, while LA Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez has been named to his third Best XI team after previous selections in 2011 and 2010.

All three forwards up for the Volkswagen MLS MVP award were named to the team – Mike Magee (Chicago Fire), Marco Di Vaio (Montreal Impact) and Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy) – as was the New England Revolution’s José Gonçalves, who was named Defender of the Year last week. Keane was also named to the team in 2012.

New York Red Bulls midfielder Tim Cahill rounds out the team after his 11 goals and five assists helped lead the club to the Supporters’ Shield, the long-awaited first piece of silverware in the franchise’s 18-year history.

Notable omissions include Galaxy forward Landon Donovan – who had his streak of five straight Best XI appearances snapped – and Vancouver Whitecaps forward Camilo Sanvezzo, who becomes the first Budweiser Golden Boot winner left off the team since both the Galaxy’s Carlos Ruiz and New England’s Taylor Twellman were excluded in 2003 after sharing the award.

San Jose Earthquakes striker Chris Wondolowski also had his three-year run on the Best XI snapped, and Red Bulls striker Thierry Henry was excluded after two straight years on the team.

Real Salt Lake – who downed the Timbers in the Conference Championship and will take on Sporting Kansas City on Dec. 7 in the MLS Cup final – have been shut out during awards season so far, after head coach Jason Kreis finished third on the Coach of the Year ballot and voters excluded their players from the Best XI. Veteran Nick Rimando is up for the Goalkeeper of the Year.

The LA Galaxy boast more Best XI appearances than any other franchise in MLS history (29), followed by D.C. United (24).

2013 MLS Best XI: