PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing their first home match of the 2016 USL season, T2 sustained a 3-1 loss against Cascadia-rival Whitecaps FC 2 at Merlo Field on the campus of the University of Portland on Saturday night.
Following a scoreless first half, Whitecaps FC 2 (2-0-0, 6pts) benefited from a penalty kick and a brace from midfielder Daniel Haber to build a 3-0 lead. T2 (0-0-2, 0pts) midfielder Dylan Damraoui scored his first career goal for T2, converting from a tight angle along the left side of the penalty box in the 79th minute to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Whitecaps FC 2 registered the first goal of the match in the 60th minute as forward Kyle Greig converted a penalty kick to give Vancouver the 1-0 lead. Haber tallied goals in the 67th and 76th minute to help Vancouver build its lead to 3-0.
Portland threatened in the 70th minute as forward Kharlton Belmar found forward Victor Arboleda open in the box, forcing Vancouver goalkeeper Spencer Richey off his line to make a sliding save. In the 74th minute, T2 created another chance from a free kick as forward Neco Brett delivered a powerful shot from the top of the box, striking the crossbar. Brett led Portland in shots with four, including two on goal, while goalkeeper Wade Hamilton registered five saves.
Following Saturday’s match, T2 will remain at home to play host to expansion side Rio Grande Valley FC on Friday, April 8, in the second game of a three-game homestand; kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (Pacific) at Merlo Field.
Single-game tickets for T2 home games are available at the Providence Park box office, online at www.timbers2.com, and on game day at the venue box office.
Friday’s match will also be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.
T2 (0-2-0, 0pts) vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (2-0-0, 6pts)
April 2, 2016 – Merlo Field (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 3 3
Whitecaps FC 2 0 1 1
Scoring Summary
VAN: Greig (penalty kick), 60
VAN: Haber, 67
VAN: Haber, 76
POR: Damraoui, 79
Misconduct Summary
VAN: de Wit (Caution), 73
POR: Damraoui (Ejection), 84
VAN: Greig (Caution), 90
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Hamilton, D Klute ©, D Farfan, D Gallagher, D Manning, M Besler, M Lewis, M Damraoui, F Brett, F Bijev (Belmar, 62), F Polk (Arboleda, 57)
Substitutes Not Used: GK McIntosh, D Morley, M Richards, M Lowe, M Casiple
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Brett, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Brett, 2); FOULS: 11 (Three players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 5 ; SAVES: 5
VAN: GK Richey, D Chung, D de Wit, D Seiler, D Levis (Serban, 82), M Seymore, M Baldisimo (Frano, 63), M Gardner (McKendry, 71), M Haber (Haynes, 77), M Davies (Campbell, 88), F Greig
Substitutes Not Used: GK Melvin, D Farmer
TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Haber, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (Haber, 4); FOULS: 12 (Three players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 4
Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Hanson and Cephas Quartson
4th Official: CJ Koll
Attendance: 1,625
Weather: Sunny, 66 degrees
Man of the Match: Neco Brett
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
Post-Game Quotes
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
On the overall match...
“Disappointing result. Zero-zero at halftime, I thought we were in a great spot, [we] created some opportunities in the first half. We’ll learn from it and continue to move forward and progress week in, week out and look to the next game on Friday against Rio Grande to get better again and hopefully the results will come at that time.”
On the team's continued growth and development...
“I’ve been saying it from the very beginning, it’s patience with this group. We have to get better. There’s little areas, moments in the game, that have to get better. We have some young, inexperienced players and we’re going to continue to work with them. We do a lot of work during the week. It’s great moments for us to come out in games, even when the results aren’t exactly what we want. [They are] huge teaching moments for us. For me, the progression we see in players, and certain individual players, is positive even though the result wasn’t necessarily there. As we continue to move forward, we hope we continue to get better and better each week and then the results will start to come. That’s the attack right now we’re looking at and we’ll continue to look that way.”
