The Portland Timbers U-19 and U-17 Academy teams each recorded back-to-back wins, defeating their San Diego Surf and Nomads SC counterparts, to lead the way for a successful weekend for the academy.
All five Timbers Academy team’s recorded at least one win during the weekend, and together assembled an overall record of 7-1-0 against their opponents.
The Timbers U-19s improved to 7-4-1 (22pts) with a 5-1 victory against San Diego Surf on Nov. 11 and a 3-2 win over Nomads SC on Nov. 12 at the Timbers Training Facility. Forward LucasCini tallied three goals over the weekend as six different players scored for the Timbers U-19s.
Two goals from Cini, plus goals from Carlos Anguiano in the 38th minute and Giovanni Calixtro in the 64th minute, helped the Timbers U-19s build a commanding four-goal lead en route to their win over the Surf. Portland capped their 5-1 win with an 81st-minute tally from Owen Guske.
It was a back-and-forth affair with Nomads, with Portland's
Coby Atkinson
opening the scoring in the 35th minute. The visitors leveled the score in the 40th minute, but Cini gave the Timbers U-19s the lead back, 2-1, just three minutes later. A 57th-minute goal by
Vitalis Takawira
gave the U-19s a 3-1 lead and proved to be the game winner as Nomads found the back of the net with just five minutes left.
Cini now has 12 goals on the season and is tied for third in goal-scoring among U-19s players in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. The Timbers U-19s currently sit in fourth place in the NW Division.
The Timbers U-17s scored five goals in each of their wins, defeating the Surf, 5-3, on Nov. 11 and then shut out Nomads SC, 5-0, on Nov. 12. The consecutive wins improved the team’s record to 6-5-1 (19pts), and the team has recorded victories in five of its last seven matches.
The Timbers U-17s executed a second-half come back to defeat San Diego. Trailing 3-1 early in the second half, a penalty kick goal by Nicholas Scardina ignited a run of four unanswered goals. Brendan Herb scored twice in the final 20 minutes – his first goals of the season – and Salvador Villegas found the back of the net in the 85th minute. Josh Darius opened the scoring in the 15th minute of the match.
A five-goal second half guided the Timbers U-17s to victory against Nomads SC. Both Darius and Rian Jamai each had a brace as Portland scored all five goals inside an 11-minute window between the 65th and 76th minutes. Salvador Villegas scored his second goal of the weekend in the 69th minute. Goalkeeper Hunter Sulte anchored the backline in the shutout.
The Timbers U-15s (3-5-2, 11pts) split their matches, defeating Nomads SC, 2-0, on Nov. 12 and falling, 3-2, to the San Diego Surf on Nov. 11.
In the loss to San Diego, the Timbers U-15s trailed just 1-0 at half, but the visitors scored twice more early in the second half. Portland’s Anthony Robertson and Jeremy Ross each tallied their second goals of the season in the second half to chip away at the deficit.
A pair of first-half goals guided the Timbers U-15s to their win against Nomads. Lance Friedrich scored in the 28th minute, while Andrew Saucedo notched his second goal in the last three games in the 35th minute. Goalkeeper Stuart Heringer was credited with the shutout, his second in the last three games.
A Jhovany Gaytan hat trick led the Timbers U-14s to a 3-0 win against Greater Seattle Surf on Nov. 11 at the Timbers Training Facility. Gaytan scored in minutes 31, 67 and 75, and his three-goal performance doubled his goals total to six on the season.
The Timbers U-13s received a game-winner from Gunder Miller to earn a 1-0 win against Greater Seattle Surf on Nov. 11 at the Timbers Training Facility. It’s Miller’s second straight match with a goal, and the Timbers U-13s backline recorded a second straight clean sheet.
