Evander meets up with Ring of Honor great Diego Valeri, Academy product Max Eisenberg stars and Special Olympics Oregon athlete Niko Brescia and Unified partner Alanah Butler Coronado all rep the Rose City
It's been a busy week in Columbus, Ohio as numerous Portland Timbers representatives and familiar faces took part in MLS All-Star Game Week festivities. From team trainings and media day events for midfielder Evander to the Special Olympics Unified Sports® MLS All-Star Game for Special Olympics Oregon athlete Niko Brescia and Unified partner Alanah Butler Coronado to Timbers Academy's Max Eisenberg playing in the MLS NEXT All-Star Game presented by Allstate to the MLS All-Star Game Skills Challenge, there's been a cornucopia of events all happening before tonight's MLS All-Star Game (5pm PT, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
Follow along and see what our Rose City representatives were up to throughout the week.
Training with Teammates
Midfielder Evander arrived and quickly got to know his new teammates as they took part in training sessions at the Columbus Crew's OhioHealth Performance Center.
Special Olympics Unified Sports® MLS All-Star Game
Special Olympics Oregon athlete Niko Brescia and Unified partner Alanah Butler Coronado got to meet the MLS All-Stars and watch training before playing in the take part in the Special Olympics Unified Sports® MLS All-Star Game at Historic Crew Stadium.
The Unified team members will slo be recognized on-field tonight before the MLS All-Star Game.
A collection of greats at the MLS NEXT All-Star Game
Timbers Academy forward Max Eisenberg played in the MLS NEXT All-Star Game for the West team at Historic Crew Stadium that also had some special Timbers guests on hand. Club Ring of Honor member Diego Valeri coached the West team and gave Eisenberg some special advice ahead of the match while Evander was also in attendance to cheer on his club teammate.
Valeri took a moment to commemorate his goal in the 2014 MLS Cup match – the fastest goal scored in MLS Cup history at :27 seconds – on the famous grounds that saw Portland lift their first championship trophy.
Eisenberg started for the West and assisted with a gorgeous volley into the box that saw Skyler Kaplan one-time his shot off the goalkeeper before hitting the rebound into the net in the 14th minute. The final score ended 4-2 for the East.
MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T
Evander was part of a select group of MLS All-Stars taking on a collection of Liga MX All-Stars Tuesday night at Lower.com Field for the MLS All-Stars Skills Challenge. A series of events including Touch, Pass, Volley and more saw the two teams compete for points. Evander was a specialist in serving pinpoint crosses into his teammates for the Volley challenge and also took part in the Crossbar Challenge.
