SEATTLE – Timbers fans knew central defender Larrys Mabiala would return to the starting XI. For the second leg of Portland’s Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs Western Conference Semifinals against rival Seattle Sounders FC, at least one change would have to be made to the lineup that had the team up, 2-1, before the series’ final 90 minutes. The formula that put the Timbers in front? It would had to be changed, somewhat.
What fans didn’t know was that right back Alvas Powell would be coming back into the starting lineup, taking the place of Zarek Valentin. And, in the wake of an injury to midfielder David Guzmán, El Salvador international Andrés Flores would be handed his first postseason start.
“I’ve been working very hard throughout the year, but now I have an opportunity to play this, the most important game, so far,” Flores said, after the Timbers’ semifinal extra-time, penalty kick shootout triumph over Seattle. “I feel proud of the team first, and then, of my job. Because I have been working very hard, for this. And now that I have the chance, I think I did well.”
So well that his only moment of uncertainty stands out, with his 41st-minute backpass into enemy hands forcing him to break up a Sounders counter attack and accept a yellow card. Had there been other errors, that play would be part of a pattern instead of standing out as something aberrational.
Before coming off in the 83rd minute for Lawrence Olum, Flores was crucial in helping maintain the team’s balance, with the central midfield tandem of he and Diego Chara ensuring a Sounders team that can pass its way through many opponents would have to spend the night playing low-leverage crosses.
Before the night was done, Seattle had played 57 of them, and were it not for a handling error from Jeff Attinella, none of those attempts would have come good. Over the time Flores was in the game, the Sounders were never able to break Portland down, and for all their control of play, they were forced to stay wide instead of playing through and across the Timbers’ midfield.
“In general, we didn’t have a good game with the ball,” Flores conceded, acknowledging why, despite not being able to break Portland down, the Sounders staying on the proverbial front foot. “We didn’t have the quality you would look for. But it was a game where it was important to be intelligent, to know the times of the game when to go up and when to just hold, and in general, we did that very well.”
They’re the qualities that explain, perfectly, why Flores was chosen to replace Guzmán. They also explain why the Salvadorian has become known affectionately, among some core fans, as a “security blanket” for Savarese, who brought the midfielder with him from New York Cosmos when the duo moved west this winter. As early as the second home game of the season, against an at-the-time undefeated New York City FC, Flores was getting playing time, often chosen when Portland needed a specific, discrete task performed.
The Timbers needed one this summer in New England, when the demands of a compacted schedule forced the team to rotate ahead of a short turnaround to the East Coast. That day, Flores was cast in a No. 10’s role. More often this season, 28-year-old has found himself in central midfield, with his ability to read the game and execute a large reason why he won Thursday’s spot over the likes of Olum, Cristhian Paredes and Bill Tuiloma.
Against a Seattle team whose short passing and quick movements meant predicting play, sometimes two passes in the future that could make-or-break an approach, Flores moved a vital cog, even if by match’s end, with his team going to penalties, he was relegated to a bystander’s role.
“I always prefer to be on the field, because outside of the field is so bad,” he said, from a celebratory locker room. “You’re so nervous, but you can’t do anything. You just watch and wait. There were a lot of nerves, a lot of different feelings, but in the end, you just want your team to do the work.”
The start was Flores’ 12th of the season, more than most fans would have predicted when, signed as an unknown NASL talent this offseason, he was a surprised edition the squad. It wasn’t until the season finale, though, that the first-year Timbers player scored his initial MLS goal. Though that finish couldn’t salvage a result against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, it provided a coda to what’s been, for him, a “very positive” 2018.
“I ended the year with a goal. That was important for me,” he explained. “Now, I got to start this game, so it’s very positive. I try to thank Gio for the trust with a lot of work on the field, and in the end, that’s what I do for the team.”
That’s also why Flores gets called upon in big moments. If all things had broke right, Flores wouldn’t have been needed, and Guzmán would have been healthy enough to start in Seattle. But in the absence of the Chara’s normal partner, Portland had a number of options. In Olum, Paredes and Tuiloma, the Timbers had three players who, for their countries, have been internationals.
On Thursday, though, another international got the call. And over his time at CenturyLink Field, Flores showed why both Portland and El Salvador can rely on their “security blanket” when they need him most.
