MATCH RECAP | Portland Timbers extend unbeaten streak to six in 1-1 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps

PORTLAND, Ore. – Forward Felipe Mora came off the bench to score an 82nd minute penalty kick to tie the score as the Portland Timbers extended their unbeaten streak to six games in a 1-1 draw with Vancouver Whitecaps FC Sunday evening at Providence Park.

• MATCHCENTER: Stats and Boxscore

The draw keeps the Timbers atop the standings for the Cascadia Cup with one game remaining for them to play against Seattle Sounders FC on Aug. 26 at Providence Park (7pm PT, TICKETS, ESPN).

Match Moments

11' - CHANCE (POR) - Sebastián Blanco carried down the left channel and attempted a shot but it was blocked by a Vancouver defender. The ball bounced free to Santiago Moreno atop the 18-yard box who took a touch before shooting but Whitecaps goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer made the save.

24' - CHANCE (POR) - Cristhian Paredes plucked a ball out of the air just inside the Vancouver area and fired a shot toward the left post that Boehmer had to dive to knock out for a corner.

32' - GOAL (VAN) - Vancouver took a 1-0 lead when a long lofted ball forward from Ryan Raposo found Brian White on the back post for a diving header into the goal.

38' - CHANCE (POR) - Diego Chara found himself with space on the right side but his shot was blocked. The ball eventually fell to Claudio Bravo at the edge of the area whose attempt narrowly went wide of the right post.

46' - DOUBLE SAVE (POR) - Right off the opening kickoff, Vancouver zipped in with Portland goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic having to make two quick saves. First he denied a shot from White and then quickly parried away a follow up shot from Ryan Gauld.

47' - CHANCE (POR) - On a Timbers corner kick, a Vancouver player tried to head the ball out but it floated to Jaroslaw Niezgoda who hit the ball on the volley but just over the crossbar.

54' - SAVE (POR) - Ivacic timed his run off his line to snatch a throughball that had been rolled ahead for a sprinting Gauld.

61' - CHANCE (POR) - Moreno picked off a pass deep in the Vancouver end before starting a give and go with Blanco. Moreno eventually squared a pass for D.Chara atop the six-yard box but Vancouver's Jake Nerwinski slid in at the last moment to block the shot.

77' - CHANCE (POR) - Blanco lofted a ball into the mixer that Vancouver headed down right to Bravo. Bravo one-timed his attempt on frame but Boehmer pushed it over the bar.

82' - GOAL (POR) - The Timbers evened the score at 1-1 in the 82nd minute when Felipe Mora slammed home his penalty attempt. Mora had earned the penalty moments earlier when he went into the box after a headed pass from Niezgoda but was pushed down from behind by a Vancouver player. Referee Ramy Touchan made no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

90+3' - SAVE (POR) - Ivacic came out to his left to cut down the angle on Vancouver's White who was racing in attempting a sharp-angled shot.

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The Portland Timbers continue their homestand on July 23 when the host the San Jose Earthquakes at Providence Park (7:30pm PT, TICKETS, FOX 12 PLUS).

Notes

• Portland extended its unbeaten run to six matches (3-0-3), dating back to June 18, 2022.
• The Timbers have converted a penalty kick in five straight games, an all-time MLS record. No other team has converted a penalty kick in more than three straight matches in league history.
• Four different players have taken a penalty kick for the Timbers in their five straight matches with an attempt goal (Asprilla, Blanco, Mora, Moreno (2)).
• Portland has recorded a goal in seven straight matches. 
• The Timbers have outscored their opponents 12-5 in the unbeaten run, with goals from six different players (Asprilla, Blanco, Y. Chara, Mora, Moreno, Niezgoda).
• Portland sits at the top of the Cascadia Cup standings (2-0-1, 7 pts), remaining unbeaten in all three matches played against Cascadia rivals Vancouver and Seattle this season. 
• Mora scored his first goal of the season in his fifth appearance, becoming the 10th different player to score for Portland in the 2022 campaign.
• The penalty kick attempt was the second of Mora’s MLS career. He has converted both of attempts.
• Aljaz Ivacic made a career-high six saves in the match.
• Diego Chara posted a 95% passing accuracy rate on 92 total passes tonight, a team high this season. 
• Portland led the match with 2.34 expected goals.
• The Timbers held a 65.3% possession rate through the match over Vancouver. 
• Sebastián Blanco will be unavailable next match due to yellow card accumulation.

Portland Timbers (6-6-9, 27 pts) vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (7-9-5, 26 pts)
July 17, 2022 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Scoring Summary:
VAN: White (Raposo), 32
POR: Mora (penalty kick), 82

Misconduct Summary:
POR: Van Rankin (caution), 43
VAN: Cavallini (caution), 46
VAN: Raposo (caution), 48
POR: Zuparic (caution), 84
POR: Blanco (caution), 90

Lineups:
POR: GK Ivacic, D Van Rankin (Tuiloma, 72), D Mabiala (McGraw, 82), D Zuparic, D Bravo, M D. Chara ©, M Paredes (Mora, 72), M Y. Chara (Ayala, 82), M Moreno (Loría, 63), M Blanco, F Niezgoda

Substitutes Not Used: GK Bingham, D Bonilla, F Asprilla, F Fogaça

TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Blanco, Niezgoda, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (five players tied, 1); FOULS: 10 (Van Rankin, 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 6

VAN: GK Boehmer, D Nerwinski, D Veselinovic, D Blackmon, M Raposo (Brown, 78), M Cubas, M Gauld, M Teibert © (Baldisimo, 59), F Dajome (Ricketts, 78), F Cavallini (Godinho, 66), F White

Substitutes Not Used: GK Anchor, D Godinho, D Jungwirth, M Alexandre, M Owusu, M Vite

TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (White, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (White, 3); FOULS: 15 (Cavallini, 5); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 4

Referee: Ramy Touchan
Assistant Referees: Chris Wattam, Matthew Welson
Fourth Official: Elijio Arreguin
VAR: Ismail Elfath
Attendance: 24,337
Weather: Mostly sunny, 73 degrees

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial