NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Forward Jaroslaw Niezgoda earned a penalty and scored the game-tying goal as the Portland Timbers fought back for a 2-2 draw on the road against Nashville SC Sunday evening at GEODIS Park. The draw extended Portland's unbeaten streak to four matches.
- MATCHCENTER: Stats and Boxscore
Forward Dairon Asprilla tallied his third goal of the season with a key penalty kick in the 64th mintue.
Match Moments
19' - GOAL (NSH) - Nashville took a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute when midfielder Sean Davis scored off a 20-yard shot from just outside the box.
21' - CHANCE (POR) - Defender Claudio Bravo, tucked into the middle, drove forward and hit a low shot that was wide of the right post.
26' - CHANCE (POR) - Off a Portland throw-in deep in Nashville's end, the ball came out to Yimmi Chara who then sprang Bravo into the area but his left-footed shot was just wide of the near post.
40' - CHANCE (POR) - Bravo dribbled to the endline before cutting it back to Santiago Moreno at the penalty spot. Moreno nailed his shot on frame only to have Nashville goalkeeper Elliot Panicco dive back across the face of goal to deny what would have been a sure goal.
42' - SAVE (POR) - Nashville's Luke Haakenson came down the right side, made a few stepovers, and hit a low shot on target that goalkeeper David Bingham got down low to make the save.
57' - GOAL (POR) - Hany Mukhtar doubled Nashville's lead when he scored off a pass from Haakenson to make it 2-0 in the 57th minute.
64' - PK GOAL (POR) - Dairon Asprilla pulled a goal back for the visitors via a penalty kick attempt in the 64th minute rifling his shot past a diving Panicco. The penalty came about when Jaroslaw Niezgoda pounced on a loose Nashville defensive back pass to Panicco. As Niezgoda tried to go around the goalkeeper, Panicco stretched out and hauled him down, with referee Armando Villarreal quickly pointing to the spot for Portland.
66' - CHANCE (POR) - Moments later, Asprilla was atop the box and hit a a low shot that was deflected inches from the left post.
69' - GOAL (POR) - Five minutes after their first goal, Portland leveled the score with a great attack forward. Eryk Williamson, who came on at half, drove forward with space in the middle before rolling a perfectly weighted pass for Niezgoda to run on to and hit into the upper corner of the net, tying the game at 2-2.
90+2' - CHANCE (POR) - Midfielder Marvin LorÃa nearly had the game winner when he unleashed a laser from 30 yards out that skimmed just off the crossbar.
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The Portland Timbers next play their biggest rival when they travel to face Seattle Sounders FC in a Cascadia Cup showdown on Saturday, July 9 (1:30pm PT, FOX).
Notes
- Portland is unbeaten in its last four matches (2-0-2).
- The Timbers have scored multiple goals in three consecutive matches.
- Portland has scored 29 goals this season, which is third-most in the Western Conference.
- Five different players (Asprilla, Blanco, Niezgoda, Moreno, Y. Chara) have scored at least one goal for Portland during its unbeaten run.
- Dairon Asprilla scored his third goal of the season and the 20th of his Timbers career.
- Asprilla became the sixth player to reach three or more goals this season for Portland (Moreno, Blanco, Y. Chara, Niezgoda, Tuiloma). The Timbers are one of just two teams (New York City FC) in the league with six players that have tallied three or more goals this season.
- Asprilla is the sixth player in the club’s MLS era to reach the 20-goal mark, which ranks as the sixth-most for the Timbers in MLS.
- With his goal, Asprilla is one of five players in Portland’s MLS era with at least 20 goals and 10 assists (Diego Valeri, Fanendo Adi, Blanco, Darlington Nagbe).
- Asprilla converted his sixth career penalty kick. He has converted all six of his attempts.
- Jaroslaw Niezgoda tallied his team-leading sixth goal in the match.
- Niezgoda has three goals in his last three matches for Portland.
- Eryk Williamson registered his fifth assist of the season.
- Williamson has two assists in his last three matches and five assists in his last seven games.
- Williamson’s five assists this season ties his career-high, which he set back during the 2020 season.
- Today’s match against Nashville was just the second all-time meeting between the two teams and the first match between the two sides in Nashville. Portland is 1-0-1 in the two meetings, earning a 1-0 win in the first meeting between the two sides in 2020.
Portland Timbers (5-6-8, 23pts) vs. Nashville SC (7-5-6, 27pts)
July 3, 2022 – GEODIS Park (Nashville, Tenn.)
Scoring Summary:Â
NSH: Davis (Leal), 19
NSH: Mukhtar (Haakenson), 57
POR: Asprilla (penalty kick), 64
POR: Niezgoda (Williamson), 69
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Ayala (caution), 29
POR: McGraw (caution), 51
NSH: Zimmerman (caution), 77
Lineups:
POR: GK Bingham, D Van Rankin, D Mabiala, D McGraw, D Bravo, M Y. Chara (Williamson, 46), M Ayala (Fochive, 90+1), M Moreno, M Blanco © (LorÃa, 65), M Asprilla (Zuparic, 90+1), F Niezgoda (Mora, 80)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Ivacic, D Bonilla, D Rasmussen, F FogaçaÂ
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Blanco, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Five players tied, 1); FOULS: 13 (McGraw, Moreno, 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 7
NSH: GK Panicco, D Lovitz, D Romney, D Zimmerman, D Miller, M McCarty © (Anunga, 82), M Mukhtar, M Haakenson (Maher, 74), M Davis, F Leal (Bunbury, 82), F Sapong (Loba, 74)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Willis, GK Meyer, D Bauer, D Washington, F Zubak
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Mukhtar, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Mukhtar, 3); FOULS: 8 (Lovitz, 2); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 3
Referee: Armando Villareal
Assistant Referees: Logan Brown, Walt Heatherly
Fourth Official: Matt Thompson
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
Attendance: 28,387
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 79 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
