MLS CUP MATCH RECAP | Portland Timbers lose on penalties to New York City FC in MLS Cup

PORTLAND, Ore. – Despite an heroic performance in front of a raucous, sellout home crowd that saw a stoppage time goal from forward Felipe Mora to force extra time, the Portland Timbers lost 4-2 on penalties to New York City FC at Providence Park Saturday afternoon.

• MATCHCENTER: Stats and Boxscore

Match Moments

26' - CHANCE (POR) - Midfielder Sebastián Blanco worked down the left side and chipped a cross to the back post for forward Felipe Mora. Mora's shot was blocked with the rebound falling to Blanco again on the left but his cross was poked out for a corner.

41' - GOAL (NYC) - The Timbers went down 1-0 late in the first half when an NYC free kick found Valentín Castellanos on the far post. He guided his header down that goalkeeper Steve Clark got a hand to but the ball rolled frustratingly back to the near post and in.

45+1' - CHANCE (POR) Moments before halftime, Blanco found himself with space in the left channel and let fly a dipping shot that went narrowly wide of the left post.

50' - SAVE (POR) - On an NYC free kick from Maxi Moralez, Clark sprang to his right to tip over the bar a curling shot.

58' - SAVE (POR) - Clark again kept things close when he denied a sharp-angled shot from NYC's Jesús Medina on the right side.

69' - CHANCE (POR) - Defender Josecarlos Van Rankin came down the right side before crossing a ball to the middler that Mora spun and shot towards goal. The ball was deflected and then saved by NYC goalkeeper Sean Johnson.

82' - CHANCE (POR) - A Yimmi Chara free kick from 35 yards out threaded through the New York defense for Mora but his close-range shot was saved by Johnson.

87' - CHANCE (POR) - Portland kept pushing late. Claudio Bravo lofted a ball from the left side that Mora found near the penalty area but his header went over the bar.

90+4' - GOAL (POR) - In a last gasp attack, a deflected shot from Jaroslaw Niezgoda bounced around in the box before falling to an open Mora on the back post who calmly slotted it past Johnson to tie the game at 1-1 and force extra time.

101' - CHANCE (POR) - Portland pushed forward with Yimmi Chara racing down the left channel. He played the ball forward to Niezgoda who then tapped it back to Chara. Chara squared it for Diego Valeri in the middle but his shot went high.

112' - CHANCE (POR) - The Timbers counter attacked forward after a nice save by Clark and defensive clearance. Valeri played the ball to his right to Paredes who curled a shot on frame forcing a diving save from New York's Johnson.

PENALTIES

NYC - Castellanos - GOAL (left side)
POR - Mora - SAVE (left side)
NYC - Morales - SAVE (right side)
POR - Valeri - SAVE (left side)
NYC - Moralez - GOAL (right side)
POR - Moreno - GOAL (left side)
NYC - Magno - GOAL (right side)
POR - Paredes - GOAL (middle)
NYC - Callens - GOAL (middle)

MLS Cup 2021 
Portland Timbers vs. New York City FC
Dec. 11, 2021 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Scoring Summary: 
NYC: Castellanos (Moralez), 41
POR: Mora, 90+4

Shootout Summary
1 NYC: Castellanos – Goal
1 POR: Mora – Save
2 NYC: Morales – Save
2 POR: Valeri – Save
3 NYC: Moralez – Goal
3 POR: Moreno – Goal
4 NYC: Magno – Goal
4 POR: Paredes – Goal
5 NYC: Callens - Goal

Misconduct Summary:
POR: Van Rankin (caution), 59
NYC: Rodríguez (caution), 80
NYC: Johnson (caution), 88
POR: D. Chara (caution), 90
NYC: Medina (caution), 90+1

Lineups:
POR: GK Clark, D Van Rankin (Valeri, 89), D Mabiala, D Zuparic, D Bravo, M Fochive (Paredes, 62), M D. Chara, M Blanco (Moreno, 62), Y. Chara, M Asprilla (Niezgoda, 84), F Mora

Substitutes Not Used: GK Ivacic, D Tuiloma, D Bonilla, D McGraw, M Loria

TOTAL SHOTS: 19 (Mora, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Mora, Paredes, 2); FOULS: 16 (D. Chara, 6); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 6

NYC: GK Johnson, D Chanot, D Callens, D Thórarinsson (Amundsen, 90+1), D Gray, M Sands, M Morales, M Moralez, M Medina (Magno, 90+5), M Rodríguez (Tajouri-Shradi, 80), F Castellanos

Substitutes Not Used: GK Barraza, M Rocha, M Zelalem, M Acevedo, F Thiago, F Heber

TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Castellanos, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Moralez, 2); FOULS: 18 (Castellanos, 4); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 4

Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees: Frank Anderson, Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho
4th Official: Fotis Bazakos
VAR: Chris Penso
AVAR: Cory Richardson
Attendance: 25,218
Weather: Rain, 46 degrees

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.

Notes:

• Portland appeared in its third MLS Cup final in seven seasons (2015, 2018, 2021).
• Saturday's match was the fourth final the Timbers have played in since becoming a club in 1975 (1975 Soccer Bowl, 2015, 2018, 2021 MLS Cup Final).
• It marked the Timbers first time hosting MLS Cup after playing on the road in 2015 against Columbus Crew SC and Atlanta United FC in 2018.
• Portland is the 10th team in league history to reach MLS Cup three or more times.
• Over the club’s long history, the Timbers advanced to the semifinals of a competitive tournament for the 13th time as a club this year. Portland also accomplished the feat in the 1975 NASL Playoffs, the 1978 NASL Playoffs, 1989 WSL Playoffs, the 2007 USL Playoffs, the 2009 USL Playoffs, the 2013 U.S. Open Cup, the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs, the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, the 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs, the 2019 U.S. Open Cup and the MLS is Back Tournament in 2020, before this year.
• Steve Clark appeared in his second MLS Cup game. It was his first appearance with the Timbers in MLS Cup. Clark was the starting goalkeeper for Columbus Crew SC in 2015 against Portland.
• Sebastián Blanco and Larrys Mabiala made consecutive MLS Cup starts. Both started in MLS Cup 2018 against Atlanta United FC.
• Dairon Asprilla, Diego Chara and Diego Valeri are the only three players to appear in all three MLS Cup matches for Portland.
• Diego Chara is the only player to start in all three MLS Cup matches for the Timbers.
• Asprilla earned his first start in a MLS Cup. He appeared as a substitute in 2015 and 2018.
• Nine players made their MLS Cup debuts for Portland: Claudio Bravo, Dario Zuparic, Josecarlos Van Rankin, Yimmi Chara, George Fochive, Santiago Moreno, Cristhian Paredes, Felipe Mora and Jaroslaw Niezgoda.
• Mora scored the latest game-tying goal in MLS Cup history. The goal was Mora’s second of the 2021 playoffs. He scored in back-to-back postseason matches to conclude the campaign.
• Blanco, Mabiala and Mora each finished the postseason with two goals for Portland.
• Mabiala was the first Timbers defender to score twice in a single postseason, scoring against Minnesota in Round One and Colorado in the quarterfinals.
• In 2021, Portland outscored its opponents 7-2 in four playoff matches, including a margin of 6-2 at home.
• The match was the seventh meeting all-time between the Timbers and NYCFC across all competitions, and the first meeting since the quarterfinal round of the MLS is Back Tournament on Aug. 20, 2020.
• The Timbers won 17 games during the regular season, tied for the second-most in MLS in 2021 – as the top four teams in the Western Conference all won the same total of games, behind the New England Revolution’s total of 22. NYCFC won 14 games, tied for sixth-most in the league and second-most in the Eastern Conference.
• Portland won 11 games in league play at Providence Park in 2021 – tied for the second-most home victories in the league, behind the New England Revolution’s 12 home wins. The Timbers scored 35 goals in home games for the season, tied for second in MLS – behind only NYCFC’s total of 37.
• Today marked the first time Providence Park has hosted an MLS Cup final.
• Providence Park is the second stadium to host NASL Soccer Bowl and MLS Cup, joining RFK Stadium.
• Providence Park is the only stadium to host both an NWSL and MLS final.
• The 1977 Soccer Bowl at Providence Park also hosted a New York Team with the Cosmos defeating the Sounders, 2-1, in the last competitive match of Pele’s career.
• The only older stadium to host MLS Cup was the Rose Bowl (built in 1922) which hosted MLS Cup in 1998.
• Among MLB/NBA/NFL/NHL/MLS, the only older venues at the time of hosting their league championships are Fenway Park (106 years, 1912-2018) and Wrigley Field (102 years, 1914-2016).