Portland Timbers Development Update: April 2, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Timbers Academy teams earned a collective 2-1-1 record recently in matches against Santa Cruz Breakers and De Anza Force at the adidas Timbers Training Center. The home games wrapped up a stretch of four consecutive home matches for the teams.

The Timbers U-18s (9-9-3, 30pts) went unbeaten over the weekend, opening with a 2-1 win over Santa Cruz Breakers U-18s on March 29. Portland then came back from two goals down at halftime to draw 2-2 against De Anza Force U-18s on March 30.

Against Santa Cruz, the Timbers U-18s conceded the opening goal for the first time in three matches, just on the stroke of halftime. However, the Timbers U-18s responded immediately after the break through Peter Prescott’s (Vancouver, Wash.) equalizer in the 48th minute, his second goal in as many games. Samuel Werner (Beaverton, Ore.) also scored for a second consecutive game to give the Timbers U-18s the win with a 66th-minute strike.

De Anza U-18s were off the mark quickly to open the scoring in the second minute. Portland faced an uphill battle in the second half when De Anza doubled its lead just before the interval in the 45th minute. The Timbers U-18s showed their character in the second half to turn things around. Portland has not been shutout for four straight matches and started its comeback in the 72nd minute with Anthony Macchione (Camas, Wash.) scoring his team-leading 12th goal of the season. The Timbers U-18s tied the game late when Ben White (Tigard, Ore.) scored in the 86th minute. Despite pushing for a winning goal, time expired with the score locked at 2-2, which kept De Anza from moving to the top of the Western Conference. With the draw, the Timbers remain in fifth place in the table, just four points back of the final wildcard slot for the playoffs.

The Timbers U-16s (5-8-8, 23pts) split their results over the weekend, starting with a 3-0 win over Santa Cruz Breakers U-16s on March 29. The team played De Anza Force U-16s close, but fell 1-0 on a second-half goal the following day.

Nick Evans (Troutdale, Ore.) opened the scoring for Portland in the seventh minute against the Breakers U-16s, netting his team-leading eighth goal of the season. Samuel Kirby (Tigard, Ore.) doubled the advantage in the 58th minute and Joe Corner (Salem, Ore.) scored his first goal of the year in the 75th to cap off the 3-0 victory.

Against De Anza’s U-16s, the Timbers U-16s came close to securing a lead in the opening minutes, with one chance cleared off the line and another striking the crossbar. De Anza scored midway through the second half to secure all three points and deal the Timbers U-16s their first shutout loss since Nov. 2013. The Timbers U-16s are currently in sixth place in the Western Conference.

The Timbers Academy teams return to play April 27 on the road against the San Jose Earthquakes Academy.