Evander, Rodríguez and Mora become first trio in MLS history to each score at least 14 goals for one club in a single season
PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Timbers defeated the LA Galaxy 4-2 Wednesday night at Providence Park behind an Evander brace as well as goal and assist performances from Jonathan Rodríguez and Felipe Mora. Midfielder Santiago Moreno also tallied two assists.
Portland's goalscorers of Evander, Rodríguez and Mora became the first trio in MLS history to each score at least 14 goals for one club in a single regular season.
The win gives Portland a four-point cushion as it sits in eighth place in the West with five regular season matches left to play.
Evander’s MVP Campaign
Evander registered two goals and an assist in tonight’s match. It marked Evander’s second MLS brace and his first of this year. His 18 assists this season are tied with Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta for most in the league currently. Additionally, Evander’s 18 assists are the most in a single season by any Timbers player in club history. With 14 goals and 18 assists, Evander has the most goal contributions (32) in MLS currently. Thirty-two goal contributions for Evander ties the single-season club record set by Diego Valeri in 2017. Notably, Evander recorded a goal contribution in a 10th straight match, setting a new club record. Valeri previously held the record for consecutive appearances with a goal contribution (9 – 2017). Evander has tallied seven goals and 10 assists in his last 10 appearances.
El Tridente Hace Historia
The Timbers’ trident of Evander, Felipe Mora and Jonathan Rodríguez all scored their 14th goals of the season tonight, making them the first trio in MLS history to each score 14 or more goals in the same season. With a combined 42 goals scored, Evander, Mora and Rodríguez have scored more goals than 10 MLS teams this season. The trio has scored 70% of Portland’s goals in the 2024 campaign, helping the team reach 60 goals in a season for just the third time in club history. Portland’s 60 goals are the most scored in the Western Conference and second most in MLS behind Inter Miami CF (67).
Matchcenter
Goal-Scoring Plays
POR – Jonathan Rodríguez (Evander), 17th minute: Using his right foot, Evander lofted a ball from outside the left side of the box toward Jonathan Rodríguez, who dove to connect his head with the ball and redirect it into the near-post corner.
POR – Evander (Santiago Moreno), 39th minute: A give-and-go between Evander and Santiago Moreno in the attacking third ending back at the feet of the Brazilian midfielder, who took a touch to set up a low-driven, left-footed shot that found the bottom-right corner of the net.
LA – Gabriel Pec (Miguel Berry, Joseph Paintsil), 45+3 minute: After a sustained spell of possession on the right side of the box, Joseph Paintsil tapped the ball through to Miguel Berry, who played a through ball into the path of Gabriel Pec running into the box. The forward used his left foot to rocket a shot into the upper-center part of the net.
POR – Evander (Jonathan Rodríguez), 51st minute: After a quick one-two at the top of the box, Jonathan Rodríguez drove into the penalty area before being tackled. From the ground, the forward managed to poke the ball to Evander, who used his right foot to fire home a shot into the bottom-left corner of the net.
LA – Joseph Paintsil, 58th minute: Joseph Paintsil pounced on a shot taken by Gabriel Pec that deflected off the near post, using his right foot to fire home the rebound into the right side of the net.
POR – Felipe Mora (Antony, Santiago Moreno), 80th minute: Santiago Moreno threaded a ball down the left channel into the path of a charging Antony, who sent a floated cross toward Felipe Mora in the box. The Chilean used his chest to bring the ball down before using his right foot to rocket the ball into the center of goal.
Notes
- The Timbers (12-10-7, 43pts) sit in eighth place in the Western Conference standings.
- Portland took down the first-place team in the Western Conference tonight, snapping a seven-game winless streak against the Galaxy.
- The Timbers are unbeaten in 12 consecutive matches at Providence Park in all competitions (10-0-2).
- Portland’s 60 goals are the most scored in the Western Conference and second most in MLS behind Inter Miami CF (67).
- The Timbers have scored multiple goals in 21 of their 29 matches this season.
- Portland has scored 39 goals at home in the 2024 campaign, a new single-season club record.
- Evander (2) Felipe Mora and Jonathan Rodríguez each scored tonight, bringing all three of their season totals to 14 goals.
- The Timbers are the first team in MLS history to three players score 14 or more goals each in the same season.
- Evander registered two goals and an assist in tonight’s match.
- It marked Evander’s second MLS brace and his first of this year.
- Evander’s 18 assists this season are tied with Luciano Acosta for most in the league currently.
- Additionally, Evander’s 18 assists are the most in a single season by any Timbers player in club history.
- With 14 goals and 18 assists, Evander has the most goal contributions (32) in MLS currently.
- Thirty-two goal contributions for Evander ties the single-season club record set by Diego Valeri in 2017.
- Evander recorded a goal contribution in a 10th straight match, setting a new club record. Valeri previously held the record for consecutive appearances with a goal contribution (9 – 2017).
- Evander has tallied seven goals and 10 assists in his last 10 appearances.
- Santiago Moreno tallied two assists in the match to bring his season total to 13, ranking second best on the team behind Evander.
Next Game
The Timbers close out a three-match week away against Real Salt Lake on September 21 at America First Field. The match is set to kick off at 6:30pm PT and will be broadcast on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app in English and Spanish as well as local radio broadcasts on 750 The Game (English) and La GranD 1150AM/93.5 FM (Spanish).
Portland Timbers (12-10-7, 43pts) vs. LA Galaxy (16-7-7, 55pts)
September 18, 2024 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Scoring Summary:
POR: Rodríguez (Evander), 17
POR: Evander (Moreno), 39
LA: Pec (Berry, Paintsil), 45+3
POR: Evander (Rodríguez), 51
LA: Paintsil, 58
POR: Mora (Antony, Moreno), 80
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Zuparic (caution), 13
POR: Crépeau (caution), 45
LA: Brugman (caution), 45+2
POR: Ayala (caution), 52
LA: Yoshida (caution), 82
Lineups:
POR: GK Crépeau, D Miller, D Zuparic, D Araujo, D Mosquera (E. Miller, 85), M Chara ©, M Ayala (Williamson, 67), M Rodríguez (Antony, 79), M Evander, M Moreno, F Mora (Paredes, 85)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Pantemis, D Surman, D McGraw, F Loría, F Toye
TOTAL SHOTS: 22 (Evander, 10); SHOTS ON GOAL: 12 (Evander, 5); FOULS: 8 (Zuparic, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5, SAVES: 5
LA: GK McCarthy, D Nelson (Cuevas, 67), D Neal (Garces, 85), D Yoshida ©, D Yamane, M Brugman, M Delgado (Reus, 61), M Paintsil (Fagundez, 85), M Puig, M Pec, F Berry (Joveljic, 61)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Micovic, D Zavaleta, M Parente, M Lepley
TOTAL SHOTS: 24 (Puig, 8) SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Pec, 3); FOULS: 7 (Yoshida, Brugman, 2); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 8
Referee: Timothy Ford
Assistant Referees: Cory Richardson, Stefan Tanaka-Freundt
Fourth Official: Matthew Corrigan
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 23,165
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
