PORTLAND, Ore. – Going down to 10 men in the 11th minute, the Portland Timbers lost 4-1 to Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the opening match of the 2025 MLS regular season Sunday at Providence Park. Midfielder Antony scored the lone goal for Portland in the 73rd minute. The Timbers will return home next weekend, hosting Austin FC on Saturday, March 1.
50th Anniversary Season
The Timbers kicked off its 15th MLS season and 50th club anniversary season today. Founded in 1975, the Timbers have been a beloved part of the Portland sports landscape since their early beginnings in the North American Soccer League, launching the era of “Soccer City USA” in the Rose City. Portland joined MLS as an expansion team in 2011, winning its first league championship in 2015.
Portland Debuts
Six new players debuted for the Green and Gold in today’s match. Jimer Fory, Kevin Kelsy and Joao Ortiz all started the match, while Portland’s newest Designated Player David Da Costa entered the match as a halftime substitute. MLS SuperDraft 2025 pick Ian Smith also made his professional debut, entering the match in the second half. MLS veteran and Portland newcomer Ariel Lassiter made his Timbers debut in the final minutes of the match.
Milestone Match
Starting in today’s match, Diego Chara logged his 400th MLS regular season appearance with the Timbers. He’s just the 13th player in league history to reach that milestone and the first to play all 400 with one club. Portland’s longest tenured player and captain has tallied 12 goals and 34 assists in his 15 seasons in Portland. Also in today’s starting eleven, Felipe Mora recorded his 100th appearance for the Timbers. The Chilean striker has notched 39 goals and 15 assists since joining the club in 2020.
Matchcenter
Goal-Scoring Plays
VAN – Ryan Gauld (Jayden Nelson), 24th minute: Jayden Nelson intercepted a pass and dribbled into the 18-yard box before playing a square pass to Ryan Gauld, who hit a left-footed shot into the middle of the goal.
VAN – Pedro Vite (Jayden Nelson), 32nd minute: Nelson played a give-and-go with Pedro Vite, who dribbled the ball to the top-right corner of the 18-yard box, finding space to strike a right-footed shot into the top-left corner of the goal.
VAN – Sam Adekugbe (Jayden Nelson), 53rd minute: Through a breakaway run, Nelson dribbled into the box and delivered a pass across the face of the goal. Sam Adekugbe tapped the ball into the back of the net.
VAN – Jayden Nelson, 61st minute: Nelson dribbled from near the midfield and towards the top of the 18-yard box. Once in the box, Nelson cut through the defense to hit a left-footed shot into the lower-left corner of the goal.
POR – Antony, 73rd minute: Near the top of the box, Kevin Kelsy attempted a shot that ricocheted off a ‘Caps defenseman. Antony found the loose ball near the six-yard box and fired a shot past Vancouver’s goalkeeper.
Next Game
Up next, the Timbers will host Austin FC on Saturday, March 1 at Providence Park. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm PT on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app in English and Spanish as well as local radio broadcasts, 750 The Game (English) and La GranD 1150AM/93.5 FM (Spanish).
Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
February 23, 2024 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Scoring Summary:
VAN: Gauld (Nelson), 24
VAN: Vite (Nelson), 32
VAN: Adekugbe (Nelson), 53
VAN: Nelson, 61
POR: Antony, 73
Misconduct Summary:
POR: K. Miller (ejection), 11
VAN: Cubas (caution), 37
POR: Fory (caution), 63
VAN: Gauld (caution), 89
Lineups:
POR: GK Crépeau, D Surman (Smith, 66), D McGraw, D K. Miller, M Antony (Lassiter, 86), M Ayala, M Chara ©, M Ayala (Da Costa, 46), M Ortiz (Paredes, 66), M Fory, F Mora (E. Miller, 37), F Kelsy
Substitutes Not Used: GK Pantemis, D Bravo, D Mosquera, F Guerra
TOTAL SHOTS: 6 (Kelsy, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Antony, Kelsy, 1); FOULS: 9 (Chara, 5); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 6
VAN: GK Takaoka, D Laborda, D Veselinovic, D Blackmon, D Adekugbe (Ocampo, 82), M Vite, M Cubas (Priso, 62), M Berhalter (Badwal, 82), M Gauld ©, F White (Chateau, 87), F Nelson (Ahmed, 62)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Boehmer, D Ahmed, D Johnson, D Halbouni, D Utvik, M Priso-Mbongue
TOTAL SHOTS: 23 (White, 5) SHOTS ON GOAL: 10 (Gauld, 3); FOULS: 15 (six players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 10; SAVES: 1
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistant Referees: Brooke Mayo, Justin Howard
Fourth Official: Ekaterina Koroleva
VAR: Kevin Stott
Attendance: 20,079
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
