PORTLAND, Ore. – After playing their first three matches on the road to open the 2012-13 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season, the Portland Timbers Academy teams play their first home matches this weekend as they play host to Real So Cal on Saturday and Arsenal FC on Sunday at the adidas Timbers Training Center.
On Saturday, the U-16s kick off against Real So Cal at 1 p.m. (Pacific), while the U-18s kick off at 3:30 p.m. (Pacific). On Sunday against Arsenal FC, the U-18s kick off at 12 noon (Pacific) and the U-16s kick off at 2:30 p.m. (Pacific).
The Timbers U-18 Academy (0-2-1, 1pt) earned their first point and scored their first goal of the season in a 1-1 draw against Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders FC U-18 Academy on Sept. 22. Forward Christian Desir (Portland, Ore.) scored the Timbers U-18 Academy’s first-ever goal in the 13th minute off a corner kick by midfielder Gustavo Gonzalez (Beaverton, Ore.).
The Timbers U-16 Academy (1-0-2, 5pts) recently earned their first win of the season, defeating Sounders FC U-16 Academy 2-1 on Sept. 22. Midfielder Jesse Garcia-Aguilar (Hillsboro, Ore.) recorded the team’s first multiple-goal performance as the Timbers U-16s continued an unbeaten start to the campaign. Portland’s U-16s sit in second place behind the San Jose Earthquakes U-16 Academy in the Northwest Division.
Saturday’s matches will be the first of the season for Real So Cal, based in California’s San Fernando and Conejo Valley areas. Arsenal FC, based in Temecula, Calif., opened their season Sept. 22 against the LA Galaxy Academy, with the U-16s winning 2-1 and the U-18s losing 3-2. Real So Cal and Arsenal FC visit the Northwest on a two-match road trip this weekend and also will face the Seattle Sounders FC Academy teams.
Timbers U-16s forward Rubio Rubin nets winner for U.S. U-17s in ASG Cup opener
After going down a goal in the first half, the U.S. U-17 National Team rallied back for two goals, with the game-winner coming from Timbers U-16 Academy forward Rubio Rubin in the 77th minute, to open the ASG Cup in Spain with a 2-1 win over Morocco on Sept. 29.
Rubin, from Beaverton, Ore., also made substitute appearance in the U.S. U-17 National Team’s 2-0 win over United Arab Emirates on Sept. 30, helping the United States to a 2-0-0 record to start the tournament. Rubin has scored four goals for the U.S. U-17 National Team in 2012.
The U.S. U-17s continue ASG Cup play Tuesday against Azerbaijan, followed by matches Thursday against Canada and Saturday against Mexico.
Local Timbers U-23s players help college teams to hot start in conference play
Local Timbers U-23s products helped their respective college teams get off to great starts in conference play last week, as the University of Portland and Santa Clara University sit 2-0-0 in the West Coast Conference.
The University of Portland opened conference play Sept. 26 with a 4-1 win over Gonzaga, with Timbers U-23s players Ricardo Carrillo (Prineville, Ore.) and Steven Evans (Troutdale, Ore.) leading the way. Carrillo notched two goals while Evans netted his conference-leading seventh goal of the season in the victory. Two days later, Timbers U-23s goalkeeper Justin Baarts posted a shutout in the Pilots’ 1-0 win over San Francisco.
Timbers U-23s forward Erik Hurtado (Beaverton, Ore.) was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Monday, scoring two goals over the weekend to lead Santa Clara to a pair of victories. After scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 win over San Diego on Friday, Hurtado provided the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over Loyola Marymount on Sunday. He has scored four goals in the last three games and has found the back of the net in three straight matches for the Broncos.
Evans (7) and Hurtado (5) currently rank first and second, respectively, in the WCC in goals scored.
