Timbers stump San Jose 2-0 in Leagues Cup debut at Providence Park

Portland hosts LIGA MX side Tigres UANL on July 26.

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers opened Leagues Cup 2023 with a 2-0 victory against the San Jose Earthquakes at Providence Park on Saturday night. Evander put Portland on the board with a first-half goal and Felipe Mora sealed the win with his first goal of the year in the final minutes of the match. The Timbers will host LIGA MX side Tigres UANL for their second match of the tournament on Wednesday, July 26 at 8 p.m. (Pacific).

Leagues Cup 2023:Leagues Cup 2023 kicked off this weekend with 47 teams from the two top-tier leagues in North America. The inaugural edition will see 18 LIGA MX teams and 29 MLS teams compete in a World Cup-style tournament from July 21 - August 19, 2023. The champion and the second and third-place finishers will qualify for the Concacaf Champions League and have an opportunity to earn a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup. Playing in West 1 for the group stage round, the Timbers, San Jose Earthquakes and Tigres UANL will compete for the top two spots in the group to advance to the Knockout Stage Round of 32.

Goal Scorers:Evander scored the team’s first goal of the tournament and his sixth across all competitions in 2023. His six goals this year are tied for the team lead with Franck Boli. In just his fifth appearance since returning from a long-term knee injury, Felipe Mora recorded his first goal since July 17, 2022 – a penalty kick against Vancouver Whitecaps FC – and his first goal in the run of play since the 2021 MLS Cup against New York City FC on December 11, 2021. It marked Mora’s 24^th career goal with Portland across all competitions.

Goal-Scoring Plays:
POR – Evander (Jaroslaw Niezgoda), 33rd minute: Receiving the ball with his back to goal just outside of the box, Jaroslaw Niezgoda laid off a one touch pass centrally for Evander, who took one touch and curled a right-footed shot from distance into the upper-right corner of the net.

POR – Felipe Mora (Marvin Loría), 86th minute: At the top of the center circle, Marvin Loría settled the ball off his thigh and volleyed it forward and through two San Jose defenders. Felipe Mora ran into the box, beating the two defenders to the ball and slotted a shot inside of the right post.

Notes

• Evander scored the team’s first goal of the tournament and his sixth across all competitions in 2023. 
• Evander’s six goals in 2023 are tied for the team lead with Franck Boli. 
• In just his fifth appearance since returning from a long-term knee injury, Felipe Mora recorded his first goal since July 17, 2022 – a penalty kick against Vancouver Whitecaps FC – and his first goal in the run of play since the 2021 MLS Cup against New York City FC on December 11, 2021. 
• It marked Mora’s 24^th career goal across all competitions.
• Jaroslaw Niezgoda and Marvin Loría each recorded their second assists across all competitions in 2023. 
• In three non-league matches this season (including Open Cup), Niezgoda has tallied two goals and two assists. 
• The Timbers recorded their eighth clean sheet across all competitions in 2023. 
• Goalkeeper David Bingham recorded his sixth clean sheet in his 10th appearance of the year. 
• Bingham has kept five clean sheets in his last seven appearances across all competitions for Portland.
• Tonight’s match marked the 35th meeting between Portland and San Jose across all competitions dating back to the 2011 MLS season. 
• Portland leads the all-time series against San Jose with a mark of 19-6-10 across all competitions. 
• The Timbers are unbeaten at home against the Earthquakes (15-0-4) across all competitions since 2011.
• Head coach Giovanni Savarese has a 10-2-3 record in all competitions against San Jose since taking the Timbers’ helm in 2018.

Next GameThe Timbers will play their second group stage Leagues Cup match on Wednesday, July 26, hosting Tigres UANL at Providence Park. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (Pacific) and will feature a national broadcast on FS1 and UniMás with streaming available 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. San Jose Earthquakes – Leagues Cup 2023 – West Group 1
July 22, 2023 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Scoring Summary:
POR: Evander (Niezgoda), 33
POR: Mora (Loría), 86

Misconduct summary:
SJ: Gruezo (caution), 35
POR: Paredes (caution), 45+2

Lineups:
POR: GK Bingham, D Mosquera, D Zuparic, D McGraw, D Bravo, M D. Chara ©, M Paredes, M Evander, M Asprilla (Moreno, 78), M Y. Chara (Loría, 58), F Niezgoda (Mora, 58)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Ivacic, GK Sulte, D Araujo, D Miller, D Mabiala, D Rasmussen, M Blanco, M Caliskan, F Fogaça

TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Evander, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (five players tied, 1); FOULS: 12 (Asprilla, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 0, SAVES: 3

SJ: GK Daniel, D Trauco, D Beason, D Rodrigues, M Cowell (Bouda, 84), M Yueill, M Gruezo, M Akapo, F Skahan, F Ebobisse, F Espinoza (Kikanovic, 84)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Marcinkowski, D Marie, D Thompson, D Mensah, D Munie, M Cilley, M Baldisimo, M Tsakiris

TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (four players tied, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Ebobisse, 2); FOULS: 9 (Tsakiris, 2); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 2

Referee: Victor Alfonso Cáceres Hernández
Assistant Referees: William Arrieta, Jose Da Silva
Fourth Official: Victor Rivas
VAR: Luis Enrique Santander Aguirre
Attendance: 21,137