OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Playing the first of two matches on the road in four days, T2 fell 2-1 to OKC Energy FC at Taft Stadium on Wednesday night.
After Energy FC (3-4-1, 10pts) took a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute from midfielder Daniel Gonzalez’s effort from close range, T2 (1-8-1, 4pts) equalized moments later following midfielder Victor Arboleda’s second goal of the 2017 USL season. Forward Augustine Williams slid a pass to Arboleda near the left edge of the penalty area, and his right-footed curling effort beat OKC goalkeeper Cody Laurendi past his far post in the 59th minute.
OKC scored the game-winning goal after defender Michael Daly got on the end of a cross and headed the ball past T2 goalkeeper Wade Hamilton in the 75th minute. Portland nearly equalized in stoppage time when defender Lamar Batista played a long pass that found midfielder Villyan Bijev outside the edge of the penalty area. Bijev’s looping shot from distance forced Laurendi into a save in the 93rd minute.
Searching for a goal in the first half, T2 created a number of scoring opportunities. In the 16th minute, midfielder Omar Mohamed drove past his defender along the touchline and ripped a left-footed shot that struck the far post. In the 28th minute, Arboleda sped past the OKC defense and fired a shot from distance that missed the target. After defender Rennico Clarke played a perfectly weighted ball to Arboleda inside the box, his one-time effort was saved by an onrushing Laurendi in the 41st minute.
Next up, T2 will travel to face Tulsa Roughnecks FC at ONEAK Field on Saturday, May 27; kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. (Pacific).
The May 27 match will also be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
On his overall thoughts on the match after today’s draw...
“I thought the first half was a decent performance. I thought it was a bit unfortunate not to get a goal out of that first-half performance. We came out in the second half and gave up a goal. I thought it was good from the team to get back in the game to tie it up at 1-1. I think we need to do a better job of managing those moments in the game where you’re playing away from home. You go down a goal, you find a way to fight back into and then you’ve got to be able to manage out the rest of the game to see it through. Even if you don’t get the victory, you’ve got to find a way to get out of there with one point.”
On the performance from midfielder Victor Arboleda after scoring a goal…
“I thought Victor was very dangerous today. It wasn’t an easy field for the wingers because it was so narrow. It wasn’t easy and he got himself into some decent spots. He was unlucky not to score a goal in the first half on his opportunity he had inside the box. He was dangerous for sure. I thought he did well tonight.”
On what the team can take away from this performance heading into the next match against OKC Energy FC…
“It’s never easy going out on the road to try and win games. It’s a tough one for the guys to stomach tonight because they, at times, did play well on the road. We played how we should play on the road. We have to try and turn it back around on Saturday and try to put a 90-minute performance. Their edges need to get roughened a bit to get them comfortable in those environments. We’ll have the same challenge against Tulsa. They’re a similar sort of team – they’re a little bit older, a little cagy and we’re going to have to match that. We’ll have to play the style of play we want to play and hopefully create some opportunities and score some goals.”
T2 (1-8-1, 4pts) vs. OKC Energy FC (3-4-1, 10pts)
May 24, 2017 – Taft Stadium (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 1 1
OKC Energy FC 0 2 2
Scoring Summary
OKC: Gonzalez, 55
POR: Arboleda (Williams), 59
OKC: Daly (Gonzalez), 75
Misconduct Summary
POR: Lewis (Caution), 24
POR: Arboleda (Caution), 44
OKC: Gonzalez (Caution), 90+2
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Hamilton, D Hanson (Bodily, 82), D Clarke, D Batista, D Bjornethun (Cicerone, 82), M Lewis, M Zemanski (Granitto, 46), M Mohamed, M Bijev ©, M Arboleda, F Williams
Substitutes Not Used: GK Herrera, D Amick, D Ornstil, M Lowe
TOTAL SHOTS: 8 (Arboleda, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Arboleda, 2); FOULS: 11 (Clarke, Mohamed, 2); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 2
OKC: GK Laurendi, D Harris, D Daly, D Wallace, D Hyland, M Dixon (Jackson, 79), M Guzman, M Gonzalez, M Barril (Dixon, 87) F Gonzalez, F Wojcik
Substitutes Not Used: GK Cochran, D Andrews, M Martinez, F Rasmussen
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Wojcik, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Four players tied, 1); FOULS: 7 (Seven players tied, 1); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 2
Referee: Calin Radosav
Assistant Referees: Shane Kennard, Tony Obas
4th Official: Eric Bares
Attendance: 3,910
Weather: Partly cloudy, 70 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
