PORTLAND, Ore. – In a special preview match in advance of the official reopening of the newly transformed Providence Park, T2 battled El Paso Locomotive FC to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night. Dairon Asprilla logged his team-leading fifth goal in his fourth appearance of the season.
T2 firsts
Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh made his first appearance of the 2019 USL Championship campaign, registering three saves. Max Ornstil made his first start of the season, logging 90 minutes of action.
Home form
In five home matches in 2019, T2 have only lost once, posting a 2-1-2 record at home thus far this season. Portland has scored eight of their 24 goals this season in home matches. Additionally, three of Asprilla’s five goals this season have come in home matches.
Providence Park soft-opening matches
With just one week remaining before the much-anticipated relaunch of Providence Park when the Portland Timbers play host to Los Angeles FC on Saturday, June 1, T2 played the first of two soft-opening matches in the draw against El Paso. T2 will next play host to Real Monarchs SLC on Wednesday, May 29, beginning at 7 p.m. (Pacific).
Key plays
In the 14th minute, Asprilla was first to Todd Wharton’s low corner-kick service into the box, but his shot was fired over the crossbar.
T2 took a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute after Foster Langsdorf was fouled inside the penalty area. Stepping up to the penalty spot, Asprilla had his shot saved by El Paso goalkeeper Logan Ketterer, before placing the rebounded effort into the roof of the net.
El Paso leveled the match at 1-1 just before halftime when Omar Salgado dribbled just outside the penalty area and placed his shot into the bottom corner in the 45th minute.
Portland nearly scored in the 65th minute after second-half substitute Cristian Ojeda received the ball and fired a curling shot from 20-yards out that hit the underside of the crossbar.
In the 83rd minute, Harold Hanson floated in a cross to the far post to Brayan Hurtado, but his header missed the target.
T2 nearly scored in the 90th minute when a loose ball fell outside the box to Ojeda, whose left-footed shot curled just past the far post.
Next game
Facing a quick turnaround, T2 will play host to Real Monarchs SLC at Providence Park on Wednesday, May 29. Beginning at 7 p.m. (Pacific), the match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 Head Coach Cameron Knowles
General thoughts on the match and returning to Providence Park…
“To play here in the stadium was incredible. I think the renovation is truly remarkable. So to have that opportunity was great for our guys. Obviously disappointing not to get the result, but I thought against a very good team, we did well. We had some really good moments where we defended well as a team and we created some good chances going the other way as well so while they had a lot of the possession, we restricted them to some half-chances and we did a very good job on the other end I thought.”
On Cristian Ojeda's performance...
“He had some quality moments, especially going forward, some good penetrating passes and a couple of good chances that he created. I know it's exciting for him to get some time and, again, we've been integrating him slowly and we hope that we can see more of him in the future."
On the upcoming fixture against Real Monarchs SLC...
"We said it a couple of weeks ago that every result is going to be very important in the Western Conference. A win can be the difference between six or seven places on the table, so it's good for us that we get the opportunity to come back again and play on Wednesday. We've got some disappointed guys in there that wanted to win this one, so they'll come out hungry and, hopefully, we can recover the group and see where everyone's at and put on a good performance on Wednesday."
T2 (5-2-4, 19pts) vs. El Paso Locomotive FC (4-2-5, 17pts)
May 25, 2019 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 1 0 1
El Paso 1 0 1
Scoring Summary:
POR: Asprilla, 41
ELP: Salgado (Contreras), 45+1
Misconduct Summary
ELP: N’Toko (caution), 31
ELP: Salgado (caution), 40
POR: Hanson (caution), 45+2
ELP: Contreras (caution), 52
POR: Asprilla (caution), 65
ELP: Kiffe (caution), 75
ELP: Jerome (caution), 90+2
Lineups:
POR: GK McIntosh, D Hanson, D Ornstil, D Jadama, D Farfan, M Wharton, M Anguiano, M Asprilla, M Loría (Ojeda, 57), M Hurtado, F Langsdorf (Calixtro, 84)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Lyon, D Miller, D Smith, M Kobayashi, F Sierakowski
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Hurtado,4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Asprilla, 2); FOULS: 19 (Asprilla, 5); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3
ELP: GK Ketterer, D Rebellón, D Beckie (Jerome, 66), D N’Toko, D Kiffe, M Herrera (Ryan, 76), M Monsalvez, M Salgado, M Contreras, M Ross (Fox, 90+2), F Kiesewetter
Substitutes Not Used: GK Fordah, M Rezende, F Partida, F Gómez
TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Salgado, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Salgado, 3); FOULS: 19 (Contreras, 5); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 1
Referee: Elijio Arreguin
Assistant Referees: Andrew Marihart, Ryan Jung
4th Official: Pawel Sojka
Attendance: 3,134
Weather: Rainy, 51 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
