PORTLAND, Ore. –The Portland Timbers U-23s received second-half goals from midfielder Ivan Alvarado and forward Ben White in a 2-0 shutout win against Lane United FC to open the team’s 2015 PDL campaign in front of 4,921 fans in a Providence Health & Fitness Day match Thursday afternoon at Providence Park.
Following a scoreless first half, the Timbers U-23s (1-0-0, 3pts) opened the scoring in the 54th minute as Alvarado converted a rebound off a free kick from defender Dennis Castillo, giving Portland a 1-0 lead. Castillo’s initial free kick attempt was saved by Lane United FC goalkeeper Matt Bersano, but he redirected the ball into Alvarado’s path for the opening goal.
White, a former Timbers Academy standout, added a second goal for the Timbers U-23s with a sliding finish in the penalty box off a cross from midfielder Geoffrey Dee to give Portland the two-goal advantage in the 77th minute. White finished with a team-high five shots, while the Timbers U-23s registered eight shots on goal in the match.
Portland finished with a 16-12 advantage in total shots and goalkeeper Collin Partee, another former Timbers Academy standout, recorded two saves to help the Timbers U-23s register a clean sheet in the season-opening victory. Finding pockets of space against Lane United FC, the Timbers U-23s registered seven shots on goal in the final 45 minutes, while holding the visitors to just two shots on goal in the match. Attacking early in the first half, Dee saw a shot strike the crossbar in the sixth minute, while Castillo had a header cleared off the goal line in the 29th minute.
Lane United FC (0-0-1, 0pts) forward Timmy Mueller attempted a team-leading six shots, including a hard strike from close range that hit the near left post in the 74th minute.
The Timbers U-23s take to the road for their first away game of the season as they travel to square off against the Washington Crossfire at Redmond High School Stadium in Redmond, Wash., on Tuesday, May 19; kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific).
Scoring Summary:
POR: Alvarado (Castillo), 54
POR: White (Dee), 77
Misconduct Summary:
LUFC: Baldovi (Caution), 20
LUFC: de Luis (Caution), 23
LUFC: Pantoja (Caution), 32
POR: Dee (Caution), 61
Lineups:
POR: GK Collin Partee, D Devon Fisher, D Dewey Lewis, D Sheldon Sullivan, M Todd Wharton ©, M Greg Timmer (Baez, 85), M Josh Varon (Martinez, 45), F Ivan Alvarado (Kempf, 78), F Geoffrey Dee (Shaw, 86), F Ben White
Subs Not Used: GK Wilson, D Prescott, D Ballenger
LUFC: GK Matt Bersano ©, D Dirk Van der Velde (Anderson, 75), D Cristian de Luis, D Will Seymore, M Richi Hurtado, M Alex Pantoja (Gomez, 85), M Ismael Fernandez, F Timmy Mueller, F Cristian Cataluna (Jones, 57), M Casey ChubbFertal (Couto, 89), M Josep Baldovi (Stevens, 65)
Subs Not Used: GK Lowrimore, D Connolly
