PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing their first home game of the 2018 season, T2 registered a 3-2 win over Rio Grande Valley FC Toros at Merlo Field on Wednesday night. Three different players scored in the win for T2, with Jeremy Ebobisse and Foster Langsdorf each registering their second goals of the season, while midfielder Jack Barmby tallied his first goal of 2018.
Timbers on loan
Nine Portland Timbers players appeared for T2 in the home opener. Ebobisse made his sixth straight start of the season, while Victor Arboleda appeared in his fifth match in 2018. Timbers goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh made his fourth straight appearance. Defender Modou Jadama earned his sixth straight start. Midfielder Eryk Williamson made his fourth start of the season, while Langsdorf earned his third start of 2018. Midfielder Dairon Asprilla and defender Julio Cascante made their first starts of the USL campaign, each playing 45 minutes. Barmby came on as a second-half substitute, playing 45 minutes.
T2 against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros
With the win, T2 improved to 3-1-1 in five matches all-time against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, dating back to the start of the 2016 season.
T2 debut
Midfielder Darixon Vuelto made his T2 debut, logging five minutes as a second-half substitute.
Key plays
Rio Grande Valley FC took a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute when defender Omar Ontiveros’s header from close range beat McIntosh at his near post.
Searching for an equalizer, Barmby floated a cross from the right flank to Ebobisse, whose strong header flashed just past the post in the 50th minute.
T2 equalized in the 56th minute after Barmby’s cross from the right wing picked out Arboleda in the center of the six-yard box. Arboleda headed the ball into the path of Ebobisse, who powered a strong, volleyed attempt past RGVFC goalkeeper Nicolas Corti at his near post.
After being fouled inside the box by Toros defender Conor Donovan, Barmby stepped up to the penalty spot and slotted his finish into the lower corner of the net in the 61st minute.
Portland scored the game-winning goal in the 68th minute when second-half substitute Terrell Lowe delivered a cross from the left wing that Langsdorf headed into the back of the net from very close range. The finish marked Langsdorf’s second consecutive match with a goal scored.
The Toros made it a 3-2 game after midfielder Todd Wharton converted a penalty kick attempt in the 81st minute.
Next Game
Next up, Portland continues a three-match homestand when it plays host to Reno 1868 FC at Merlo Field on Saturday, April 21. Beginning at 7 p.m. (Pacific), the match against Reno 1868 FC will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Cameron Knowles
Overall thoughts on the win in the home opener…
“It was an important win. We needed a win at home and when we look back at the result, three points at home is good and important. We were disappointed to come into halftime down a goal but the response from the players in the second half was outstanding. I thought we lacked a little bit of discipline toward the end that saw the game become more interesting than it needed to be.”
On the solid start to the season…
“It’s good; we’ve started well and I think that if you go and ask everyone in that locker room they’ll say we should have started better. The standard that we want to set for ourselves is high. We have high expectations for this team and for the individuals in the locker room. The players have high expectations of themselves and for each other. We need to take care of games at home. We managed to get some points on a difficult road swing, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves.”
On having first-team players available for the home game…
“The support that we get from the first team is unbelievable, Gio has been incredible with that. The support has been really important to us. Having those players available and providing them with an environment where we can give them minutes is valuable for both sides. It helps us in terms of putting out a really good team and it helps them get time.”
T2 midfielder/forward Foster Langsdorf
On getting the win at home…
“I’m just so happy we won. I wasn’t too nervous about the debut at home just because I’m playing at home. It’s nothing out of the ordinary; I’ve played at Merlo Field before. This is a familiar environment, especially when you have the Timbers fans yelling at the other players and not at you. I love playing at home.”
On the transition from college to the USL…
“I wouldn’t say I’m adjusted yet, because I’m always so excited. I’m having a lot of fun right now, I don’t want that feeling to go away. I want to always want to go out to practice and be excited to train with the team.”
T2 (3-2-1, 10pts) vs. Rio Grande Valley FC Toros (0-3-2, 0pts)
April 18, 2018 – Merlo Field (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 3 3
Rio Grande Valley FC 1 1 2
Scoring Summary:
RGV: Ontiveros (Wharton), 30
POR: Ebobisse, 56
POR: Barmby, (Penalty kick), 61
POR: Langsdorf (Lowe), 68
RGV: Wharton (Penalty kick), 81
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Batista (Caution), 22
RGV: Padilla (Caution), 33
RGV: Zaldivar (Caution), 42
RGV: Etim (Caution), 45+2
POR: Barmby (Caution), 76
POR: Batista (Caution), 90+2
RGV: Zaldivar (Caution), 90+4
Lineups:
POR: GK McIntosh, D Mulligan, D Cascante (Lowe, 45), D Jadama, D Batista, M Zambrano, M Williamson, M Asprilla (Barmby, 45), M Langsdorf (Vuelto, 85), M Arboleda, F Ebobisse
Substitutes Not Used: GK Mangels, M Lewis, M Loría, F Williams
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Ebobisse, Zambrano, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Three players tied, 1); FOULS: 18 (Batista, Ebobisse, 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 3
RGV: GK Corti, D Padilla (Greene, 74), D Conovan, D Ontiveros, D Adams, M Wright, M Wharton, M Perea, M Etim (Garza, 56), M Zaldivar, F Delgado (Jones, 83)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Sanchez, D Castellanos, M Aguilar, M Enriquez
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Delgado, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Five players tied, 1); FOULS: 14 (Wharton, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 0
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Assistant Referees: Seth Martin, Andrew Marihart
4th Official: Justin St. Pierre
Attendance: 1,748
Weather: Partly cloudy, 58 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
