MERIDIAN, Idaho – Playing their first-ever match in Idaho, T2 defeated Swope Park Rangers 2-1 in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,352 fans at Rocky Mountain High School in Meridian, Idaho, on Saturday night. Midfielders Neco Brett and Victor Arboleda both found the back of the net, while T2 recorded consecutive wins for the first time this season.
Outshooting Swope Park Rangers 6-1 in the first half, T2 (5-6-1, 16pts) opened the scoring in the 27th minute when Brett drove his free kick strike through the Swope Park wall and into the upper side netting to build an early 1-0 lead for Portland. Brett’s finish was his fourth in the last five matches.
In the second half, Arboleda, who entered the match as 66th-minute substitute, scored his second career goal for T2 in the 70th minute. After receiving a through ball from Brett from the left side, Arboleda continued his charging run toward the penalty spot before calmly placing his shot past the goalkeeper to build a 2-0 lead for T2.
Late in the second half, Rangers (3-5-2, 11pts) cut Portland’s lead to one goal when forward Mark Gonzalez lofted his shot over an outstretched Kendall McIntosh in the 85th minute.
Next week, T2 return to Merlo Field on the campus of the University of Portland to host San Antonio FC on Saturday, June 11; kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (Pacific).
Single-game tickets for T2 home games are available at the Providence Park box office, online at www.timbers2.com, and on game day at the venue box office.
Saturday’s match will also be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.
Postgame Quotes
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
Overall thoughts on the match…
“I thought we had some good play. In the first half, we did some decent stuff. Second half, it kind of broke down a little bit. The conditions were a little difficult for both teams and the game wasn’t pretty in the second half for any team, but we’re happy to get the result.”
On recent form of Neco Brett…
“He’s getting in good spots. He understands more of our system. He’s a talented player, he thinks more and he’s making quick decisions. He stepped up and hit a free kick and played a nice through ball to Victor [Arboleda] on the last goal. We’re really pleased with how he’s moving along.”
On Victor Arboleda scoring…
“It’s his first game back in a while. It was good to get him involved. Obviously, he impacted the game and he was effective with his pace. He did exactly what we wanted him to do, which was to get behind the their backline and finish. It was well rewarded for Victor and what he put in.”
On playing in Idaho…
“It was good. It was nice to have some buzz around the game. The fans turned out which was good, but I’m not surprised that the people of Boise would turn out for this game. I thought it was a good situation and having the young boys, Blake [Bodily] and Terrell [Lowe], involved as well was exciting for everyone and it was good to see a pathway to young players here in Boise who develop and get somewhere with their game. Terrell and Blake are a great example of that right now.”
T2 midfielder Neco Brett
On scoring a free kick in the first half…
“Well, it feels really good. At first, I wanted to curl it around the wall to the near post but I saw they made a gap in the wall, so I just decided that I would go straight through.”
On tallying an assist…
“It was good for Victor [Arboleda] to get a goal in his first game back. I know his style of play, so I played a ball through to him, he ran onto it and he did well to finish.”
T2 midfielder Blake Bodily
On playing in his hometown…
“It was awesome. I was just glad to get an opportunity to play here and to play 90 minutes. It was an exciting game, we got the win and I couldn’t have asked for more. I heard my name being yelled from the crowd a few times. It kind of got me excited. It gave me some goose bumps.”
On being featured in the starting lineup…
“It was awesome. In the last two games, I’ve been coming off the bench, so to get the start tonight meant a lot.”
On playing for T2…
“Ever since I’ve been with T2, it’s been awesome. Day in and day out, playing against bigger and stronger people has helped me and my development.”
T2 (5-6-1, 16pts) vs. Swope Park Rangers (3-5-2, 11pts)
June 4, 2016 – Rocky Mountain High School (Meridian, Idaho)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 1 1 2
Swope Park Rangers 0 1 1
Scoring Summary
POR: Brett, 27
POR: Arboleda (Brett), 70
SPR: Gonzalez, 80
Misconduct Summary
POR: Gallagher, 55
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK McIntosh, D Lowe, D Morley, D Gallagher, D Thoma (Palacios, 87), M Besler ©, M Casiple, M Bijev (Arboleda, 66), M Brett, F Bodily, F Polk
Substitutes Not Used: GK Luthy, M Duarte, M Idowu, F Meva
TOTAL SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 8; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3
SPR: GK Lubin, D VanCompernolle (Selbol, 70), D Didic, D Myer, D Mulligan (Grant, 86), M Duke ©, M Ualefi (Ballo, 74), M Olivera (Granitto, 83), F Salloi (Tyrpak, 59), F Gonzalez, F Pasher
Substitutes Not Used: GK Kempin, F Little
TOTAL SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 6; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 1
Referee: Tyler Ploeger
Assistant Referees: Joshua Haimes, Jason Hutchinson
4th Official: Adam Sanchez
Attendance: 4,352
Weather: Sunny, 87 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
