Defender Tyler Clegg notches a brace
TUKWILA, Wash. – Timbers2 suffered a 5-2 defeat against Cascadia rival Tacoma Defiance on Sunday evening at Starfire Sports Stadium. Tyler Clegg netted a second half brace, but it wasn’t enough to help T2 take points away from its final trip to The Evergreen State this season. The result leaves Timbers2 in ninth place in the Western Conference with four regular season matches to play.
Clegg’s Big Night
Tyler Clegg became the sixth Timbers2 player to score at least twice in a game so far this MLS NEXT Pro Season. Now with three goals to his name, Clegg joins Blake Pope (2) and Sawyer Jura (2) as the only T2 defenders with multiple goals this season.
Notable Contributions
Both Blake Pope and Kyle Linhares added to their assist tallies Sunday night. Kyle Linhares now leads the current roster in assists with four, while Pope follows with three. Notably, Linhares leads the club with nine goal contributions (5G, 4A). The forward is one of three Timbers2 players with at least seven goal contributions, alongside Josh Penn and Tega Ikoba (6G, 1A).
A Look Ahead
Today’s defeat marked T2’s first road loss since its last trip to Starfire Sports Stadium on June 30. The club went 1-0-2 in its three away matches since, with the win coming against The Town FC on August 4. Timbers2 now have four games remaining on their schedule: home against LAFC2 (Sept. 14) and Ventura County FC (Sept. 17) and away against Real Monarchs (Sept. 29) and Colorado Rapids 2 (Oct. 6).
Goal-Scoring Plays
POR – Tyler Clegg (Blake Pope), 49th minute: Dribbling out of defense, Tyler Clegg raced toward the final third and lined up a right-footed strike in-stride outside the box that flew into the left side of the net.
TAC – Antino Lopez (Chris Aquíno), 67th minute: On a free kick taken from outside the left side of the box, Chris Aquíno delivered a curling ball to the back post that Antino Lopez headed down and into the right side of the net.
TAC – Braudílio Rodrigues (Burke Fahling), 79th minute: Using a quick give-and-go sequence to advance down the right, Burke Fahling eventually dribbled to the endline before cutting the ball back into the box, where Braudílio Rodrigues was waiting to fire a right-footed shot into the roof of the net.
TAC – Sebastian Gomez (Braudílio Rodrigues), 84th minute: Slipped into the box with a well-weighted pass, Braudílio Rodrigues dribbled through a crowd of defenders before squaring the ball to Sebastian Gomez at the back post, who used his left foot to tuck home a finish into the left side of the goal.
POR – Tyler Clegg (Kyle Linhares), 86th minute: Pouncing on a rebound inside the box, Kyle Linhares held the ball up before spotting Tyler Clegg at the top of the box. Without taking a touch, the defender used his right foot to pick out the near corner of the net.
TAC – Braudílio Rodrigues (Blake Bowen), 90+1 minute: A one-two passing sequence at the top of the box between Braudílio Rodrigues and Blake Bowen ended at the feet of the Portuguese forward, who used his right foot to finish into the right side of the goal.
TAC – Sebastian Gomez (Burke Fahling), 90+5 minute: Burke Fahling sent a lofted ball into the path of Sebastian Gomez, who headed it down before using his right foot to beat Ryan Bilichuk with a quick strike across goal that found the far corner.
Notes
- Tonight marked the third and final matchup between Timbers2 and Tacoma Defiance this regular season.
- T2 finished with a 1-2-0 record in the series, winning its home game 4-1 on May 10.
- The defeat snapped a three-match road unbeaten streak (1W, 2D), which dated back to the club’s previous match at Starfire Sports Stadium on June 30.
- With a brace, Tyler Clegg became the sixth Timbers2 player to net at least two goals in the same game so far this MLS NEXT Pro season.
- Clegg now leads all defenders in goals with three.
- Notably, he became the third Timbers2 defender to score multiple goals this season (Blake Pope – 2; Sawyer Jura – 2).
- Blake Pope’s assist on Clegg’s first goal marked his third of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season, and first since assisting in the club’s 5-2 win over Sporting Kansas City II on July 25.
- With his assist on Clegg’s second goal, Kyle Linhares notched his team-leading ninth goal contribution (5G, 4A).
- Three Timbers2 players now have at least seven goal contributions (Josh Penn, 6G, 1A; Tega Ikoba; 6G, 1A; Linhares, 5G, 4A).
- Timbers2 remain in ninth place in the Western Conference with 32 points and four matches to play.
- Penn (red card suspension) will miss T2’s next match, against LAFC2.
Next Game
Timbers2 will return home to face LAFC2 on September 14 in their penultimate match at Providence Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. (Pacific) and will be broadcast on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
Timbers2 (6-8-10, 32pts) vs Tacoma Defiance (12-8-4, 42pts)
September 8, 2024 – Starfire Sports Stadium (Tukwila, Wash.)
Scoring Summary:
POR: Clegg (Pope), 49
TAC: Lopez (Aquíno), 67
TAC: Rodrigues (Fahling), 79
TAC: Gomez (Rodrigues), 84
POR: Clegg (Linhares), 86
TAC: Rodrigues (Bowen), 90+1
TAC: Gomez (Fahling), 90+5
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Penn (caution), 21
POR: Penn (ejection), 40
TAC: Veillard (caution), 69
TAC: Fahling (caution), 81
Lineups:
POR: GK Bilichuk, D Pope, D Rad, D Clegg, D Ferdinand, D Jones-Riley (Jura, 61), M Moreno (Mendoza, 71), M Enriquez (Santos, 80), F Eisenberg (Linhares, 45), F Ikoba (Bunbury, 45), F Penn
Substitutes Not Used: GK Miller, M Najib
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Clegg, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Clegg, 2); FOULS: 7 (Penn, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 2
TAC: GK Shour, D Sousa, D Hawkins, D Lopez, D Baker (Veillard, 45), M Kossa-Rienzi, M Aquíno (Fahling, 78), M Brunell, F Tsukanome, F Miglietti (Gomez, 61), F Bowen
Substitutes Not Used: GK Helleren, D O’Malley, D Brun, M Brito, F Hassan, F De Pina Rodrigues
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Rodrigues, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Rodrigues, 3); FOULS: 11 (Bowen, Gomez, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 3
Referee: Matthew Corrigan
Assistant Referees: Baboucarr Jallow, Charles Rupert
Fourth Official: Aidan Velasco
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
