Despite first-half goals from Noah Santos and Mataeo Bunbury, Timbers2 fell 3-2 to LAFC at home on Saturday afternoon. The loss drops T2 into 10th place with three regular-sesaon matches remaining.
PORTLAND, Ore. – Timbers2 failed to capitalize on a fast start as they fell to LAFC2 by a score of 3-2 Saturday afternoon at Providence Park. Noah Santos opened the scoring with a goal from outside the box followed by Mataeo Bunbury’s goal eight minutes after, but it wasn’t enough for T2 to nick a point in its penultimate home match. T2 now sits 10th in the Western Conference with three regular-season matches to play.
Assist Leaders
With his assist on the game-opening goal, Blake Pope matched Kyle Linhares for the most assists of any active T2 player with four. Notably, Saturday marked consecutive matches with an assist for Pope who now has six goal contributions this season (2G, 4A). Behind Pope and Linhares, Keesean Ferdinand, Jaden Jones-Riley and Santos have two assists each. Additionally, Linhares leads the team with nine goal contributions (5G, 4A) and is one of four T2 players with at least six goal contributions, alongside Josh Penn (6G, 1A), Tega Ikoba (6G, 1A) and Pope (2G, 4A).
Up Next
Today’s defeat was only T2’s second at Providence Park since July 14 (1-2-2). The club is 4-5-4 at home with one match remaining at Providence Park. With three matches remaining in the regular-season schedule, T2 will next face Ventura County FC (Sept. 17) at home, and Real Monarchs (Sept. 29) and Colorado Rapids 2 (Oct. 6) on the road.
Goal-Scoring Plays
POR – Noah Santos (Blake Pope), 16th minute: Noah Santos picked up a loose ball several yards outside the top of the box and took a touch before deciding to unleash a right-footed strike that found the top-right corner of the net.
POR – Mataeo Bunbury (Braxton Najib), 24th minute: Off a corner kick from the right corner, Braxton Najib served a ball to the back post that Mataeo Bunbury headed down and into the bottom-left side of goal.LAFC – Adrian Wibowo (Decarlo Guerra), 55th minute: After forcing a turnover in the attacking half, Decarlo Guerra slotted a through ball into the path of Adrian Wibowo, who used his left foot to tuck the ball into the bottom-left corner.LAFC – Luis Müller (Decarlo Guerra), 72nd minute: On a counterattack, Decarlo Guerra fired a ball from the back line into the path of a charging Luis Müller who dribbled toward net before using his left foot to place a finish into the lower-left side of the net.LAFC – Javier Hernandez, 90+4 minute: Javier Hernandez pounced on a deflected cross in the box and used his left foot to finish from close range.
Notes:
- This afternoon marked the third and final matchup between Timbers2 and LAFC2 this regular season.
- T2 finished with a 0-2-1 record in the series, with a 2-2 draw in Fullerton, California on August 16.
- The club is 4-5-4 at home so far this season.
- Santos’ goal in the 16th minute marked his third of the 2024 season and first since scoring against Tacoma Defiance on May 10.
- With his assist on Santos’ goal, Pope has goal contributions in consecutive matches (2A).
- The assist marked Pope’s fourth of the season, which is tied with Linhares (four) for the most assists of any active T2 player in 2024.
- Bunbury scored his third T2 goal of the 2024 campaign and first since netting against MNUFC2 on April 21.
- Additionally, Braxton Najib’s assist marked his first Timbers2 goal contribution through 14 appearances (two starts).
- T2’s two-goal lead in the first half marks its largest lead in a match since it lead Sporting KC II 5-0 on July 25.
- Four Timbers2 players now have at least six goal contributions (Linhares, 5G, 4A; Penn, 6G, 1A; Ikoba, 6G, 1A; Pope, 2G, 6A).
- Timbers2 sit in tenth place in the Western Conference with 32 points and three matches to play.
Next Game
Timbers2 close out their 2024 home slate against Ventura County FC on Tuesday, September 17, at Providence Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific). Tickets are FREE and are available via SeatGeek. The match will be broadcast on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Timbers2 (6-9-10, 32pts) vs LAFC2 (12-7-6, 45pts)
September 14, 2024 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Scoring Summary:
POR: Santos (Pope), 16
POR: Bunbury (Najib), 24
LAFC: Wibowo (Guerra), 55
LAFC: Müller (Guerra), 72
LAFC: Hernandez, 90+4
Misconduct Summary:
LAFC: Díaz (caution), 53
LAFC: Ochoa (caution), 65
Lineups:
POR: GK Muse, D Jura (Nuñez, 87), D Rad, D Clegg, D Ferdinand, D Pope, M Najib (Mendoza, 63), M Enriquez (Moreno, 87), F Santos (Eisenberg, 72), F Linhares, F Bunbury (Ikoba, 63)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Bilichuk, D Bautista
TOTAL SHOTS: 29 (Bunbury, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 10 (Bunbury, Santos, Linhares, 2); FOULS: 13 (Santos, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3
LAFC: GK Ochoa, D Bombino (Terry, 45), D Sanders, D Díaz, D Berumen, M Evans (Wanchope, 63), M Jaime, M Guerra, F Müller (Rosenthal, 79), F Sullivan, F Wibowo (Hernandez, 88)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Auffret, F Resich
TOTAL SHOTS: 18 (Sullivan, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Wibowo, 2); FOULS: 14 (Sanders, Jaime, Müller, Wibowo, 2); OFFSIDES: 7; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 7
Referee: Emmy Nonso
Assistant Referees: Christian Lara, Ryan Jung
Fourth Official: Hunter Zachwieja
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
