PORTLAND, Ore. – Heading into Week 19 of the 2017 USL regular season, T2 will play host to Rio Grande Valley FC Toros at Providence Park on Saturday, July 29. Set to begin at 8 p.m. (Pacific), Saturday’s match will be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.
Saturday’s contest marks the first of two regular-season matches between the two clubs in 2017, as both teams will meet again on Wednesday, Aug. 30, at H-E-B Park. In two all-time meetings against the Toros, Portland has a 1-1-0 record. In the last game between the two teams, T2 defeated Rio Grande Valley 1-0 on the road at Toro Stadium on Sept. 10, 2016.
T2 (1-15-3, 6pts) enter Saturday’s match after earning a 1-1 draw on the road against Reno 1868 FC at Greater Nevada Field on July 22. Seventeen-year-old Timbers Academy forward Gio Calixtro recorded his first career goal in his first career start for T2. After falling behind late in the match, T2 equalized when midfielder Villyan Bijev struck a left-footed shot from outside the box that forced the Reno goalkeeper into a diving save, and the rebound fell to Calixtro, who slotted home from inside the six-yard box in the 83rd minute. With the goal, Calixtro became the youngest player to score a goal for T2 in club history. A record five Timbers Academy players appeared in the match for T2 as Calixtro and midfielders Carlos Anguiano, Blake Bodily, Jacob Montes and Jose Perez each saw the field in Reno. Anguiano, 17, and Perez, 18, both made their T2 and USL debuts as second-half substitutes. T2 goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh made the USL Team of the Week for Week 18 after recording seven saves in the draw against Reno, while Calixtro made the Team of the Week bench.
Rio Grande Valley FC Toros (6-9-3, 21pts) enter Saturday’s game following a 2-1 loss at home to Real Monarchs SLC at H-E-B Park on July 27, which extended a four-match winless streak. Rio Grande Valley currently sits in 12th place in the Western Conference standings. Individually, midfielders Eric Bird and Memo Rodriguez and forward Ruben Luna are tied for the team lead with three goals this season, while Bird and midfielder Emilio Garcia are tied for the team lead in assists (2). Goalkeeper Borja Angoitia leads the team with 21 saves in eight appearances in 2017.
Individual-game tickets for the 2017 season start at $10 and are available at the Providence Park box office on gameday or by visiting www.timbers.com/tickets.
Following Saturday’s match, T2 travel to face Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at Weidner Field on Saturday, Aug. 5; kickoff is set for 5 p.m. (Pacific).
