PORTLAND, Ore. – Receiving goals fromforward Kharlton Belmar and midfielders Fatawu Safiu and Seth Casiple, T2 claimed their fourth win in six home matches at Merlo Field, registering a 3-1 victory over Arizona United SC on Thursday night in front of 2,410 fans in Portland, Ore.
T2 (6-8-2, 20pts) grabbed an early lead behind a pair of goals in the first 15 minutes of the match as Belmar opened the scoring with his eighth goal of the season. T2 defender Jeanderson played a ball in behind the Arizona defense to Belmar who dribbled down the left side of the box and fired a shot inside the right post in the 10th minute. Fatawu doubled T2’s lead in the 14th minute as he combined with defender Andy Thoma on a give-and-go to get in behind the Arizona defense before calmly slotting the ball into the bottom, right corner of the goal.
Arizona United SC (6-7-1, 19pts) fought its way back into the match and were able to pull within a goal as forward George Malki finished from close range to make it 2-1 in the 74th minute.
In the 85th minute, Casiple rounded out the scoring for T2 with his first goal in USL competition as he placed a low shot across the goal from the right side of the box after receiving a ball from midfielder Blair Gavin. Portland registered an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal in the match.
“I’m very proud of the guys because emotionally and physically they were spent after Seattle,” said Jay Vidovich, head coach of T2. “They approached the game the right way, gave a great defensive effort and the runs they made to get those goals were well done.”
Following Thursday’s match, T2 take to the road to face Cascadia-rival Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 at UBC Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, July 10; kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (Pacific).
Friday’s match will also be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.
T2 (6-8-2, 20pts) vs. Arizona United SC (6-7-1, 19pts)
July 2, 2015 – Merlo Field (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 2 1 3
Arizona United SC 0 1 1
Scoring Summary
POR: Belmar (Jeanderson), 10
POR: Fatawu (Thoma), 14
AZ: Malki, 74
POR: Casiple (Gavin), 85
Misconduct Summary
AZ: Ruthven (Caution), 24
POR: Gavin (Caution), 39
AZ: Valentino (Caution), 48
POR: Thoma (Caution), 53
POR: Payne (Caution), 85
AZ: Blanco (Caution), 89
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Weber, D Thoma, D Clarke, D Delbridge, D Jeanderson, M Payne, M Gavin ©, M Besler, M Richards, M Fatawu (Casiple, 74), F Belmar
Substitutes Not Used: GK Luthy, F Biglieri, M Evans, D Manning, D Rose, M Martinez
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Fatawu, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (Fatawu, 3); FOULS: 13 (Five players, 2); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 3
AZ: GK Woscczynski, D Ruthven, D Dillon (Stisser, 66), D Earle (Granger, 67), D Valentino, M Top, M Cuevas (Chavez, 45), M Blanco, M Morrison, F Malki, F Tan
Substitutes Not Used: GK Downes, M Antunez, M Vickers, D Rosales
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Top, 10); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Top, 2); FOULS: 19 (Ruthven, 4); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 5
Referee: Chipalo Street
Assistant Referees: Jason Perlewitz, Andrew Marihart
4th Official: James Shields
Attendance: 2,410
Weather: Sunny, 93 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
Post Game Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Jay Vidovich
On bouncing back from Monday’s match
“Well they are two different teams. Not only the opponents but the way they defended. There is more space behind Arizona than there was against Seattle. Seattle dropped deep and tried to counter us, so just different opponents. I think that we did a very good job looking for some good runs. I thought some runs by Kharlton [Belmar] early on were quality, he found those places.”
On what he saw from the backline
“I saw a great team effort. You look at the harassment that Kharlton gave up front and Brent Richards and Blair Gavin and throughout the whole team. I think the backline is getting tighter and I think besides the goal, we got much tighter than we have been in the past. It was good.”
On what he saw from Seth Casiple
“He’s a good soccer player. He’s obviously playing an odd position, but he got on the field and had his opportunity and he put it away. It’s what’s expected of him and what he’s capable of.”
On what he attributes the fast start to
“I know that one thing is we’re trying to get ourselves out of a little hole. I’m very proud of the guys in terms of that hole they’ve dug themselves out of because emotionally and physically they were spent after Seattle. It’s been a long haul and they approached the game the right way. They gave truly great defensive efforts and the runs they made to get those goals were well done. If you look at the second goal Andy Thoma, our right back, went all the way through and he’s pushing through for the goal. That’s a heck of an effort.”
On Kharlton Belmar
“I think he was sharp in his approach to the match today and I think there were a lot of lessons to be learned in the last match. Some of that is your approach to how you prepare for the match and get a result and I was happy with that. I think Kharlton took a better approach, was more efficient with what he did and I think he enjoyed his game a little more as well.”
T2 midfielder Seth Casiple
On how he felt after scoring his first professional goal
“It was exciting. I mean it was kind of surreal to see it go in. I made sure I thanked Blair [Gavin] because he put his body on the line for that, but it was good, really good.”
On the importance of scoring the insurance goal
“In soccer they always say 2-0 is the most dangerous score you can have so when they put that one in, it kind of gives them a little hope. It reminds our guys that we have to buckle down and make sure we’re finishing it out. That’s when I came on and our coaches told me to give us a little more energy, hopefully give us a little more ball position and make them run. It was nice. I got into a position where I was able to put it in the back of the net. It let us take a breath, slow the game down and just kind of bury them and make sure they did think they were really going to come back."
