SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Conceding a goal late in the first half, T2 were unable to overcome the deficit, falling 1-0 on the road to Sacramento Republic FC before 11,569 fans at Papa Murphy’s Park on Saturday night.
Road form
In 10 road matches this season, T2 have only lost three matches, posting a 4-3-3 record. Despite the loss, T2 rank tied for third in the league with four road wins this season, outscoring their opponents 22-18 in those matches. Portland currently ranks first in goals scored on the road this season (22).
T2 against Sacramento Republic FC
With the result, T2 is now 5-6-0 all-time against Sacramento. In the first meeting of the 2019 campaign between the two sides, Portland recorded a 1-0 win over Sacramento Republic FC at Merlo Field on April 13.
Key plays
Early in the match, T2 goalkeeper Jake Leeker made a stop in the 16th minute, going down in the center of the goal to save Sam Werner’s shot from the left side of the box.
T2 earned their first chance of the match in the 30th minute. Harold Hanson drove past his marker and played a low cross to Brayan Hurtado, who fired a right-footed shot from the center of the box that was saved by goalkeeper Josh Cohen near the post.
Leeker made another strong save in the 36th minute, going down to his left and parrying away a right-footed shot by Hayden Partain from outside the box. Five minutes later, Partain opened the scoring for Sacramento in the 41st minute with a low, left-footed shot from inside the box.
Starting the second half on the front foot, Nathan Smith filtered a low ball to Hurtado behind Sacramento’s defense in the 56th minute, but his left-footed shot was stopped by Cohen in the center of the goal. Four minutes later, Hurtado floated a cross at the far post to Ryan Sierakowski in the 61st minute, but his right-footed shot was saved off the line by Matt Mahoney.
After Werner was fouled inside the box in the 66th minute, his ensuing penalty attempt hit the crossbar to keep the score 1-0.
Zach Kobayashi made an attempt of his own to equalize the match in the 74th minute, but his right-footed shot from the edge of the 18-yard box missed the far post by inches. Eryk Williamson and Gio Calixtro both created chances for T2 in the 76th and 79th minute, respectively, but were unable to find the back net.
Next game
Up next, T2 travel to face Fresno FC at Chukchansi Park on Saturday, July 20. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific), the match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Cameron Knowles
General thoughts on tonight’s match...
"When we look at the effort that we put into the game, especially in the second half, I think we were unlucky not to come away with anything from the game. Too often this season we conceded the first goal. Big credit to Sacramento, they were putting us under pressure in the first half and were able to find a goal, but I think we came here expecting to get something out of the game, and it’s disappointing to leave empty-handed.”
On the effort the team put to find an equalizer...
"I think we put Sacramento under a lot of pressure in the second half, we were creating more chances, getting more players in the box, we had more quality in the final third. We had that Ryan Sierakowski chance right before he was subbed out of the game; that was an incredible chance in front of the goal that in another day maybe it deflects into the goal. So, we were close, but unfortunately close doesn’t get you any points.”
On playing back-to-back matches away from home...
"You have to look at the overall body of it. We’ve shown that we are a very good team away from home and I think you take away the result and look at the performance tonight, particularly in the second half, we played really well. If we can take that second-half performance from the first whistle in the next game against Fresno, which is going to be a very difficult game against a very good team, then we should be able to get something out of that.”
T2 (7-5-7, 28pts) vs. Sacramento Republic FC (8-7-2, 26pts)
Papa Murphy’s Park (Sacramento, Calif.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 0 0
Sacramento Republic FC 1 0 1
Scoring Summary:
SAC: Partain (Barahona), 41
Misconduct Summary
POR: Tuiloma (caution), 36
POR: Langsdorf (caution), 47
SAC: Taintor (caution), 47
POR: Leeker (caution), 66
POR: Smith (caution), 73
POR: Kobayashi (caution), 72
POR: Calixtro (caution), 86
Lineups:
POR: GK Leeker, D Hanson, D Tuiloma (Ornstil, 45), D Miller, D Smith, M Williamson, M Wharton ©, M Anguiano (Calixtro, 72), M Sierakowski (Kobayashi, 60), M Hurtado, F Langsdorf
Substitutes Not Used: GK Sulte, D Diz Pe
TOTAL SHOTS: 8 (Three players tied, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Hurtado, 2); FOULS: 11 (Smith, 2); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 3
SAC: GK Cohen, D Taintor, D Mahoney, D Chantzopoulos, D McCrary (Iwasa, 72), D Barahona (Gomez, 72), M Bijev (Saari, 84), M Partain, M Villarreal, M Werner, F Blackwood
Substitutes Not Used: GK Díaz, M Skundrich, M Alemán, F Bonomo
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Blackwood, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Partain, 2); FOULS: 9 (McCrary, 3); OFFSIDES: 6; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 2
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
Assistant Referees: Seth Martin, Stephen McGonagle
4th Official: Turan Ozdemir
Attendance: 11,569
Weather: Clear, 88 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
