TACOMA, Wash. – In their opening match of the 2018 USL regular season, T2 fell 2-1 to Seattle Sounders FC 2 at Cheney Stadium Friday night in front of 6,049 fans. Portland’s next league match will take place on Saturday, March 24, when the team travels to Weidner Field to take on Colorado Switchbacks FC at 5 p.m. (Pacific).
Key plays
T2 scored their opening goal of the 2018 season after a threatening cross from defender Jimmy Mulligan on the right flank was fizzed across the six-yard box. S2 goalkeeper Calle Brown tried to break up the cross, but the ball fell to forward Augustine Williams, who tapped in to score his first goal of the season.
Approaching halftime, Sounders FC 2 managed to take the lead in a two-minute span, with forward Felix Chenkam converting his penalty attempt in the 43rd minute, before midfielder Nicholas Hinds doubled the home side’s lead two minutes later.
Searching for an equalizer, T2 nearly scored when forward Jeremy Ebobisse was played in behind the S2 defense, striking his shot off the crossbar in the 77th minute.
In the 85th minute, Williams’ left-footed shot from the left side of the penalty box was caught by Brown.
Five minutes after coming on as a substitute, Timbers Academy forward Lucas Cini’s shot from inside the penalty area forced Brown into a diving save in the 87th minute.
T2 debut
Beginning the 2018 season, multiple players made their T2 debuts Friday night, including goalkeeper Alex Mangels, defenders Modou Jadama, Mulligan, Josh Phillips and Nathan Smith and midfielder Devyn Jambga. Mangels, Jadama, Phillips, Smith and Jambga each played the full 90 minutes, while Mulligan played 82 minutes in his T2 debut.
Timbers Academy
Five current Timbers Academy players were named to T2’s game-day roster. Timbers Academy midfielder Carlos Anguiano made his first appearance of the season, playing 63 minutes as a first-half substitute for midfielder Terrell Lowe, who is also Timbers Academy graduate. Cini made his second appearance for T2 dating back to the 2017 season, playing eight minutes as a second-half substitute and registering one shot on target.
Next Game
Next up, T2 will travel to face Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at Weidner Field on Saturday, March 24. Beginning at 5 p.m. (Pacific), the match against Switchbacks FC will be streamed live at www.timbers2.com.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Cameron Knowles
On his overall thoughts on the match…
“We started the game well, scored well and got ourselves into a position where we were leading the game. We just needed to close out the half and get in at 1-0, instead of conceding a couple of goals late in the half, but I think overall I think it’s a really encouraging performance.”
On the play from the team overall…
“I think the performance was good from a lot of guys. Some of the guys at the back had some really good moments of individual and collective defending. Augi [Augustine Williams] did well and got himself on the scoresheet. That’s a credit to him for the work he’s put in this preseason. There were a lot of good performances. We had guys making professional debuts. The young kid, Junior [Carlos Anguiano], came in and did really, really well. There were a lot of positives in all the performances”
On the positives to take away from tonight’s match heading into next week’s road contest at Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC …
“The encouraging thing is that we showed we can come into a difficult place to play, score and find ourselves in the lead. What we’ve got to do is build on that, maintain that lead and add to it, understanding that when chances fall to us we need to take them. On the other side, if we can help the guys manage some situations so we don’t end up conceding the goals that we conceded. We’ll continue to work and obviously it’s still early for us, but we’re looking forward to the challenge next week.”
Portland Timbers 2 (0-1-0, 0pts) vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2 (1-0-0, 3pts)
March 16, 2018 – Cheney Stadium (Tacoma, Wash.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 1 0 1
Sounders FC 2 2 0 2
Scoring Summary:
POR: Williams (Mulligan), 30
SEA: Chenkam (Penalty kick), 43
SEA: Hinds (Olsen),45
Misconduct Summary:
SEA: Alfaro (Caution), 28
SEA: Ulysse (Caution), 78
Lineups:
POR: GK Mangels, D Mulligan (Cini, 82), D Phillips ©, D Jadama, D Smith, M Hanson, M Lowe (Anguiano, 27) M Lewis, M Jambga, F Williams, F Ebobisse
Substitutes Not Used: GK Pack, D Gruno, M Klein, F Calixtro
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Williams, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Williams, 2); FOULS: 15 (Mulligan, 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 4
SEA: GK Brown, D Ulysse, D Rogers ©, D Alfaro, D Usman, M Teves, M Martin, M Hopeau (Estrada, 58), M Olsen, M Hinds (Morris, 65), F Chenkam (Lopez, 77)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Fowler, D Brisco, D Ele, M Gonzalez
TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Chenkam, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Chenkam, Olsen, 2); FOULS: 12 (Three players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 5; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 3
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistant Referees: Chris Wattam, Seth Martin
4th Official: Chipalo Street
Attendance: 6,049
Weather: Partly cloudy, 49 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
