PORTLAND, Ore.
- Rochester’s Doug Miller tallied a goal in second-half stoppage time, as the Raging Rhinos defeated the Portland Timbers 2-1 before 5,018 Thursday night at PGE Park.
Miller, a late substitution, took a pass from Kirk Wilson in the waning moments of the match, creating enough space to get a shot past Timbers goalkeeper Bayard Elvin in a one-on-one situation to seal the 2-1 win and hand the Timbers their second loss in a row.
The Timbers (7-3-0, 21pts) have dropped two straight at PGE Park for the first time since early May of the 2002 season. The defeat was also Portland’s third in four games after rattling off six straight wins to start the campaign.
Rochester (8-2-1, 25pts) struck first when Chris Carrieri’s shot rebounded off the hands of starting goalkeeper Josh Saunders and into the path of Kirk Wilson, who zeroed in on the back of the net for the 1-0 advantage in the 38th minute.
A penalty kick was awarded to Portland in the 75th minute when Rochester’s Carlos Mendes was called for a handball inside the box. Alex Bengard coolly made good on the opportunity, slipping the ball past the ‘keeper into the left side of the net to knot the match at 1-1.
A scary situation transpired in the 55th minute when a shot by Carrieri bounced of the face of Saunders, who fell hard onto the playing field while diving for the save. He left the game on a stretcher and was replaced by Elfvin, a rookie who made three saves in his first appearance for the Timbers.
Saunders made six saves before exiting the game.
The Timbers had a chance at a goal earlier in the 21st, as Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar played a cross into the box from the right side to Scott Benedetti, who misplayed the ball high and out of play.
Byron Alvarez had several good opportunities as well, tallying seven shots on the evening, including a chance in the 68th minute when he turned on a ball from Jake Sagare and skimmed it high over the crossbar.
Rochester held a resounding advantage in corner kicks in the match with a 10-1 edge.
The Timbers next head to the Midwest for back-to-back games against Minnesota and Milwaukee, beginning Tuesday, June 22 in St. Paul at 5 p.m. (Pacific).
SCORING SUMMARY:
K. Wilson, 38’ (Carrieri); Bengard, 75’ (PK); Miller, 90’ (K. Wilson).
PENALTY SUMMARY:
ROC K. Wilson, YC (39’), Miller, YC (90’); POR Sagare, YC (9’), Heinzen, YC (90’).
LINEUPS:
ROCHESTER (8-2-1) Zagar GK, Demmin D, Sedgewick D, Wright D, J. Wilson D (Semedo 45’), Tsakiris M (Steenkamp 71’), Trout M (Mendes 70’), Neto M, K. Wilson M, Woolfolk F, Carrieri F (Miller 86’) (Dargout 90’); PORTLAND (7-3-0) J. Saunders GK (Elfvin 60’), Morrison D, Wilkinson D (Henning 45’), Heinzen D, Winters D, Benedetti M, Bengard M, Alcaraz-Cuellar M, Sagare M, Gordon F, Alvarez F.
