PORTLAND, Ore.
– The Portland Timbers U-23s made a first-half goal by midfielder Bim Ogunyemi stand in a 1-0 win over the Tacoma Tide in a special Health and Fitness Soccer School Day event, presented by Providence Health & Services, on Tuesday at PGE Park.
Including hundreds of Portland-area youth, the 2,247 on hand set a new single-game attendance record for the Timbers U-23s, who began play in the Premier Development League in 2009.
Midfielder Freddie Braun was credited with his first assist, while goalkeeper Jake Gleeson made four saves to log his first shutout of the season to aid in the victory for the Timbers U-23s (2-0-0, 6pts).
Tacoma goalkeeper Scott Barnum recorded seven saves in the contest and forward Rory Agu attempted a team-high three shots, including a missed penalty kick attempt in the 90th minute, in the losing effort. The Tide (0-2-0, 0pts) has lost its first two games to start the 2010 campaign.
The Timbers U-23s took the lead in the 28th minute on a well-placed goal by Ogunyemi. Making his first start of the season, Braun crossed the ball from the right side back into the box for Ogunyemi. With space he one-timed a shot from 15 yards out just under the crossbar for his first strike of the season.
The home side got out to a fast start offensively, and finished the first half with 13 shots. In the 7th minute, forward Ricky Abrego and Ogunyemi connected to set up Jarad vanSchaik for a shot from close range, but Barnum turned away the effort with a timely kick save.
In the 20th minute, vanSchaik set up midfielder Tracy Hasson for an open look inside the box with a back-heel pass; Hasson pushed his shot wide of the mark. Just past the half-hour mark, forward Roberto Farfan drilled an open shot off the right post for one of his seven shots on the day.
Barnum turned in a productive first half, making six saves. One came midway through the period as he charged off his line to deny a dangerous attempt by vanSchaik from inside the box.
A heavy rain drenched the field late in the first half, which slowed down the pace of the game for the remainder of the match. But the Timbers U-23s kept pressing. In the 52nd minute, Abrego split a pair of Tacoma defenders and put a shot from the top of the box off the right post. He tried to put away the rebound, but sent his second effort over the crossbar.
Braun forced Barnum into action late in the match. Off a Timbers U-23s corner kick, the ball was pushed across the field to Braun near the top left corner of the box. He unloaded a left-footed shot on frame that was stopped by a diving effort from the Tide goalkeeper in the 82nd minute.
The match took a dramatic turn in second-half stoppage time. Timbers U-23s midfielder Jordan Crasilneck was called for a foul on a tackle inside the box to set up a potential game-tying penalty kick. Agu stepped up to take the penalty kick attempt in effort to level the score, but put his shot well over the crossbar.
The Timbers U-23s embark on a two-game road trip this weekend, starting Friday against the Spokane Spiders at 7 p.m. The team then faces the Yakima Reds on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Notes:
The Timbers U-23s improved to 2-0-0 in U.S. Open Cup qualifying matches in 2010 … Since joining the PDL in 2009, the Timbers U-23s are 3-0-0 all-time against Tacoma … Portland attempted 13 of its 21 shots on the day in the first half.
Lineups:
POR: GK Gleeson, D Granger, D Crasilneck, D Kawulok, D Evans, M vanSchaik, M Braun, M Hasson, M Ogunyemi, F Abrego (Coelho, 68), F Farfan (Cortes-Carillo, 73)
TAC: GK Barnum, D Armitage (Conrad, 45), D Henry, D Knapp, D Perotte, M Tangney (Nixon, 79), M Orozco (Van Hooser, 79), M Voin, M Cox, F Sanders (Schomaker, 45), F Agu
Scoring Summary:
POR: Ogunyemi (Braun), 28
