PORTLAND, Ore.
– Midfielders Alex Nimo, Takayuki Suzuki and James Marcelin each scored their first goals of the season to lead the Portland Timbers to a 3-0 win over the Sonoma County Sol in the first round of the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Tuesday night at PGE Park.
The Timbers advance to the second round of the tournament, and will face the Kitsap Pumas of the Premier Development League on Tuesday, June 22 at Bremerton Memorial Stadium in Bremerton, Wash.; kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Nimo scored the go-ahead goal, forward Doug DeMartin tallied his second assist of the season, midfielder Rodrigo Lopez recorded an assist and a team-high four shots and goalkeeper Steve Cronin logged two saves for the shutout to lead the Timbers.
Goalkeepers Juan Sosa made four saves and midfielders Tyler Hurst and Brandon Boone each attempted a shot for the losing effort for the Sol, who compete in the U.S. Adult Soccer Association.
Portland dictated the pace of the match and put the Sol defense under constant pressure. After a scoreless first half, the home side broke through in the 58th minute on a strike by Nimo. Entering the match to start the second half, DeMartin found space and time deep inside the right corner. He found Nimo checking back at the near post and slotted a pass into the box. Nimo one-timed a shot into the top near corner of the goal to lift the Timbers 1-0.
Suzuki doubled Portland’s lead in the 88th minute. Midfielder Ryan Pore played a well-timed through ball for Suzuki on a run on the left side. Suzuki collected the pass and then drilled a shot past Sosa from 12 yards out, giving the Timbers a 2-0 advantage. Pore was credited with his team-leading, third assist of the season.
In the closing minutes of the match, Marcelin capped the scoring on the night with his first goal as a member of the Timbers. From the right side, Lopez weaved a centering pass through the box that found Marcelin on the back side. From a few yards out, Marcelin tapped in the Timbers third goal of the night to seal the 3-0 victory.
The Timbers had Sonoma County on its heels from the opening whistle and owned a 12-1 edge in shots following the opening period. Forward Manjou Keita and Suzuki lead the charge with three shots each.
The Timbers thought to have taken the lead in the 20th minute, when Pore picked out defender Mamado Danso on the back post with a free kick from the right side. Danso out-jumped his defender near the left post and headed the ball into the back of the net. Suzuki, however, was called for a foul near the shot and the goal was waived.
In the 35th minute, a sequence by Portland led to a pair of close chances inside the box. Off a ball played into the area, Danso headed a shot off the far side of the crossbar, and the ball deflected down to Keita standing near the right post. Keita had his shot on frame pushed over the crossbar by Sosa.
Defender Scot Thompson set up Keita for another scoring opportunity two minutes later with a pin-point cross from the right side. With space 15 yards out from goal, Keita sent his shot just wide of the right post. In the 15th minute, he has a similar shot with his back to goal also miss wide right.
Lopez nearly found the back of the net twice on set pieces in the second half. Entering the match as a sub, Lopez set up for a free kick on the left side even with the top of the box in the 62nd minute. He sent a long ball to the back side of the goal that found its way to the right post and rattled off the frame. Marcelin then put a follow up attempt wide left of the goal.
In the 78th minute, a foul on Nimo secured a free kick roughly 25 yards out from goal for Portland. Lopez drove a hard shot over the Sonoma County wall and hit the top right corner of the goal and shook the entire frame of the goal.
The Pumas defeated the Bay Area Ambassadors of the USASA 4-2 to advance to the second round and face the Timbers. Portland and Kitsap meet for the second straight year in the U.S. Open Cup; the Timbers defeated the Pumas 3-0 in the first round of the 2009 tournament.
The Timbers return to league play on Thursday as they begin a home-and-home series with the NSC Minnesota Stars at PGE Park; kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Tickets start at $12 in advance and are available for purchase at the PGE Park box office, area Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
Notes:
Teams from Major League Soccer enter the U.S. Open Cup tournament in the third round, which is slated for June 29 … The Timbers recorded their first U.S. Open Cup victory at PGE Park since 2001 with the result over Sonoma County … Cronin recorded his third shutout in U.S. Open Cup play as a member of the Timbers, including two in the 2009 tournament … Tuesday’s win marked the first time the Timbers have scored three goals in a game since the 3-2 exhibition win over Boca Juniors May 29 … The Timbers out-shot the Sol 18-2.
Lineups:
POR: GK Cronin, D Joy, D Danso, D Smith, D Thompson, M Farber (Lopez, 55), M Nimo (McManus, 86), M Marcelin, M Suzuki, F Pore, F Keita (DeMartin, 45)
SON: GK Sosa, D Sandwina, D Paredas, D Summerscales, D Russell, M Larson, M Lafon, M Hurst (Arroya, 69), M Travis (Tavares, 79), F Percell (Boone, 51), F Santoya
Scoring Summary:
POR: Nimo (DeMartin), 58
POR: Suzuki (Pore), 88
POR: Marcelin (Lopez), 90
Timbers Player Ratings (as submitted by members of the Portland media):
Starters
GK - Steve Cronin – 8, D - Ian Joy – 7.5, D – Scot Thompson – 7.5, D – Ross Smith – 7.5, D - Mamadou Danso – 7.5, M – Brian Farber – 7.5, M - James Marcelin – 8.5, M - Alex Nimo – 8.5, M - Ryan Pore – 7.5, F - F - Mandjou Keita – 7.5, F – Takayuki Suzuki – 8.5
Subs
M - Rodrigo Lopez - 8, M - Tony McManus - 7.5, F - Doug DeMartin – 8
