TIGARD, Ore. –
Forward Brent Richards scored a team-high four goals to pace the Portland Timbers U-23s to 9-0 win over the Spokane Spiders at Tigard High School on Friday. With the win, the Timbers U-23s extend their winning streak to 11 games.
Richards scored three of his four goals in the first half, recording just the second hat trick of the season for the Timbers U-23s. He then tallied his fourth goal of the match in the opening moments of the second half, and nearly doubled his season total in a single game; he leads the team in goals scored with nine on the season.
Midfielder Ricky Dorrego scored two goals, while midfielders Freddie Braun and Bim Ogunyemi each recorded a goal and an assist and midfielder Roberto Farfan logged two assists to help the Timbers U-23s (11-0-0, 33pts) record their highest goal output in a single game since joining the Premier Development League in 2009.
Goalkeepers Jake Gleeson and Steve Spangler teamed up to record the Timbers U-23s’ eighth shutout of the season; the two combined for four saves on the night.
With the win, the Timbers U-23s swept the two-game, regular-season series against the Spiders (1-9-2, 5pts) and maintain first place in the PDL’s Northwest Division.
Richards put the Timbers U-23s on the board in the 21st minute. Ogunyemi broke down the left side and worked the ball deep into the corner before serving a cross into the box. Richards, cutting back to the ball, headed the ball inside the near post from five yards out for the go-ahead strike.
Seven minutes later, Richards doubled the Timbers U-23s’ lead with his seventh goal of the season. Off a corner kick from the left side, defender Graham Dugoni had a header on frame turned away, and the ball bounced out to Richards at the top of the box. With a scissor kick, he drilled a shot just under the crossbar to put the home side up 2-0.
The Timbers U-23s took a 3-0 led in the 34th minute. Following a string of passes in the middle of the park, Braun led forward Brian Ramsey on a run into the right side of the box. Ramsey created space for himself inside the top corner and drove a low shot off the near post and into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season.
Just before the break, Richards tallied his third goal of the night to give the Timbers U-23s a four-goal lead. From the right side, midfielder Tracy Hasson placed a sharp cross to the top of the box. Square on goal, Richards redirected the ball with his head, placing it just inside the left post, bouncing it under a diving effort by Spokane goalkeeper Garrett Brickey, in the 45th minute.
Richards bagged his fourth goal of the night 30 seconds into the second half. He received the ball down the right side and charged the box from 30 yards out. Near the top of the box, he uncorked a hard, rolling shot inside the right post to lift the Timbers U-23s to a 5-0 lead.
The Timbers U-23s scored their next three goals all inside a five minute span, including two tallies from Dorrego in that window. In the 74th minute, forward Quinton Beasley played a ball forward for Dorrego on a breakaway. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, Dorrego drilled home his first goal of the season from the right as the Timbers U-23s extended their lead 6-0.
Three minutes later, Ogunyemi added to the score line with his second goal in two games in the 77th minute. Farfan found Ogunyemi with space along the left side. After splitting a pair of defenders, Ogunyemi hit a rolling shot at the right post. Brickey went down to his left and got a piece of the ball, but it slipped through his hands and rolled into the back of the net, giving Portland a 7-0 advantage.
Dorrego capped his brace in the 79th minute, finishing a pass from Farfan. A hard-working effort help Farfan reach the endline. He chipped a pass to the back post, where Dorrego collected the ball and fired home his second goal of the night.
The Timbers U-23s found their final strike of the night in the 90th minute. With the ball at midfield, Braun slipped by one defender and earned a breakaway up field. He pulled up 25 yards out from goal and blasted a shot from the right side into the top left corner of the frame, capping the Timbers U-23s 9-0 victory.
Portland visits the Washington Crossfire on Wednesday, July 7, in Seattle, Wash., in its next match; kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. The Timbers U-23s return home on July 9 to play host to the Abbotsford Mariners.
Notes:
Richards became the first Timbers U-23s player in team history to score four goals in a single game … Defender Ryan Kawulok recorded Portland’s first hat trick of the season June 12 in a 6-0 win over the Yakima Reds … Dorrego made his Timbers U-23s debut against the Spiders, entering as a sub in the second half.
Lineups:
POR: GK Gleeson (Spangler, 55), D Dugoni, D Granger, D Kawoluk (Coelho, 64), D Drake (Thompson, 45), M Ogunyemi, M Farfan, M Braun, M Hasson (Nielsen, 45), F Richards (Dorrego, 69), F Ramsey (Beasley, 59)
SPO: GK Brickey, D Muravez, D Olson, D Forde, D Costabile, M Baranski, M Noonan, M Mastronardi (Mountcastle, 78), M Love, F Smith, F Prugh (Millick, 78)
Scoring Summary:
POR: Richards (Ogunyemi), 21
POR: Richards, 28
POR: Ramsey (Braun), 34
POR: Richards (Hasson), 45
POR: Richards, 46
POR: Dorrego (Beasley), 74
POR: Ogunyemi (Farfan), 77
POR: Dorrego (Farfan), 79
POR: Braun, 90
