PORTLAND, Ore. – Back in August, rookie Timbers forward Gage Guerra sat down to do an interview for the Timbers.com platform. Called The Pathway, presented by Allstate, the series looked at Timbers players as they chatted about their journeys in soccer.
A collegiate star at both Army and the University of Louisville, Guerra was selected by Portland in the third round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. After remaining at Louisville for his senior season, Guerra impressed during preseason at the 2025 Coachella Valley Invitational and signed with Timbers2 – the club’s MLS NEXT Pro development team – ahead of the 2025 regular season. While with T2, Guerra flourished, leading the team in goals (11) and tied for second in assists (4) in 19 appearances.
The work there earned him a number of short-term callups to the first team, including a memorable appearance in the Timbers’ 3-2 win over the Tacoma Defiance in the 2025 U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 where Guerra came off the bench to score a late equalizer. On the strength of his T2 work, Guerra would later earn a first-team contract, signing with the Timbers on June 26.
By August, and in that Pathway interview, Guerra’s reputation to score key goals had become a bit of a thing. In his interview, he explains that teammates like Zac McGraw would joke with him about making an impact off the bench and saying things like, “Portland needs a hero,” with the idea that the striker would somehow tally that big goal.
On Saturday, Guerra scored what is probably his biggest goal yet.
GOAL | Guerra header at the death
Subbing on in the 86th minute with Portland trailing San Diego FC, 2-1, in a do-or-die Game 2 of the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 Series, Guerra lived up to the hero name. As Ariel Lassiter lofted a last-ditch cross into the box, Guerra leapt high and thumped a perfectly placed header into the back of the net to tie the game in the 90+8th minute of second-half stoppage time to force penalties. Portland would go on to prevail in the penalty kick shootout, earning a series-deciding Game 3 back in San Diego.
"Portland needs a hero" | Guerra comes through with moment of magic
“[I’m] on top of the world,” Guerra gushingly said after the match. “I was just telling some people, it’s probably the best moment of my life so far. Feels like the stars aligned tonight.”
Having not appeared in a competitive match since making a late substitution on Oct. 4 against Seattle, Guerra has remained patient and prepared for just such a moment.
“I was on the bench for 90 minutes, maybe more, [on Saturday] because there was a little bit of stoppage time, but I could feel it. Something special was going to happen tonight,” he said. “I was lucky enough that it happened to be me that got the goal.”
Fueled by the electric energy of the Providence Park faithful, his teammates, and the belief placed in him by head coach Phil Neville, Guerra did what he has done all season: make the most of his minutes. The effort also earned him his first ever log slab from Timber Joey.
“You have to be on your toes in every moment, because you never know, you might only get one last chance,” he said. “I remember Finn Surman three minutes before I scored [saying] ‘Come on Gage, one more, one more chance.’ So there's belief, but you have to be on your toes. And for Phil [Neville] going in, they tell me the same things every time. Go do your thing. Go score a goal.
“I mean, that's my job. So I just did my job tonight.”
