Full moon fever: Moreno, Mora goals lift Portland Timbers to 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake

Santiago Moreno scored his first of the year while Felipe Mora scored for his second straight match.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Goals on either side of halftime from midfielder Santiago Moreno and forward Felipe Mora lifted the Portland Timbers to a 2-1 victory over visiting Real Salt Lake on a full moon Wednesday evening at Providence Park.

In the Timbers’ sixth victory of the season at home, Moreno registered his first goal of 2023 to open Portland’s account in the first half. Scoring in a second straight match, Mora doubled the Timbers’ tally to seal three points. Portland will face a quick turnaround as they travel to take on Cascadia rival Seattle Sounders FC on Sept. 2 at Lumen Field.

Tonight’s Goal Scorers and Playmakers

Moreno registered his first goal of the year in tonight’s match, becoming the 15th different player to score for Portland this season. He also tallied his team-leading eighth assist of the 2023 campaign. Mora scored his second goal of the season in consecutive matches after registering a goal against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Aug. 26. He’s the fifth player to record multiple goals this season for Portland. Claudio Bravo, Evander and Juan David Mosquera each tallied assists tonight in addition to Moreno. It marks a second straight match the Timbers have had four different players earn an assist, and the fifth time this season. Mosquera and Bravo each recorded their fifth assists tonight, while Evander notched his fourth. Notably, Evander, Mora, Moreno and Mosquera each tallied a goal contribution in back-to-back matches. 

Playing at Providence Park

Out of Portland’s eight remaining regular season matches, four will be played at Providence Park, where the team is 6-4-3 this season. Notably, the Timbers have scored in six straight home matches, tallying nine goals in that stretch. Portland has scored 21 of its 30 goals at home this season with a goal differential of +5 (21 GF, 16 GA) when playing at Providence Park.

Against Real Salt Lake

After tonight’s victory, Portland leads the series against Salt Lake with a mark of 13-9-10 (52 GF, 44 GA) overall and 7-2-7 (29 GF, 20 GA) when playing at Providence Park. The two sides met tonight for the third time of 2023 – one in the U.S. Open Cup (May 10) and the other in regular season play (May 17). Notably, all three matches were played in the midweek on a Wednesday. The Timbers are unbeaten against Salt Lake in their last seven matches at home (W5, D2).

Goal-Scoring Plays

POR – Santiago Moreno (Juan David Mosquera, Evander), 13th minute: Evander sent the ball wide to the right side of the field to find Juan David Mosquera, who delivered a cross into the top of the six-yard box. Santiago Moreno jumped and connected a header into the back of the net. 

POR – Felipe Mora (Santiago Moreno, Claudio Bravo), 64th minute: Claudio Bravo dribbled up the left side of the field and curled a long ball past the six-yard box. Santiago Moreno controlled the ball with one touch before sliding a pass across to the penalty area for Felipe Mora, who finished the play with a right-footed shot into the top of the goal.

RSL – Cristian Arango (Brayan Vera), 82nd minute: Brayan Vera dribbled through the right wing and crossed a ball back towards the top of the 18-yard box where Cristian Arango controlled the ball and fired a left-footed shot into the lower right corner of the goal.

Up Next: Portland will play their third game in eight days Sunday when they travel to face Seattle Sounders FC at Lumen Field. Kickoff is 7:30pm PT on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Notes

• The Timbers registered their seventh victory of the season and sixth at Providence Park.
• After tonight’s victory, Portland leads in the series against Salt Lake with a mark of 13-9-10 (52 GF, 44 GA) overall mark and 7-2-7 (29 GF, 20 GA) when playing at Providence Park. 
• The two sides met for the third time this year– one in the U.S. Open Cup (May 10) and the other in regular season play (May 17). Notably, all three matches were played in the midweek on a Wednesday.
• The Timbers are unbeaten against Salt Lake in their last seven matches at home (W5, D2).
• Out of Portland’s eight remaining regular season matches, four will be played at Providence Park.
• Notably, the Timbers have scored in six straight home matches, tallying nine goals in that stretch. 
• Portland has scored 21 of its 30 goals at home this season with a goal differential of +5 (21 GF, 16 GA) when playing at Providence Park. 
• Santiago Moreno registered his first goal of the year in tonight’s match, becoming the 15th different player to score for Portland this season. 
• Moreno also tallied his team-leading eighth assist of the 2023 campaign. 
• Felipe Mora scored his second goal of the season in consecutive matches after registering a goal against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Aug. 26. 
• Mora’s just the fifth player to record multiple goals this season for Portland. 
• Claudio Bravo, Evander and Juan David Mosquera each tallied assists tonight in addition to Moreno. It marks a second straight match the Timbers have had four different players earn an assist, and the fifth time this season. 
• Mosquera and Bravo each recorded their fifth assists tonight, while Evander notched his fourth. 
• Notably, Evander, Mora, Moreno and Mosquera each tallied a goal contribution in back-to-back matches.

Portland Timbers (7-11-8, 29pts) vs. Real Salt Lake (10-9-7, 37pts)Aug. 30, 2023 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Scoring Summary:
POR: Moreno (Mosquera, Evander), 13
POR: Mora (Moreno, Bravo), 64
RSL: Arango (Vera), 82

Misconduct Summary:
POR: D. Chara (caution), 34
RSL: Ojeda (caution), 45+1
RSL: Vera (caution), 86
RSL: bench (caution), 88
POR: Asprilla (caution), 90+3
POR: Bingham (caution), 90+5

Lineups:
POR: GK Bingham, D Mosquera, D McGraw, D Zuparic, D Bravo, M D. Chara ©, M Paredes (Mabiala, 89), M Evander (Acosta, 73), F Moreno (Asprilla, 73), F Boli (Mora, 57), F Blanco (Y. Chara, 57)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Ivacic, D Araujo, D Miller, F Antony

TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Moreno, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Moreno, Mora, 1); FOULS: 13 (Bravo, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 3, SAVES: 4

RSL: GK MacMath, D Brody, D Vera, D Glad, D Eneli, M Luna, M Palacio (Loffelsend, 77), M Ojeda, M Hidalgo (Gomez, 45), F Julio (Arango, 58), F Rubin (Kreilach, 77)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Beavers, D Lambert, D Oviedo, D Sliva, M Chang

TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Julio, Vera, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (five players tied, 1); FOULS: 14 (Glad, 4); OFFSIDES: 5; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 0

Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Hanson, Stefan Tanaka-Freundt
Fourth Official: Alexis Da Silva
VAR: Alejandro Mariscal
Attendance: 21,320