PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers defeated Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2-1 Sunday evening in the first game of their preseason tournament at Providence Park, presented by Old Trapper Beef Jerky. Portland was paced by a first-half penalty kick goal from Diego Valeri and a second half strike by Andy Polo.
Valeri's goal came after midfielder Sebastián Blanco played a ball up to a speeding Felipe Mora who was pulled down on the edge of the six-yard box. Referee Joe Dickerson immediately pointed to the spot and Valeri hammered his shot into the upper left corner of the goal and a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute.
Five minutes later, Vancouver's Lucas Cavallaini nudged ahead of goalkeeper Steve Clark to head in a ball and tie the score.
But the game-winner for Portland came only 15 seconds into the second half. Midfielder Polo, coming in fresh with a host of changes from halftime, raced down the right flank. Valeri weighted a throughball to him and Polo deftly placed a lofted shot into the far corner of the net for a sensational goal and a 2-1 Portland lead.
Portland's preseason continues as they host Minnesota United FC Wednesday evening at Providence Park. Kickoff is 7:30pm PT (Webstream on Timbers.com, TICKETS)
2020 Preseason, presented by Old Trapper Beef Jerky
Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (MLS Preseason)
Feb. 16, 2020 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Portland Timbers 1 1 2
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1 0 0
Scoring Summary:
POR: Valeri (penalty kick), 34
VAN: Cavallini (Adnan, Hwang), 39
POR: Polo (Valeri), 46
Lineups:
POR: GK Clark (Ivacic, 45); D Moreira (Bonilla, 77), D Mabiala (Duvall, 77), D Zuparic (Cascante, 77), D Villafaña (Farfan, 45); M Paredes (Conechny, 77), M Chara (Zambrano, 77), M Y. Chara (Polo, 45), M Valeri © (Williamson, 77), M Blanco (Asprilla, 77), F Mora (Ebobisse, 77)
VAN: GK Crepeau: D Nerwinski, D Khmiri (Rose, 61), D Cornelius, D Adnan; M Hwang (Gutierrez, 82), M Teibert (Metcalfe, 82), M Dajome (Bair, 77), M Reyna (Ricketts, 77), M Milinkovic (Raposo, 77); F Cavallini (Montero, 77)
Attendance: 13,882
