PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing the final 28 minutes with 10 men, the Portland Timbers U-23s could not overcome a second-half surge in a 4-1 loss against Seattle Sounders FC U-23 in a Premier Development League (PDL) Northwest Division playoff match on Sunday afternoon at Merlo Field on the campus of the University of Portland.
Finishing in second place in the Northwest Division with a 6-2-4 overall record (22pts), the Timbers U-23s earned two wins over Sounders FC U-23 during the regular season, but could not overcome Seattle’s man-advantage as Sounders FC U-23 tallied the eventual game-winning goal in the 64th minute as forward Guillermo Delgado tallied his second goal of the match with a close-range effort past Timbers U-23s goalkeeper Collin Partee.
Portland controlled possession early in the match, opening the scoring in the sixth minute as forward Anthony Macchione received a ball from midfielder Foster Langsdorf near the top of the penalty box. Macchione fired a shot from the top of the box and saw it deflect off a Seattle defender and find the back of the net past Seattle goalkeeper Paul Christiansen for a 1-0 lead.
Seattle responded quickly as Delgado scored his first goal of the match in the 10th minute, converting a one-on-one attempt past Timbers U-23s starting goalkeeper Eric Dick after receiving a long ball into the corner and beating a defender. For Portland, Dick recorded four saves in the first-half to keep the match level at 1-1 at halftime.
Early in the second half, Timbers U-23s midfielder Michael Sperber was sent off after receiving his second yellow card of the match in the 62nd minute, reducing Portland down to 10 men for the final 28 minutes of the second half with the score knotted at 1-1.
Following Delgado’s go-ahead goal for Seattle, the Timbers U-23s kept the deficit to one goal until a scramble in the box allowed Sounders FC U-23 defender Jonathan Campbell to find the back of the net on a rebound after Partee stopped the initial shot in the 73rd minute. Substitute forward Derek Johnson solidified the result for Seattle, scoring in the first minute of second-half stoppage time to close out the match.
Scoring Summary
POR: Macchione (Langsdorf), 6
SEA: Delgado, 10
SEA: Delgado, 64
SEA: Campbell, 73
SEA: Johnson, 90+1
Misconduct Summary
SEA: Lee (Caution), 29
POR: Sperber (Caution), 30
POR: Kahsay (Caution), 54
POR: Sperber (Ejection), 62
SEA: Peterson (Caution), 90+1
Lineups
POR: GK Eric Dick (Partee, 46), D Noah Gaines, D Ezana Kahsay, D Kyle Adams (Prescott, 46), D Ben White, M Michael Sperber ©, M Devon Fisher, M Edson Martinez, F Foster Langsdorf (Ballenger, 55), F Anthony Macchione, F Niko De Vera
Subs Not Used: GK Trevor Wilson, M Reid Baez, M Jesse Garcia-Aguilar
SEA: GK Paul Christensen, D Jonathan Campbell, D Austin Dunker, D Chase Hanson, D Matt Reinikka, M Mark Lee (DeCarolis, 89), M Troy Peterson, M Kento Sakurai (Olsen, 50), M Florian Valot (Chafin, 87), F Joey Gjertsen (Dumbuya, 85), F Guillermo Delgado (Johnson, 80)
Subs Not Used: GK Jeff Caldwell, D Blake Jones
Referee: Andrew Marihart
Assistant Referees: Benjamin Warren, Ben Goodman
4th Official: J.J. Blodgett
