TUCSON, Ariz. – The Portland Timbers concluded their 12-day preseason camp in Arizona against Seattle Sounders FC at the Kino Sports Complex on Saturday evening, once again utilizing two different lineups in each 45-minute half before a record crowd of 4,064 in their final preseason match in Tucson.
The Timbers first-half group held a 1-0 lead against Seattle through the opening 45 minutes, as Diego Valeri’s driven free kick set up Fanendo Adi for a strong header in the 17th minute of play. A penalty-kick for Seattle later in the second half leveled the score and resulted in a 1-1 draw between the two groups.
- POSTGAME: Caleb Porter
- POSTGAME: Fanendo Adi
- POSTGAME: Diego Valeri
Prior to the opening finish, the Timbers saw two good scoring chances early in the game when Darren Mattocks ran on to a pass inside the box, striking his final effort high of the target in the seventh minute of play. Seven minutes later, Adi was released in behind on the counter attack by Valeri, with the forward forcing a strong save from Seattle goalkeeper Tyler Miller.
Adi found the back of the net for an early Timbers lead three minutes later when Mattocks was brought down on the edge of the 18-yard box on the left side of the pitch. Positioned in a dangerous area, Valeri curled a precise free kick toward the six-yard box, finding Adi for a diving header to give Portland the advantage.
Three minutes before halftime, Jake Gleeson, who made his 2017 preseason debut for Portland, produced an acrobatic save to keep Sounders FC off the scoresheet in the first 45, pushing forward Will Bruin’s close-range attempt wide of the target, as the Timbers maintained a 1-0 advantage going into the second half.
In the second 45, Portland’s second group of players, which included the debut of newly acquired Lawrence Olum, created another positive chance when a curling free kick into the box found forward Jack McInerney, whose looping header forced a strong fingertip save from Miller in the 60th minute. Ten minutes later, Seattle leveled the score when midfielder Harry Shipp converted a penalty kick, with the midfielder managing to narrowly sneak his effort past Timbers goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, who came close to parrying the strike away from danger.
Shortly afterward, Portland continued to pressure Seattle’s goal when forward Augustine Williams was brought down inside the box while running on to a through ball in the 80th minute, with the referee waiving play on, while defender Lamar Batista’s header from a free kick went just wide of target five minutes later.
The Timbers will return to Portland to resume preseason training ahead of their sixth-annual preseason tournament at Providence Park, featuring fixtures against Real Salt Lake, Minnesota United FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Portland will open the preseason tournament against Real Salt Lake on Thursday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific). Tickets for the Timbers preseason tournament are included as part of 2017 Timbers Annual Memberships. Individual tickets, which allow entry to both matches each day, start at $10 and are currently available online. Full tournament ticket packages are also available for purchase online. For a complete schedule for the tournament, visit www.timbers.com.
Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders FC (MLS Preseason)
Feb. 4, 2017 – Kino Sports Complex (Tucson, Ariz.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Portland Timbers 1 0 1
Seattle Sounders FC 0 1 1
Scoring Summary:
POR: Adi (Valeri), 17
SEA: Shipp (Penalty kick), 71
Misconduct Summary:
SEA: Oduro (Caution), 17
POR: Chara (Caution), 24
Lineups:
First 45:
POR: GK Gleeson, D Myers, D Clarke, D Ridgewell, D Vytas, M Guzmán, M Chara, M Asprilla, M Valeri, M Mattocks, F Adi
Second 45:
POR: GK Attinella, D Ordain, D Okugo, D Olum, D Valentin, M Adu, M Zemanski, M Lewis+ (Batista+, 77), M Arboleda, F Johnson* (Williams+, 77), F McInerney
SEA: GK Miller, D Oduro (Ramos, 45), D Agbossoumonde (Nana-Sinkam, 45), D Alfaro (Stovall, 45), D Jones (Tolo, 45), M Svensson (Wingo, 45), M Roldan (Hopeau, 45), M Lodeiro (Mathers, 45), M Dempsey (Shipp, 30), M Fernandez (Adekoya, 45), F Bruin (Parra, 45)
* Indicates guest player/trialist; ^ indicates SuperDraft pick, + indicates T2
