T2 to open 2017 USL season against Real Monarchs SLC Saturday at Providence Park

PORTLAND, Ore. – T2 will open the 2017 USL regular season at home against Real Monarchs SLC on Saturday, March 25, at Providence Park; kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific), with a live stream available at www.timbers2.com.

Individual-game tickets for the 2017 season start at $10 and are available at the Providence Park box office on gameday or by visiting www.timbers.com/tickets. Season tickets, starting at $100, are on sale for T2 home matches at Providence Park by calling (503) 553-5555.

The match on Saturday marks the first of three matches scheduled between T2 and Real Monarchs during the 2017 USL regular season, as both teams will meet June 10 at Rio Tinto Stadium beginning at 6 p.m. (Pacific), while the final match between the two clubs will be played at Providence Park on Sept. 9, beginning at 7 p.m. (Pacific). In two matches last season against Real Monarchs, T2 finished with a record of 1-1. Portland defeated Real Monarchs 3-1 on May 7, 2016, at Providence Park while Real Monarchs defeated T2 2-1 on Aug. 17, 2016, at Rio Tinto Stadium. Portland has a record of 1-1-0 in home openers dating back to the 2015 USL season.

Led by second-year head coach Andrew Gregor, T2 will begin their third season after ending the 2016 USL campaign with a 12-14-4 record, narrowly missing out on the last playoff spot in the Western Conference as Orange County SC edged out Portland for eighth place due to the goal-differential tiebreaker. Players returning from the 2016 season include midfielders Villyan Bijev, Dylan Damraoui and Andre Lewis, and forward Augustine Williams. Additionally, midfielder Neco Brett and goalkeeper Wade Hamilton return as signed T2 players after playing with the club last season on loan from the Portland Timbers.

Real Monarchs SLC, the USL affiliate of Real Salt Lake, begin their third season after finishing four points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference for the 2016 USL Cup Playoffs. In the offseason, Real Monarchs signed forward Chandler Hoffman, who last played for Louisville City FC and helped the club finish second in the Eastern Conference standings last season. Hoffman has recorded more goals than any other player in the USL over the past three seasons with 31.

Saturday’s match will be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.

Following their USL regular-season opener against Real Monarchs SLC, T2 will travel on the road to play Swope Park Rangers FC on Wednesday, March 29, at Children’s Mercy Victory Field in Kansas City, Mo.; kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. (Pacific).