Goals from Noah Santos and Kyle Linhares guided Timbers2 to a 2-1 win over rival Tacoma Defiance at Providence Park. The win moves T2 to within three points of the playoff line.
PORTLAND, Ore. – Timbers2 earned three points with a 2-1 victory over Tacoma Defiance at Providence Park on Sunday evening. T2’s Noah Santos opened the scoring just five minutes into the first half and Kyle Linhares’ 64th minute strike proved to be the eventual game-winner over their Cascadia rivals. Linhares' goal and assist on the night puts him in the team lead in both categories with eight goals and five assists on the season.
Series Sweep
Timbers2 swept their Cascadia rival Tacoma Defiance this season, winning all three encounters with a combined scoreline of 6-3. Linhares led the charge for Portland with two goals — his first on July 27 and his second in the second half of tonight’s match. Gage Guerra, Alex Moreno, Reo Revaldo, and Santos also found the back of the net against the Defiance, contributing to the series sweep.
Playoff Hunt
Timbers2 are three points back from being in playoff contention after the win. Minnesota United FC2 and Whitecaps FC 2 hold the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference with 31 points while North Texas SC – also on 31 points – sits in ninth. With six matches remaining for Portland, four of them will be against teams currently in playoff positioning, with the season finale being at home against the Western Conference leaders St Louis CITY2 on October 5.
Goal-Scoring Plays
POR – Noah Santos (Sawyer Jura, Kyle Linhares), 5th minute: Noah Santos controlled a short pass into the edge of the right-side of the pitch and fired a right footed screamer from outside the box to the top far corner.
TAC – Yu Tsukanome, 12th minute: Following his own saved attempt, Yu Tsukanome scored the rebound with a right footed shot from the center of the box to the near side of goal.
POR – Kyle Linhares (Blake Pope, Victor Enriquez), 64th minute: Blake Pope controlled the ball at the top of the box and passed to Kyle Linhares as he cut into the left side of the box. Linhares cut back his dribble to lose the defender and curled the ball into the far right corner of the goal.
Notes:
- Timbers2 swept all three matchups against Tacoma Defiance this season, posting a combined 6-3 goal advantage.
- With his eighth goal of the season, Kyle Linhares tied Gage Guerra for most goals on the season.
- Linhares recorded his sixth assist of the season.
- Linhares now has the most assists on T2.
- Linhares leads T2 with 14 goal contributions.
- Noah Santos scored his second goal across all competitions this year.
- Blake Pope recorded his second assist of the season.
- Victor Enriquez recorded his second assist of the season
- Sawyer Jura recorded his second assist of the season.
- Portland are three points back from being in playoff contention after tonight’s win.
- T2 have six matches remaining in 2025.
- Four of Timbers2’s final matches are against teams currently in playoff positioning, with the season finale being at home against the Western Conference leaders St Louis CITY2 on October 5
Next Game
Next up, Timbers2 travel to play Whitecaps FC 2 on Sunday, August 31, at Swangard Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. (Pacific) and will be broadcast live on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
Timbers2 (7-10-5, 28pts) vs. Tacoma Defiance (7-10-4, 27pts)
August 24, 2025 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Scoring Summary:
POR: Santos (Jura, Linhares), 5
TAC: Tsukanome, 12
POR: Linhares (Pope, Enriquez) 64
Misconduct Summary:
TAC: Gomez (caution), 18
TAC: Khoury (caution), 42
TAC: Yamada (caution), 52
TAC: Yamada (ejection). 54
POR: McGraw (caution), 56
POR: Santos (caution), 59
TAC: Hassan (caution), 72
Lineups:
POR: GK Burns, D Jura, D Pope, D Ondo, D McGraw, M Marquinhos (Nuñez, 65), M Enriquez © (Johnston, 73), M Moreno (E. Izoita, 65), M Santos (Bunbury, 73), M Linhares (Gallardo, 86), F Guerra
Substitutes Not Used: GK Deisenhofer, D Bamford, M VanVoorhis, F White
TOTAL SHOTS: 22 (Linhares, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Linhares, 4); FOULS: 11 (three players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 5; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 1
TAC: GK Castro, D Yamada, D Lopez ©, D Burney, D Alvarez (Gaffney, 46), M Carli (Robles, 57), M Kingston, M Pinto, M Gomez, F Khoury (Hassan, 46), F Tsukanome (Christian, 67), F Sousa (Diaw, 83)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Shour, D Veillard, M Gonzalez, M Pedder
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Gomez, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Gomez and Tsukanome, 1); FOULS: 16 (Kingston and Lopez, 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 7
Referee: Jose Landa
Assistant Referees: Joshua Mills, Charles Rupert
Fourth Official: Andres Palominos
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
