LEAGUES CUP RECAP | Portland Timbers defeat Liga MX side Club Puebla 5-2

Ariel Lassiter, Cole Bassett each tally braces in win; David Da Costa finishes with a goal and two assists

PORTLAND, Ore. – Ariel Lassiter and Cole Bassett each tallied braces, David Da Costa had a goal and two assists and the Portland Timbers defeated Liga MX side Club Puebla 5-2 Thursday evening at Providence Park in both teams' first match of Leagues Cup 2026 Phase One play.

Portland next hosts Club América on Sunday in their second match of Phase One (7:15pm PT, TICKETS, Apple TV).

Goal Scorers and Playmakers

Ariel Lassiter opened the scoring for Portland in Leagues Cup 2026, ultimately recording a brace in the match and reaching six goal contributions on the year (4G, 2A). Notably, Lassiter has scored three goals in four Leagues Cup appearances in Green and Gold. Cole Bassett also registered a brace tonight, bringing his 2026 total to five goals on the year. They come as the first Timbers braces for Lassiter and Bassett. David Da Costa also got in on the scoring, netting Portland’s third goal of the night and his second goal of 2026. Additionally, Da Costa provided two assists tonight, bringing his goal contributions on the year to 11. Notably, it is Da Costa’s first three-goal contribution performance in Green and Gold. Kristoffer Velde opened his Leagues Cup contribution account, providing an assist and bringing his total goal contributions on the year to 10 (4G, 6A).

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Leagues Cup is Back

Tonight marked the start of the Timbers’ fourth Leagues Cup campaign. With the result, Portland improved their Leagues Cup record to 6-3-1 overall and 4-2-1 against Liga MX clubs. Next up, the Timbers will host Club América for their second Phase One match of the international tournament on Sunday, August 9, at Providence Park. The top four MLS teams and top four Liga MX sides advance to the quarterfinals. The champion, runners-up and third-place finishers qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup and have an opportunity to earn a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.

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Goal-Scoring Plays

POR– Ariel Lassiter, 5th minute: Ariel Lassiter lobbed a deflected pass in the box with his left foot over the goalkeeper from just outside the six-yard box.

PUE– Eduardo Mustre (Brayan Garnica), 14th minute: Brayan Garnica sent a cross into the six-yard box where Eduardo Mustre finished first-time from close range with his right foot.

POR– Cole Bassett (Kristoffer Velde), 36th minute: Kristoffer Velde delivered a corner kick to the near post where Cole Bassett buried it past the goalkeeper with a quick flicked header.

POR– David Da Costa, 38th minute: Ian Smith dribbled into the box past three defenders and tapped a deflected ball over the approaching goalkeeper into the six-yard box where David Da Costa slotted the ball into the empty net.

POR– Cole Bassett (David Da Costa), 45+3rd minute: After dribbling past defenders into open space at the bottom of the box, David Da Costa sent a low pass across the six-yard box to an on-running Cole Bassett. Bassett finished first-time with a left-footed shot into the open goal.

POR– Ariel Lassiter (David Da Costa), 56th minute: David Da Costa dribbled down the touchline from the top of the box and dropped a low cross in the center of the six-yard box where Ariel Lassiter struck first-time with his left foot into goal.

PUE– Emiliano Gómez (Alejandro Organista), 80th minute: Emiliano Gómez dribbled up to the top of the semi-circle and fired a right footed shot from outside the box into the lower right of goal.

Cassidy: "It's a good evening all around"

Notes

• Tonight’s win puts the Timbers at the top of the Leagues Cup 2026 table (1-0-0, +3 GD).
• The result extends Portland’s undefeated run across all competitions to five (4-0-1), notably outscoring opponents 16-7 over that stretch.
• The Timbers secured their sixth Leagues Cup victory in 10 matches played, improving their all-time tournament record to 6-3-1.
• Portland has outscored Leagues Cup opponents 21-10 over the last four years.
• Additionally, the Timbers improved their competition record against Liga MX clubs to 4-2-1.
• Portland has now outscored Mexican clubs in the competition 14-7.
• Ariel Lassiter opened the scoring for Portland in Leagues Cup 2026, ultimately recording a brace in the match.
• It comes as Lassiter’s first multi-goal performance for the Timbers, and second in his career (last on Sept. 2, 2020, for Houston in MLS).
• It marks Lassiter’s second and third Leagues Cup goals for the Timbers in his fourth appearance (three starts) for Portland in the tournament.
• It marks the Costa Rican’s third and fourth goals across all competitions this year and sixth contribution.
• Cole Bassett recorded a brace for Portland tonight, his first in Green and Gold.
• It marks Bassett’s fourth and fifth goals of the year in Green and Gold across all competitions.
• Bassett’s nine goal contributions (5G, 4A) on the year are now second most for the club in 2026.
• David Da Costa scored Portland’s third goal of the night and his second goal of 2026,
• Additionally, the 25-year-old provided two assists tonight, bringing his goal contributions on the year to 11.
• It is Da Costa’s first three-goal contribution performance in Green and Gold.
• Kristoffer Velde recorded his first Leagues Cup assist on Portland’s second goal of the night.
• Velde has now registered five assists in 2026 across all competitions.
• Three players made their 2026 debuts tonight, including Trey Muse (start), Sawyer Jura and Eric Miller.
• Trey Muse’s start tonight was his first team debut.

Next Game

The Timbers remain at home to host their second Leagues Cup 2026 Phase One match against Liga MX’s Club América at Providence Park this Sunday, August 9. Kickoff for the match is scheduled for 7:15pm PT on Apple TV in English and Spanish with local radio broadcasts on 105.1 FM/1080 AM The Fan (English) and La GranD 93.5 FM/1150AM (Spanish).

Portland Timbers (1-0-0, 3pts) vs. Puebla (0-1-0, 0pts)

August 6, 2026 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Scoring Summary:
POR: Lassiter, 5
PUE: Mustre (Garnica), 14
POR: Bassett (Velde), 36
POR: Da Costa, 38
POR: Bassett (Da Costa), 45+3
POR: Lassiter (Da Costa), 56
PUE: Gomez (Organista), 80

Misconduct Summary:
PUE: Sanabria (caution), 81
PUE: Leyva (caution), 90+1

Lineups:
POR: GK Muse, D Bye (E. Miller, 70), D Surman ©, D Bonetig, D Smith, M Caicedo, M Bassett (Kelsy, 77), M Ortiz, F Lassiter (Jura, 58), F Velde (Fernandez, 58), F Da Costa (Guerra, 70)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Sulte, D K. Miller, M Chara, F Antony

TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Velde, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (Bassett, Lassiter, 2); FOULS: 11 (Smith, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3

PUE: GK Gutiérrez, D I. Moreno (Camilo,76), D Leyva, D Vargas ©, D Villa, M Organista, M Ramírez (Sanabria, 61), F Garnica (Velasco, 61), F Tomás (O. Moreno, 76) F Gómez, F Mustre (Hernández, 65)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Rodríguez, GK Ortega, D de la Rosa, D Almada, D Monárrez, M Herrera, M Baltazar

TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Gómez, Velasco, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Gómez, 2); FOULS: 11 (Ramírez, Sanabria, 3); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 3

Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistant Referees: Logan Brown, Jose Da Silva
Fourth Official: Steven Madrigal
VAR: Jesús Montero
Attendance: 11,330

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.