Portland Timbers Development Update: Nov. 18, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers Academy teams faced the Seattle Sounders FC Academy teams over the weekend at the adidas Timbers Training Center. Both Timbers Academy sides lost their respective matchups, with the Timbers U-18 Academy falling on a last-minute game-winner. 

The Timbers U-18 Academy (3-5-2, 11pts) took a hard-fought, 2-1 loss to the Sounders FC U-18 Academy on Saturday. The Timbers U-18s scored first as Peter Prescott (Vancouver, Wash.) delivered the initial go-ahead goal on a free kick just before halftime; it was Prescott’s second goal of the season. Goalkeeper Joe Wheelwright (Portland, Ore.) turned in a solid performance, but the Sounders FC U-18s scored twice in the second half, equalizing in the 59th minute. The visitors then claimed all three points on a converted penalty-kick attempt in the 90th minute. The Timbers U-18s were unable to convert a penalty kick midway through the second half which would have allowed them to retake the lead. 

The Timbers U-16 Academy (2-6-2, 8pts) lost 1-0 to the Sounders FC U-16 Academy on Saturday. The Timbers U-16s came out with energy and high pressure, but the Sounders FC U-16s were able to score the decisive goal in the 28th minute off a counter attack. Goalkeeper Grant Alcorn (Vancouver, Wash.) helped keep the Timbers U-16s in the match, making a series of saves, as the team pushed numbers forward to find the equalizer. 

Both the Timbers U-18 and U-16 teams have a break in play before heading to Florida for the 2013 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase starting Dec. 11. The Timbers U-18s will face academy teams for Orlando City SC, Sporting Kansas City and Columbus Crew during their three matches at the showcase. The Timbers U-16s will take on the U-16 sides for the New England Revolution, Columbus Crew and Dallas Texans. 

Timbers U-23s players help lead colleges to NCAA tournament, garner all-conference honors
Several members of the 2013 Timbers U-23s squad will be leading their respective college teams into the 2013 NCAA tournament. In total, six different colleges – Akron, Creighton, Louisville, Loyola Marymount (Calif.), North Carolina and UC Santa Barbara – with Timbers U-23s players on their roster are in the tournament, which opens play Thursday, Nov. 21. 

Additionally, two Timbers U-23s-led college teams won their respective conference championships over the weekend: Akron (Saad Abdul-Salaam, Reinaldo Brenes, Bryan Gallego, Victor Souto) won the Mid-American Conference, while Loyola Marymount (Paul Blanchette, Jack McCracken, John McFarlin, Craig Nitti) won the West Coast Conference for the first time. 

A number of 2013 Timbers U-23s players received all-conference honors for their respective NCAA campaigns. Brenes, Gallego, Souto, Zach Barnes (Creighton) and Mark Sherrod (Memphis) all earned all-conference, first-team honors. Abdul-Salaam, Jose Ribas (Creighton) and Travis Brent (Marshall) were also named to all-conference teams. Meanwhile, forward Clark Phillips (Gonzaga) was named to the West Coast Conference All-Academic Team.