RECAP | Portland Timbers dispatch San Diego FC with 3-1 victory

Kristoffer Velde, Ariel Lassiter and David Da Costa all score for Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. – Golazos from Kristoffer Velde and David Da Costa, plus a strike from Ariel Lassiter, lifted the Portland Timbers to a 3-1 victory over San Diego FC Wednesday night at Providence Park.

Velde also contributed two assists to give him the team lead while Cole Bassett and Jimer Fory also earned assists.

The victory lifted the Timbers above the playoff line and into ninth place in the Western Conference.

Portland’s Attacking Production

Kristoffer Velde led Portland’s offense tonight, contributing to all three goals (1G, 2A). Velde has tallied 13 goal contributions in this season (5G, 8A), tied for the most on the team with Kevin Kelsy (9G, 4A). It marked Velde’s third multi-goal contribution performance this year. Ariel Lassiter scored his third of the season, marking a third straight match with a contribution (2G, 1A) across all competitions. David Da Costa recorded his second goal of the year, and first since April 4. Jimer Fory and Cole Bassett both registered their fifth assists of the 2026 campaign. Notably, the Timbers have scored in 10 straight matches across all competitions and have tallied multiple goals in seven of those. Portland is currently fourth in the West in goals scored with 37.

Goal-Scoring Plays

POR – Kristoffer Velde (Cole Bassett), 29th minute: Cole Bassett played a ball to Kristoffer Velde in the middle of San Diego’s half after a dribble handoff. Velde then struck a right footed shot from nearly 30 yards outside of the box that went past the keeper and into the lower left corner of the goal.SD – Gabriel Pirani (Lewis Morgan, Onni Valakari), 45+1 minute: Gabriel Pirani received a pass on top of the Timbers’ 18-yard box before making two turns. He then played a pass to Lewis Morgan before finishing a right-footed shot into the bottom-left corner.

POR – Ariel Lassiter (Jimer Fory, Kristoffer Velde), 51st minute: Kristoffer Velde received the ball at the top of San Diego’s 18-yard box and held up play before finding Jimer Fory streaking down the left wing. Fory played a one-time pass across the face of the goal where Ariel Lassiter finished a left-footed shot into the roof of the net.

POR – David Da Costa (Kristoffer Velde), 68th minute: Kristoffer Velde took the ball down the left wing and into the opponent’s box before dropping a pass to David Da Costa just outside of the box. Da Costa hit a right-footed curler into the upper right corner of the goal.

Cifuentes: "Very happy [with the win]. Hopefully the first of many"

Notes

Martí Cifuentes earned his first MLS victory at the helm.
The Timbers (8-9-3, 27pts) are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference following tonight’s win.
With two wins against San Diego, the Timbers swept the series in 2026.
Portland played its sixth match in a 20-day span.
In that six-game span, the Timbers have recorded a mark of 4-2-0.
In nine games across all competitions since returning from the summer international window, Portland has gone unbeaten in seven (6-2-1).
In that span, the Timbers have scored a goal in every single match and multiple goals in seven matches.
Kristoffer Velde notched a goal and two assists tonight, bringing his season totals to five and eight, respectively.
Velde has tallied 13 goal contributions in this season (5G, 8A), tied for the most on the team with Kevin Kelsy (9G, 4A).
Notably, three of Velde’s seven MLS goals have come against San Diego, including the 2025 postseason.
It marked Velde’s third multi-goal contribution performance this year.
Ariel Lassiter scored his third of the season.
Lassiter has notched a goal contribution in three straight matches (2G, 1A), and five goal contributions in his last five appearances across all competitions (4G, 1A).
David Da Costa recorded his second goal of the year, and first since April 4.
Jimer Fory and Cole Bassett both registered their fifth assists of the 2026 campaign.

Next Game

Next up, the Timbers will travel to face LAFC on Saturday, Aug. 22. Kickoff from BMO Stadium is set for 7:30pm 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 (8-9-3, 27pts) vs. San Diego FC (6-8-6, 24pts)

August 19, 2026 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Goals by Half	1	2	F
Portland Timbers	1	2	3
San Diego FC	1	0	1

Scoring Summary:
POR: Velde (Bassett), 29
SD: Pirani (Lewis, Valakari), 45+1
POR: Velde (Fory, Velde), 51
POR: Da Costa (Velde), 68

Misconduct Summary:
POR: Lassiter (caution), 17
SD: Verhoueven (caution), 90+1
POR: Kelsy (caution), 90+6

Lineups:
POR: GK Pantemis, D Bye (E. Miller, 62), D Surman ©, D K. Miller, D Fory, M Bassett (Ortiz, 74), M Caicedo, M Da Costa (Chara, 83), F Lassiter (Janssen, 83), F Kelsy, F Velde (Antony, 74)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Muse, D McGraw, D I. Smith, M Fernandez, F Guerra

TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Lassiter, Kelsy, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Lassiter, 1); FOULS: 14 (Velde, Fory, 3); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 0; SAVES: 5

SD: GK dos Santos, D Thórhallsson (Verhoeven, 74), D Duah ©, D Murphy, D Sargeant (Bombino, 74), M Valakari (Alvarado, 58), M Tverskov ©, M Pirani, F Mighten (Achouri, 59), F Morgan, F Ingvartsen (Pellegrino, 74)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Ferree, D McVey, M Grodoy, M Vazquez

TOTAL SHOTS: 21 (Pirani, 7); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Pirani, 3); FOULS: 10 (three players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 2

Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Assistant Referees: Eric Weisbrod, Jeffery Swartzel
Fourth Official: Robert Vincze
VAR: David Barrie
Attendance: 20,617

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.