TUKWILA, Wash. – Playing their third consecutive match on the road, T2 fell 2-1 to Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders FC 2 after giving up a late goal Monday night at Starfire Stadium. Midfielder Victor Arboleda tallied his fourth goal of the season, while midfielder Villyan Bijev notched his team-leading seventh assist.
After Seattle Sounders FC 2 took the lead in the 52nd minute from midfielder Zack Mathers converted penalty kick, T2 (7-14-4, 25pts) leveled the score in the 76th minute. From a counter-attacking play, Bijev played a ball in behind the S2 defense, finding the feet of Arboleda. The Colombian avoided a challenge from a Seattle defender and slotted home his right-footed shot in between the legs of Seattle goalkeeper Tyler Miller and into the back of the net.
Seattle (8-11-6, 30pts) scored the go-ahead goal in the 88th minute after midfielder Jordan Schweitzer got on the end of defender Tony Alfaro’s pass on the left side of the six-yard box and finished past T2 goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh, who finished the match with a game-high five saves.
Searching for a goal in the first half, T2 created quality scoring chances, including Bijev’s long-range blast from outside the 18-yard box that hit the top right post in the 25th minute. After Arboleda beat his defender and sent in a cross that found forward Augustine Williams inside the box, Willliams quickly turned and fired a shot that was saved by Seattle goalkeeper Tyler Miller in the 38th minute.
Early in the second half, Portland put pressure on the Sounders FC 2 backline after Bijev dribbled past a defender and fired a long-distance shot that was saved in the 58th minute. Three minutes later, Arboleda’s right-footed effort from the edge of the box was caught by Miller in the 61st minute.
Next up, T2 will play host to Oklahoma City Energy FC at Merlo Field on Sunday, Sept. 4; kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (Pacific). The Sept. 4 match will also be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
On his overall thoughts on the match…
“It’s a difficult place to go play at against a rivalry opponent. I’m disappointed with the result. I thought we did well to fight back to get into the game and then giving up a late goal is obviously very disappointing.”
On midfielder Victor Arboleda’s goal to level the score…
“I thought we did a good job to stick with our play and be positive. We created some opportunities and I felt like for a good chunk there in the second half we got back in and were the better team and we got rewarded for it. But you’ve also got to give credit to them for pushing late to go for a winner.”
On what positives he can take away heading into Sunday’s match against Oklahoma City Energy FC…
“If you look at the first half, it’s kind of how we wanted it to play out. We varied our style both in the attack and also defensively and matched them for what they had, and if not maybe a little bit better than them in the first half. We feel you should be able to put that together again in the second half and I think we started well. They started better than we did and so we’ve got to continue to get better at putting together halves. It was the same thing last week against Sacramento. We put together a really good first half as far as being dangerous and causing them problems, but we ended up losing the game. We’ve got to continue to grow and understand those moments and how to manage them and pick and choose to play and or be direct. We’ll have to look to do that against that against OKC. They’re an experienced team and they’re doing reasonably well this year and we’re going to have to make sure we manage that game better.”
T2 (7-14-4, 25pts) vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2 (8-11-6, 30pts)
Aug. 29, 2016 – Starfire Stadium (Tukwila, Wash.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 1 1
Sounders FC 2 0 2 2
Scoring Summary
SEA: Mathers (Penalty Kick), 51
POR: Arboleda (Bijev), 76
SEA: Schweitzer (Alfaro), 88
Misconduct Summary
POR: Gallagher (Caution), 29
SEA: Parra (Caution), 29
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK McIntosh, D Richards, D Arokoyo (Gallagher, 11), D Clarke ©, D Klute, M Besler, M Casiple, M Arboleda (Brett, 79), M Bijev, M Bodily (Polk, 84), F Williams
Substitutes Not Used: GK Luthy, D Morley, M Lewis, M Damraoui,
TOTAL SHOTS: 13; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 5
SEA: GK Miller ©, D O. Fisher, D Delem, D Alfaro, D Tolo (Armstrong, 90), M Schweitzer, M O’Ojong (Kapawa, 89), M Mathers (Nelson, 90), F Patino (D. Fisher, 84), F Mansaray (Tomozawa, 79), F Parra
Substitutes Not Used: GK Lyon, M Dimitroff
TOTAL SHOTS: 14; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3
Referee: Josh Wilkens
Assistant Referees: Kelsey Harms, Joe Tompkins
4th Official: Benjamin Oakley
Attendance: 1,570
Weather: Clear, 74 degrees
