Portland Timbers 2 (7-3-2, 23pts) head to Texas on a five-game high to play struggling San Antonio FC (3-3-5, 14pts) Saturday.
Winless in their previous three matches, SAFC will hope to steady their form against the surging Portland side. San Antonio have two wins, one loss, and a draw in their last five. Their two victories in that span were a convincing win against Las Vegas Lights FC and a less than convincing one against Fresno FC. The winning goal coming from an own goal from Fresno goalkeeper Kyle Reynish.
San Antonio’s lone goal in their previous match, a 2-1 loss to Reno 1868 FC, came in similarly outlandish fashion, when midfielder Omar Gordon scored directly from a corner kick. SAFC will be unlikely to find such forgiving goalkeeping from a T2 side tied for the lead league with seven clean sheets.
The loss to Reno should come as disappointment to San Antonio who created plenty of opportunities for themselves, squandering most of them. SAFC managed 19 shots, with 12 coming from inside the 18-yard-box but could only put five on frame. Just as their attack created chances, their defense conceded them. San Antonio allowed 18 shots, 14 coming from inside the 18-yard-box, with seven being on target. While Reno were by no means clinical, they were marginally less wasteful, and earned a result from an even match.
SAFC recent struggles might stem from a lack of an outright goal scorer. Two midfielders, Mikey Lopez and Omar Gordon, are tied for the team lead in goals scored with two each.
Goal scoring woes are something that T2 know little about. Portland are tied for second in the league with 22 goals scored on the season. Forward Foster Langsdorf leads the side with five goals and winger Victor Arboleda is a close second with four goals.
Third in the West, T2 have not loss in their last five matches, winning four times, with two wins coming against Western Conference contenders Sacramento Republic FC and Real Monarchs SLC. Another win being a 7-3 dismantling of LA Galaxy II.
Portland’s previous match was a hard fought 1-0 victory over Real Monarchs. T2 looked the stronger side against first place SLC. Goalkeeper Jake Leeker turned in a solid performance and looked to conserve a draw for Real Monarchs, before letting forward Dairon Asprilla’s 77th minute game winning goal slip between his legs.
Against SLC, T2 saw the return of forwards Jeremy Ebobisse and Darixon Vuelto from injury. The reemergence of the prolific attackers could not come at a better time. Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers start their Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign on Wednesday. The Timbers have historically fielded second choice players from the first team and T2 players for Open Cup matches. With T2 on the road and the Timbers at home, some selection surprises could be in the works.
The lineup selection for T2 is further complicated as Portland have two players called in for the World Cup, David Guzman for Costa Rica and Andy Polo for Peru. If Timbers Manager Gio Savarese elects to replace them on the bench with a similar player, standout midfielder Eryk Williamson would seem the most likely option, leaving a sizable hole in the center of the pitch for T2.
Stream online on ESPN+ Saturday, 2 p.m. PST.
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