Portland Timbers 2 (6-3-2, 20pts) host league leaders Real Monarchs SLC (8-1-1, 25pts) Saturday at Providence Park.
Real Monarchs enter the contest on top of the table, having won eight of their ten matches played. Their recent form is excellent with four wins and a draw in their previous five games. In those five games Real Monarchs have score nine goals, while only conceding two.
Goals have come from everywhere for Real Monarchs. Defender Kalen Ryden leads the side with four goals and midfielder Sebastian Velasquez has three goals on the season. Four players have three goals this season for Real Monarchs.
In their previous meeting this season Real Monarchs beat T2 4-2. The performance was a commanding one from Real Monarchs, who scored three times in the first 32 minutes. T2 rallied to get two back before Real Monarchs put the match away when Velasquez scored the fourth and final goal for Real Monarchs. Feeble set piece defending doomed Portland as the first three goals of the match all came from free kicks or corners.
Portland have improved, especially on defense, since the first meeting between these two sides. On the season, T2 have six clean sheets. The improvements are in no small part due to the emergence of Lamar Batista at left back and the entry of center back Bill Tuiloma to the lineup. The 6’4” Batista has looked the part since earning his starting spot and provides another physical presence on set pieces. Tuiloma has been a calming influence on the defense since his return to T2 but is unlikely to be in the lineup Saturday. With the injury of first team starter Liam Ridgewell, the New Zealand international is likely to find himself in the starting 11 when the Portland Timbers play the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
With three wins, a draw, and a loss in their previous five, T2 come into the match in good form. In those matches, they have outscored opponents 11-5, seven of those goals coming in their previous league match against LA Galaxy II.
Against Los Dos, the Portland attack was on full display. Forward Foster Langsdorf scored twice in the first half, before completing his first professional hattrick in the 57th minute from the penalty spot. Langsdorf leads T2 with five goals on the season. Portland gave LA hope, conceding three times in the second half, twice on excellent strikes from 15-year-old sensation and United States men’s national team talking point Efrain Alvarez. However, T2 put the match away in the 81st minute on a no-nonsense finish from midfielder Eryk Williamson. Portland scored three more goals in stoppage time for good measure.
On Tuesday, T2 played an exhibition match against 2. Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli. Forward Augustine Williams scored two second half goals in the penalty-shootout victory. The match featured a mix of first team fringe players and T2 regulars.
With forwards Langsdorf and Williams gathering goals and headlines, the influence of midfielder Marvin Loria should not be understated. Since earning a starting spot, Loria has shown superb technical ability and creativity as an attacking midfielder whether deployed centrally or on the wings. Against Los Dos, he tallied his first goal and second assist on the season.
Watch live at Providence Park Saturday, 2 p.m. PST, or stream online on ESPN+.
T2
USL
