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Portland climbs into sixth place in Western Conference standings, extends unbeaten streak to six straight

PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing their third match in seven days, the Portland Timbers earned a 3-2 victory against the Colorado Rapids at Providence Park on Saturday night. Goals from Antony, Santiago Moreno and Felipe Mora sealed the result for the Timbers, helping the team climb into sixth place of the Western Conference standings.

Timbers Form
Earning their fourth consecutive win tonight, the Timbers are unbeaten in six straight matches (5-0-1). Currently, it marks the longest active unbeaten streak and win streak in MLS. Portland has scored multiple goals in seven straight matches, tallying 15 in that span. Fifteen goals scored since August 26 is the second most in the league, trailing only Atlanta United (17). In that seven-match span, four Portland players have registered four or more goal contributions a piece – Mora (4G, 1A), Evander (4G, 1A), Moreno (2G, 3A) and Dairon Asprilla (1G, 3A).

Playoff Position
With the win, Portland moves up to sixth place in the Western Conference standings. Sitting on 42 points, the Timbers are just one point behind Real Salt Lake in fifth place with 43 points and Houston in fourth place (43pts). Notably, Portland is only three points out of third place in the standings, which is currently occupied by Seattle Sounders FC (45pts) and LAFC (45pts) in second place. With three games remaining in the regular season, six points separate Minnesota United FC (37pts) in 11th place and Houston in fourth place. Entering the final stretch, 13 of the 14 teams in the Western Conference remain in contention for nine spots in the postseason. Portland will play two of its final three games of the regular season against Western Conference opponents: LA Galaxy (Sept. 30) and Houston (Oct. 21).

Firsts
Antony scored his first MLS goal 19 minutes into his first start. He became the 17^th different player to register a goal for Portland this season. Seventeen different players to score a goal for Portland is tied with Atlanta United and Inter Miami for the most in the league this season. Noel Caliskan recorded his first MLS goal contribution with an assist in tonight’s match. He became the 20^th player to tally an assist for Portland in the 2023 MLS campaign, which is more than any other team in the league. It marks the first season in club history in which 20 different players have tallied an assist for the Timbers. Asprilla tallied two assists in the match, marking his first multi-assist performance for the club.

Goal-Scoring Plays
POR – Antony (Dairon Asprilla), 19th minute: Dairon Asprilla dribbled down the left side of the box and crossed the ball to the back post. Positioned at the top of the six-yard box, Antony won the ball out of the air and headed it into the back of the net.

POR – Santiago Moreno (Noel Caliskan), 30th minute: Antony played a driven pass to the top of the box for Santiago Moreno, who played a quick give-and-go with Noel Caliskan before receiving it near the six-yard area and finishing a one-touch right footed shot.

COL – Diego Rubio (Cole Bassett, Ralph Priso), 31st minute: Cole Bassett dribbled through the right side of the field and sent a long ball into the penalty area where Diego Rubio finished the play with a header into the right corner of the goal.

COL – Andrew Gutman (Calvin Harris, Diego Rubio), 43rd minute: Diego Rubio delivered the ball into the middle of the field for Calvin Harris, who laid it off with his chest to Andrew Gutman. Gutman dribbled towards the top of the box before firing a left-footed shot that was deflected, but still saw the back of the net.

POR – Felipe Mora (Dairon Asprilla), 71st minute: From the center of the field, Dairon Asprilla headed the ball forward for Felipe Mora to run onto. Mora dribbled the ball into the box, cut the ball around Colorado’s goalkeeper and passed the ball over the goal line.

Notes

• With the win, Portland moves up to sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
• Earning their fourth consecutive win tonight, the Timbers are unbeaten in six straight matches (5-0-1).
• Currently, it marks the longest active unbeaten streak and win streak in MLS.
• Portland has scored multiple goals in seven straight matches, tallying 15 in that span.
• Fifteen goals scored since August 26 is the second most in the league, trailing only Atlanta United (17).
• In that seven-match span, four Portland players have registered four or more goal contributions a piece – Felipe Mora (4G, 1A), Evander (4G, 1A), Santiago Moreno (2G, 3A), Dairon Asprilla (1G, 3A).
• Antony scored his first MLS goal 19 minutes into his first start.
• Antony became the 17^th different player to register a goal for Portland this season.
• Seventeen different players to score a goal for Portland is tied with Atlanta United and Inter Miami for the most in the league this season.
• Mora scored his fourth goal of the 2023 campaign.
• Moreno registered his second goal of the season.
• Notably, the goal marked Moreno’s 10^th across all MLS competitions since joining the club in 2021.
• Moreno became the eighth player to notch multiple goals for Portland this season.
• Noel Caliskan recorded his first MLS goal contribution with an assist in tonight’s match.
• In five appearances across all competitions for Portland, Caliskan has tallied three assists, including two in Open Cup play.
• Caliskan became the 20^th player to tally an assist for Portland in the 2023 MLS campaign, which is more than any other team in the league.
• It marks the first season in club history in which 20 different players have tallied an assist for the Timbers.
• Asprilla tallied two assists in the match, marking his third and fourth of the 2023 campaign.
• Four assists match Asprilla’s career best in a single season (2017).
• It marked Asprilla’s first multi-assist match for the Timbers.
• Dario Zuparic made his 100^th regular season start in tonight’s match.

Next Game
The Timbers will travel to face the LA Galaxy on the road on Saturday, Sept. 30. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific) on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app in English and Spanish as well as local radio broadcasts, 750 The Game (English) and La GranD 1150AM/93.5 FM (Spanish).

Video Highlights
Highlights of the match can be downloaded by clicking here.

Portland Timbers (11-11-9, 42pts) vs. Colorado Rapids (4-15-10, 22pts)
Sept. 23, 2023 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Goals by Half                1          2          F
Portland Timbers          2          1          3
Colorado Rapids           2          0          2

Scoring Summary: 
POR: Antony (Asprilla), 19
POR: Moreno (Caliskan), 30
COL: Rubio (Bassett, Priso), 31
COL: Gutman (Harris, Rubio),43
POR: Mora (Asprilla), 71

Misconduct Summary:
POR: Caliskan (caution), 24
POR: Mora (caution), 40
COL: Leyva (caution), 45+3
POR: Bravo (caution), 48
POR: Zuparic (caution), 64
COL: Rubio (caution), 70
COL: Diaz (caution), 90
POR: Boli (caution), 90+6

Lineups:
POR: GK Bingham, D Bravo (Miller, 84), D McGraw, D Zuparic, D Mosquera, M Acosta, M Caliskan (Mabiala, 76), M Moreno (Araujo, 90+4), F Asprilla, F Mora © (Boli, 90+4), F Antony (Blanco, 75)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Sulte, D Rasmussen, M Loría, F Gutiérrez

TOTAL SHOTS: 18 (Mora, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Mora, 2); FOULS: 14 (Zuparic, McGraw, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 6, SAVES: 2

COL: GK Ilic, D Gutman (Rosenberry, 46), D Maxsø, D Abubakar, D Wilson, M Priso (Ronan, 58), M Leyva, M Galván (Diaz, 73), M Bassett, M Harris (Lewis, 73), F Rubio (Cabral, 77)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Rodriguez, D Anderson, D Bombito, M Nicholson

TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Gutman, Harris, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Harris, 1); FOULS: 8 (three players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 4

Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.
Assistant Referees: Chris Elliott, Matthew Nelson
Fourth Official: Nima Saghafi 
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
Weather: Rain, 60 degrees
Attendance: 22,248