Santiago Moreno and Felipe Mora register goals, Portland holds onto seventh place of the Western Conference standings
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers extended their undefeated streak to seven straight matches (5-0-2) with a hard fought 3-3 draw against the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night. Santiago Moreno opened the scoring five minutes into the match, sparking a first half that saw five goals with the Timbers trailing 3-2. In the 76th minute, Felipe Mora found the back of the net with a goal that leveled the match for Portland. With the result, the Timbers sit in seventh place of the Western Conference standings.
Numbers in the AttackPortland has scored multiple goals in eight straight matches, tallying 18 in that span. Eighteen goals scored since August 26 is the second-most goals scored by any team in the league during that span, trailing only the Galaxy (20). In that eight-match span, four Portland players have registered five or more goal contributions a piece – Felipe Mora (5G, 2A), Evander (4G, 1A), Santiago Moreno (3G, 3A), Dairon Asprilla (1G, 5A). Moreno tallied his third goal of the season, while Mora notched his fifth goal and second assist of the campaign. Asprilla recorded his fifth assist of the season, a single-season career best for the Colombian winger. Notably, Mora and Moreno both scored in back-to-back games for Portland, while Asprilla tallied three assists in the Timbers’ last two matches.
Playoff PushWith tonight’s result, Portland sits in seventh place of the Western Conference standings with 43 points, which is tied with Real Salt Lake and Vancouver Whitecaps FC sitting in fifth and sixth respectively, and just three points away from second-place Seattle Sounders FC (46pts). Entering the final stretch, 12 of 14 Western Conference teams are in contention for the last eight remaining spots in the playoffs. With two remaining matches in the regular season, Portland will next face Eastern Conference side C.F. Montreal (Oct. 7) on the road and Western Conference opponent Houston Dynamo FC (Oct. 21) at Providence Park.Milestones of the NightDavid Bingham made his 200th appearance in MLS regular season play tonight. Bingham has played 96 regular season matches for the San Jose Earthquakes, 85 for the LA Galaxy and 19 for the Timbers. Larrys Mabiala made his 150th regular season appearance with the Timbers. Mabiala is just the seventh player in club history to reach that milestone. Sebastián Blanco made his 200th appearance across all competitions for Portland.Goal-Scoring PlaysPOR – Santiago Moreno (Dairon Asprilla, Felipe Mora), 5th minute: Felipe Mora controlled the ball with his chest and sent the ball wide to Dairon Asprilla, who from the right side of the field dribbled inside and crossed the ball into the top of the six-yard box. Santiago Moreno sped through two defenders and finished the play with a right-footed shot into the middle of the goal.
LA – Eriq Zavaleta (Douglas Costa), 10th minute: Off a corner kick, Douglas Costa served the ball into the penalty-kick area and Eriq Zavaleta put the Galaxy on the scoring sheet with a header goal.POR – Eriq Zavaleta (own goal), 38th minute: Juan David Mosquera sparked a combination play with Santiago Moreno and Felipe Mora at the top of the box. Mora, inside the box, shot a right-footed ball that was deflected by Galaxy defender Eriq Zavaleta, forcing an own goal.LA – Douglas Costa (Raheem Edwards), 43rd minute: Raheem Edwards took a touch on a ball that was redirected towards the top of the 18-yard box, where Douglas Acosta stood unmarked. On his first touch, Acosta finished the play by firing a left-footed shot into the upper-right corner of the goal.LA – Eriq Zavaleta (Douglas Costa), 45+1 minute: Douglas Costa served a free-kick ball towards the top of the six-yard box for Eriq Zavaleta, who headed the ball into the lower-right corner of the goal.POR – Felipe Mora, 76th minute: Running through the left side of the field, Sebastián Blanco crossed a ball into the box where Franck Boli was denied a shot. Through the deflection, Felipe Mora pounced on the loose ball and took a right-footed shot that ended inside the right side of the goal.Notes
Next GameThe Timbers will continue their two-game road stretch as they travel to face Eastern Conference side C.F. Montreal on Saturday, Oct. 7. The match will kick off at 4:30 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 HighlightsHighlights of the match can be downloaded by clicking here.Portland Timbers (11-11-10, 42pts) vs. LA Galaxy (8-11-11, 35pts)Sept. 30, 2023 – Dignity Health Sports Park (Carson, Calif.)Goals by Half 1 2 FPortland Timbers 2 1 3LA Galaxy 3 0 3Scoring Summary: POR: Moreno (Asprilla), 5LA: Zavaleta (Costa), 10
POR: Zavaleta (own goal), 38LA: Costa (Edwards), 43LA: Zavaleta (Costa), 45+1POR: Mora, 76Misconduct Summary:LA: Delgado (caution), 13 LA: Yoshida (caution), 54POR: Moreno (caution), 62Lineups:POR: GK Bingham, D Bravo (Miller, 91), D McGraw, D Zuparic, D Mosquera, M Acosta, M Paredes (Caliskan, 36), M Moreno, F Asprilla (Boli, 71), F Mora © (Mabiala, 91), F Antony (Blanco, 71)Substitutes Not Used: GK Sulte, D Araujo, M Loría, F Y. CharaTOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Mora, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Mora, 2); FOULS: 15 (Acosta, 4); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 6, SAVES: 2LA: GK Bond, D Edwards, D Cuevas, D Zavaleta, D Yoshida ©, M Rosell, M Boyd (Barrios, 83), M Delgado (Aguirre, 67), M Cerrillo (Leerdam, 83), F Costa (Fagundez, 58), F Sharp (Joveljic, 67)Substitutes Not Used: GK Micovic, D Alfaro, D Aude, M PerezTOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Yoshida, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Boyd, Zavaleta, 2); FOULS: 14 (Boyd, 3); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 2Referee: Joe DickersonAssistant Referees: Jose Da Silva, Adam GarnerFourth Official: Ricardo FierroVAR: Malik BadawiWeather: Mostly cloudy, 63 degreesAttendance: 23,101All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
