August 16, 2021 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Portland Timbers News Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers fell to Seattle Sounders FC tonight at Providence Park, 6-2. Portland’s pair of goals came from Sebastián Blanco and George Fochive, who both recorded their first goals of the regular season.
Tonight’s Breakaways
Timbers forward Sebastián Blanco scored his first goal of the regular season tonight as he made his way back into the starting lineup after suffering a season-ending injury in September of 2020. Blanco recorded his 98th start in 109 appearances for Portland and tallied his 27th goal for the Timbers. Portland’s second goal tonight came from midfielder George Fochive who recorded his first MLS career goal. Tonight’s match also saw the return of forward Jaroslaw Niezgoda, who came off the bench as a late-game substitute and played his first minutes since his season ending injury on November 1, 2020.
Goal-Scoring Plays
SEA – Fredy Montero (unassisted), 13th minute: Following in a rebounded shot, Montero punched in a loose ball finding the back of the net.
SEA – Fredy Montero (João Paulo), 29th minute: Montero drove a low shot from outside the box into the left side of the goal.
POR – Sebastián Blanco (Felipe Mora), 32nd minute: Finding Mora’s through ball, Blanco dribbled into the box and fired a shot towards goal, taking a deflection off a Seattle defender and into the back of the net.
POR – George Fochive (unassisted), 52nd minute: Following a deflected save from the Sounders’ goalkeeper on the right side of the box, Fochive ripped a one-time shot downwards into the net.
SEA – Raúl Ruidíaz (freekick), 55th minute: Ruidíaz netted a freekick into the upper right-hand corner of the goal.
SEA – Raúl Ruidíaz (unassisted), 72nd minute: The Sounders whipped in a free kick from the top of the box, and Ruidíaz pounced on the second ball putting it away into the corner netting.
SEA – Jimmy Medranda (João Paulo), 77th minute: Medranda volleyed the ball into the net from a corner kick.
SEA – Nicolas Benezet (Cristian Roldan), 90+4 minute: Roldan slid a ball into Benezet, who snuck it into the left side of the goal.
Notes
Portland is 6-3-1 this season at Providence Park.
Sebastián Blanco scored his first goal of the year.
Blanco made his first start of the 2021 campaign.
George Fochive scored his first MLS career goal.
Mora tallied his third assist of the regular season.
Jaroslaw Niezgoda made his first appearance of the year coming off the bench as a late game substitute.
The Timbers are tied with Minnesota for second-most home wins in the Western Conference (6), behind LA Galaxy (7).
This season, 28 players have appeared in at least one match for Portland and 26 have earned at least one start.
Eleven different players have scored for the Timbers this season.
Portland recorded 20 or more shots for the fourth time this season.
Felipe Mora and Dairon Asprilla recorded four shots each tonight.
Asprilla, Josecarlos Van Rankin, and Diego Valeri are the only Timbers to appear in all 18 regular season matches in 2021.
Tonight’s attendance of 25,218 was a sellout and marked the largest crowd of the 2021 season.
Next Game
Portland is set to travel to the Midwest for a quick turnaround to face Sporting Kansas City on Aug. 18 at Children’s Mercy Park. Kickoff on Wednesday is set for 5:30 p.m. (Pacific) and will feature a local broadcast on FOX 12 PLUS+ with radio broadcasts on 750 The Game (English) and La GranD 1150AM/93.5 FM (Spanish).
Portland Timbers (7-9-2, 23pts) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (10-3-6, 36pts)
August 15, 2021 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Seattle Sounders FC 2 4 6
Portland Timbers 1 1 2
Scoring Summary:
SEA: Montero, 13
SEA: Montero (Paulo), 29
POR: Blanco (Mora), 32
POR: Fochive, 52
SEA: Ruidíaz, 55
SEA: Ruidíaz, 72
SEA: Medranda (Paulo), 77
SEA: Benezet (Roldan), 90+4
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Mabiala (caution), 54
POR: Zuparic (caution), 66
SEA: Paulo (caution), 69
POR: Paredes (caution), 76
Lineups:
POR: GK Ivacic, D Van Rankin (Tuiloma, 87), D Mabiala, D Zuparic, D Bravo, M Fochive (Valeri, 73), M D. Chara ©, M Y. Chara (Niezgoda, 87), F Blanco (Paredes, 63), F Mora, F Asprilla (Loría, 73)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Clark, D Bonilla, D McGraw, M Bodily, M Zambrano
TOTAL SHOTS: 21 (Mora, Asprilla, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (three players tied, 2); FOULS: 11 (Mabiala , Fochive, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 2
SEA: GK Cleveland, D O’Neill, D Arreaga, D Gómez, M A. Roldan, M Rowe (Lodeiro, 46), M Paulo (Benezet, 87), M Smith (Medranda, 62), F Montero (Atencio, 63), F Ruidíaz (Leyva, 90+2), F C. Roldan
Substitutes Not Used: GK Richey, D Cissoko, M Baker-Whiting, F Bruin
TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Ruidíaz, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (Ruidíaz, 3); FOULS: 10 (Paulo, 3); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 7
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Assistant Referees: Frank Anderson, Kathryn Nesbitt
Fourth official: Baldomero Toledo
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 25,218
Weather: Sunny, 90 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
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