Friday, June 1, 2012
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers U-23s set a new Premier Development League (PDL) attendance record on Friday as the team defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 2-1 before 8,174 fans on a Health and Fitness School Day, presented by Providence Sports Care Center, at JELD-WEN Field.
For a second straight week, the Timbers U-23s established a new single-game attendance record for the PDL. The team’s crowd of 8,029 for a Health and Fitness School Day on May 24, broke the previous league mark set by the Fresno Fuego in 2011. In total, 16,203 school kids and fans attended the Timbers U-23s’ two Health and Fitness School Days in 2012.
Forward Mark Sherrod recorded two second-half assists, setting up goals by midfielder Roberto Farfan and Cam Vickers just five minutes apart, as the Timbers U-23s pulled off a comeback victory. Whitecaps FC U-23 captured the lead in the first half on a goal by Ben Fisk just past the half-hour mark. Portland has won five straight matches to open the 2012 PDL campaign.
Sherrod logged his first assists of the season, Farfan scored his first goal, Vickers netted his second and goalkeeper Spencer Richey earned his PDL-leading fifth win of the season for the Timbers U-23s (5-0-0, 15pts). Fisk tallied his third goal on the campaign, while midfielder Gagandeep Dosanjh recorded his second assist in the loss for Vancouver (2-3-2, 8pts).
Down by a goal at the break, the Timbers U-23s were able to pull level at 1-1 in the 65th minute. From the middle of the park, Sherrod played the ball to Farfan at the top left corner of the box. Farfan then set himself up for a low, driven shot that skipped through the hands of Whitecaps FC U-23 goalkeeper Lucas Menz as he dove to the ground and bounced into the back of the net.
Five minutes later, Sherrod set up the game-winning goal by Vickers, with a hard-working effort in the box. With his back to goal, Sherrod held off his defender before cutting a pass through the box to Vickers down on the right post. From a tight angle, Vickers squeezed a shot by Menz that rolled along the goal line before finally crossing over, lifting the Timbers U-23s to a 2-1 lead in the 70th minute.
The Timbers U-23s trailed for the first time this season when Fisk provided the opening goal for Whitecaps FC U-23 in the 32nd minute. Dosanjh played the ball in to Fisk on the left side, and he drilled a shot from the top left corner of the box into the top far corner of the goal.
Portland’s backline held steady through a late push by Vancouver, denying a shot by second-half sub Juan Carlos Marquez off a free kick on the very last play before the final whistle. Richey recorded two saves, one in each half, for the Timbers U-23s, including a one on a follow-up shot by Vancouver striker Michael Marousek off a set piece in the 52nd minute.
Rounding out a two-match, Cascadia week for the Timbers U-23s, the team visits the Sounders FC U23 for the first time on Saturday at Tumwater High School in Tumwater, Wash.; kickoff is set for 6 p.m. (Pacific).