Month: March 2024

Categories
NWSL Soccer Thorns

Takeaways: Portland Thorns 0, NJ/NY Gotham 1

Photo by Kris Lattimore.

There’s no disputing that 2024 is a new era for the Portland Thorns. The club is under new ownership, majorly switched up their backline, have partnered with lesbian icon FLETCHER, and, on Sunday, lost their first ever home opener to reigning NWSL champions NJ/NY Gotham FC.

If one of those seems like it’s not like the others, it’s because it’s not: the Thorns are on something of an unprecedented losing streak, having failed to take a point out of their last four matches (unfortunately, a club record) across all competitions going back to last season.

Record aside, Sunday’s match looked to be a marked improvement on Portland’s season-opening 5-4 defeat in Kansas City. The Thorns looked more locked in, were making a collective effort to win balls (even if they struggled then use that possession to build out of pressure), and were ultimately denied from the scoreboard by two offside calls on two highlight-worthy Sophia Smith goals and a handful of brilliant saves from Gotham’s backline and goalkeeper Cassie Miller.

“I don’t think I could have asked for any more in terms of trying to win the game,” Thorns head coach Mike Norris said. “I’m not sure we could have done more without coming away with one or three points.”

The defense thing

Naturally, when a team concedes five goals in a game—as the Thorns did against the Kansas City Current last week—their defense is going to be something of a focus in the next one.

It also wasn’t shocking to see the changes Norris opted to make in Portland’s backline, with Becky Sauerbrunn replacing Isabella Obaze and Reyna Reyes stepping in for Nicole Payne in the Thorns starting XI. (Sauerbrunn and Reyes had both been limited in their minutes the week prior, as both were returning from national team duty and reintegrating with their club team.) And the changes, to Norris’ credit, left the team looking noticeably more settled in defense.

“This week, we really focused on team defending,” Sauerbrunn said. “When the people in front of you are really putting a shift in, it makes it a lot more obvious and easy for the backline to know where they need to be.”

Not a small portion of that can be credited to Sauerbrunn. Portland had looked to be missing her leadership against the Current—an issue amplified by the team playing a goalkeeper with relatively limited NWSL minutes and three of their four defenders making their league debuts.

“She just oozes confidence in terms of what she gives off and the belief and confidence that she has in other players,” Norris said of Sauerbrunn. And that mindset spreads to the players around her: “When you’ve got somebody with Becky’s experience in the backline, I think the leadership, the communication part, I think it just helps to bring the best out of other people as well.”

Fortunately, that best in others came out, with the Thorns showing a commitment to win one-on-one battles—not just in defense, but across the field—that had been missing last game.

“Eyes are on the backline,” Sam Coffey said, “but it starts with our No. 9, it starts with our frontline […] just making sure we are being our most front-footed, aggressive selves all over the field, and I think we did a much better job of that tonight.”

Photo by Kelsey Baker.
Did things just not go Portland’s way?

The thing is: Gotham definitely got lucky with Smith being offside on both her disallowed goals. The other thing is: Portland’s attack wasn’t nearly as fluid as we know it can be.

The Thorns did generate a fair number of chances—15 shots for 1.24 expected goals to Gotham’s nine shots and 0.72 expected goals—and were unlucky with the Smith offside calls and a couple shots that sailed just wide, but they also bypassed building possession through working through the midfield, a method that has traditionally helped Portland maintain control of a game’s tempo and find their moments to break down their opposition’s defense. Instead, the Thorns tried to use their width to move the ball up the flanks. It’s a decision that’s not unfounded given the skill of Reyes, Marie Müller, Morgan Weaver, and Janine Beckie, but Portland thrives on being a team that can hurt their opponent in so many ways, and confining their attack to the flanks limits those options.

And it’s not that the Thorns didn’t look good in the moments they attacked through the midfield: Jesse Fleming sent a beautiful through ball to Smith toward the end of the first half, and Hina Sugita added a new energy to Portland’s offense when she subbed on for Fleming in the 78th minute.

“She came on, she had an impact,” Norris said of Hina, “and that’s all you can ask from anybody coming off the bench.”

Hina’s presence on the field added another wrinkle to the Thorns going forward, and her connection with Smith added a fluidity that was lacking from portions of Portland’s attacking game.

I know it’s early in the year, and Norris is still figuring out his starting lineup for the season, but I’m honestly surprised to see a player of her skill sitting on Portland’s bench for the first 75 minutes of the game—especially in a match that could have used her flare.

When do we start asking about Norris?

We’re two weeks into the season, and Portland is the only team to lose their first two games and sits in last place. (The San Diego Wave could match that opening run, but they’ve only played one regular season match this year.) The Thorns, as mentioned above, have also lost their first ever home opener and are on their longest losing streak across all competitions in club history.

I think a number of factors are responsible for that—new ownership and offseason defensive upheaval among them—but I also think we have to start asking questions about Norris if the results continue.

Fortunately, we’re not there quite yet; Norris seems like a coach who has the respect of his players, and he has time to turn things around.

I’m sorry, I don’t really know Dune, but the people seemed to like this Tweet

Categories
Soccer Tennis

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 1, Philadelphia Union 3

Photo by Kris Lattimore

The Portland Timbers match against the Philadelphia Union Saturday was headlined by the arrival of new Portland designated player Jonathan Rodríguez. Rodríguez’s signing was announced Wednesday of last week, and he was cleared to play the day before the game. Sadly, his first match was a mix of emotions, with Rodríguez opening up his scoring account, but his new team falling 1-3 at home.

Before we get into the game: If you are wondering if he prefers to go by his famous nickname, he does not. He prefers to be called, Jon or Jonathan.

The game, at a glance

 

 

 

Pantemis, Mosquera, McGraw, Zuparic, E. Miller Williamson, Chara ©, Moreno, Evander, Antony Rodriguez Subs: Sulte, Mabiala, Ayala, Paredes, Asprilla, Fogaça, Mora

After dominating the early proceedings of the half, the Timbers just could not find the back of the net. The woodwork denied them twice, and they created multiple scoring opportunities on top of that.

In the 28th minute, Philadelphia scored against the run of play on a header from Julián Carranza off a corner kick.

Both clubs traded haymakers back and forth for the rest of the half. Despite mostly dominating the first 45 minutes, the home side had nothing to show for it. Even worse, they were somehow down a goal.

In the 58th minute, the Timbers had another breakdown in communication, when a misplayed pass allowed the Union to counter. James Pantemis came up big, but the rebound landed right to Quinn Sullivan to make it 0-2.

Ten minutes later, Philadelphia would add another tally to make it 3-0. This time, it came from Carranza, making it a brace for the No. 9.

Portland wasn’t completely out of the game. In the 80th minute, Rodríguez headed home a cross from Santiago Moreno to make it 1-3.

Unfortunately it was too little, too late. One team did all the work needed to win, and the other played beautiful football.

“I’m probably as disappointed as I’ve been since I came to the football club,” said Timbers head coach Phil Neville. “If you don’t take your chances, you’re gonna have a hard time winning games of football.”

Mistakes and miscommunication
Photo by Kris Lattimore

For Portland, this game came down to mistakes. The worrying sign for the Timbers is that they’re conceding and losing games off miscommunication and set pieces. The team is not fully in sync defensively right now, and it’s heightened when they struggle to finish their chances in front of goal.

In the 28th minute, they conceded the opening goal off a corner kick.

In the 58th minute, Portland conceded off a rebound.

In the 67th minute, the Timbers allowed a goal when they were caught in transition off a quickly-taken free kick.

“I hope they’re disappointed. I hope they’re angry in the locker room,” said Neville. “If we don’t do the basics well, we’re not going to be where we want to be.”

The frustration has definitely kicked in for the team over the past few matches.

“As a group we’re incredibly disappointed,” said Eric Miller. “You can’t concede the types of goals that we’re conceding in this league and expect to win consistently.”

Although the Portland Timbers played some of their best attacking football, they did not take care of the basics.

“Who were the best footballers? I think we were by far,” Neville said. “But it’s not always about the technical abilities; it’s about the mentality to win games. It’s about doing the dirty jobs really well.

Jonathan

Negatives aside, Rodríguez did score in his Timbers debut. He was dangerous all match. It is very clear to see that he can work with a variety of different services, as he can score in any way.

“He scored a brilliant header. He hit the post with another shot,” said Phil Neville. “What I saw from Jonathan was that he makes some incredible runs. The more games he gets, the more standing he’ll get. He’s going to be a goal threat in every single game.”

Against Philadelphia, Rodríguez had only trained with the team for a week. He is going to gain more comfort and chemistry with the team from here on out.

Besides Rodríguez, Felipe Mora made his 2024 debut as a second half substitute. Having a healthy Mora and Rodríguez will be a huge boost in attack for the Timbers the rest of the way.

Numbers

Possession: Portland – 72.1%, Philadelphia – 27.9%

Expected Goals: Portland – 2.06, Philadelphia – 1.82

Shots: Portland – 18, Philadelphia – 15 (Rodríguez alone had five shots.)

Passes: Portland – 671, Philadelphia – 258

Evander led the teams in shots on target with three, chances created with five, completed passes in the final third with 24, and successful dribbles with four.

Categories
NWSL Soccer Thorns

Takeaways: KC Current 5, Portland Thorns 4

Photo by Kris Lattimore

When the Portland Thorns lost Emily Menges, Crystal Dunn, Rocky Rodríguez, and Natalia Kuikka during the offseason, there were plenty of jokes that the Thorns were going to win every game 4-3 in 2024. In 2023, the Thorns allowed the third most goals in the NWSL, behind only the floundering Chicago Red Stars and Kansas City Current. Despite that, they still ended with the best goal differential amongst all teams, establishing the precedent for a high-scoring front line and leaky defense. Add the fact that the Thorns started three brand-new-to-the-NWSL defenders on Saturday’s opening game against Kansas City, and the 5-4 scoreline was to be expected. 

Putting the goals aside, when rewatching the game with a clearer mind and less emotions, there isn’t reason to pull the panic alarm on the Thorns’ season—yet. In an effort to be less of a pessimist this season, here are some positives to take away from the Thorns’ 2024 season debut:

1. The didn’t roll over and die after conceding early and in quick succession

I’m sure we all remember the horrific 5-1 loss to Angel City to close out the 2023 season and watch the shield slip from the Thorns’ grasp. While the Thorns now hold the cursed record of being the first team to allow five goals in back-to-back regular season games, the two performances couldn’t be more different. The worrying trend last season was that once the Thorns went behind, it would lead to the opposition scoring again, rather than the Thorns fighting back to end on top. Although they didn’t manage to complete their comeback against Kansas City to salvage a point, they did manage to come back from being 1-5 down to end the game 4-5.  

The individual efforts of Janine Beckie and Sophia Smith can’t be discounted in the comeback. Both players scored braces and led by example, quickly grabbing the ball out of the net and pushing the Current to restart quickly. It is this type of attitude that I want to continue over the course of the season. Postgame, both Beckie and Thorns head coach Mike Norris talked about the team’s halftime changes, with Beckie saying that there are a lot of “what ifs” in a game, and that they needed to keep going “one goal at a time”—exactly what the team did.  

2. Janine Beckie did the impossible: came from from a long-term ACL injury better than she was before

Beckie returned to the field 366 days after her initial ACL injury at Providence Park (we were still in the beginning of preseason this time last year!), and now she has the unique distinction of being more in-form than she was before the injury. While it may be premature to predict her play for the rest of the season based on 45 minutes of game time, Beckie looked the sharpest player on the field. Her two goals were outstanding, and showed a marked improvement on her accuracy and finesse. Assuming she will only grow stronger and more fit over the next several months, she will become a real threat. In the 2022 season, Beckie played 19 games and only recorded two assists. She has already exponentially increased her output. 

3. Plenty of time for the team to gel; this is going to be the longest regular season yet

With only three preseason games, one open to the public and two behind closed doors, the Thorns had very little time to play together in a game-like environment. Add the fact that six players were gone for a month at the Women’s Gold Cup, and makes sense why it looked like the Thorns had never met one another in the first half of play. Postgame, Norris said he is slowly working on reintegrating the players that had been absent for the majority of preseason, and the balance of including these Gold Cup players and those who weren’t on international duty was off. The biggest coaching fumble came on the decision of who to start on the back line. Kelli Hubly was the only returning player, and has historically been more of a follower than a leader, often being paired as second to Menges or Becky Sauerbrunn. She had a big ask on Saturday to lead the line, and unfortunately she did not pass the test. Alongside her was Isabella Obaze, Marie Müeller, and Nicole Payne, all of whom made their NWSL debuts. Of the debutantes, Obaze impressed me most, collecting an assist and completing 41 of 43 passes. Her long balls and passes into the final third were enticing, and with more time to train with Sauerbruun, she could become a formidable center back. 

The largest omission to the starting back line was Reyna Reyes. She is coming off a very strong rookie campaign, where she moved into a starting role over club legend Meghan Klingenberg, and has a commanding presence on the field. Alongside brand-new players, Reyes could have helped to anchor and guide the team from the back. Despite being at the Gold Cup with Mexico, Reyes’ familiarity with Noris’ tactics and game plan would have been a huge asset. She came on in the final 15 minutes and was immediately a difference maker, winning tackles and aerial duels, alongside making four recoveries—rate better than Hubly’s three over the course of the entire ninety minutes. 

With 26 regular season games, there is more wiggle room for dropped points, and dropping them early is okay, so long as we see continued growth over the course of the season. If the Thorns are still looking this disjointed next month, then alarm bells can be raised. 

4. New goalkeeper coach—can he teach the Thorns’ goalkeeper union how to improve their distribution? 

Nadine Angerer stepped away from the coaching staff in the offseason, and the Thorns brought in Australian Jordan Franken in her stead. He formerly coached the Australian Women U-23 and U-20 teams, as well as Melbourne City in the A-League. Having only been in Portland since the beginning of March, it’s fair to say that he hasn’t had much time to work with any of Portland’s keepers. However, the best keeper of the weekend, Lysianne Proulx for Bay FC, who made a whopping eight saves in her league debut, credits Franken as “instrumental in her development.” If Proulx is a marker for the type of style and play that Franken teaches, I am excited to see how much Shelby Hogan et al. can grow under his tutelage. 

To put it bluntly, Hogan did not have a good game on Saturday. With Bella Bixby out pregnant and Lauren Kozal and Kat Asman yet to make their NWSL debuts, Hogan is the defacto Thorns No. 1 for the start of the season. While I haven’t been able to attend training to see how Asman and Kozal are fairing against Hogan, I think it is the right call to play Hogan ahead of them, simply because there is so much change at the back for the Thorns. Hogan’s, albeit minimal, NWSL experience can help settle a nervy defense. In her appearances last season, including the start in the Thorns’ sole playoff game, Hogan’s weakness has always been her distribution. She is a good shot-stopper and a penalty kick god, but she isn’t good with her feet. Against KC, she only completed 13 of 21 passes and 6 of 13 long balls. For a team that wants to build out of the back and through their midfield, a successful buildup needs to start with a quality distribution from the keeper. The Current’s first goal came directly off of a major error by Hogan, who passed the ball straight to Debinha. These types of errors cannot happen by a starting level keeper in the NWSL. 

The other major error that Hogan repeated was hesitating and reacting too late. Poor defense—allowing the Current’s forwards to easily slice through to goal—aside, KC’s second and third goal were the result of Hogan coming out early but stopping around the PK mark, which allowed an open angle for the Current to shoot from. If she is going to come out and be aggressive, she needs to commit to it. Otherwise, she should stay on her line to give herself the best shot at stopping the shot. Maybe it was nerves, but we have seen Hogan be aggressive in the box, and her confidence needs to be brought back up to where it was. 

5. New ownership means we can finally leave the holding pattern that the Thorns have been in since MarPar left

Prior to this most recent offseason, the Thorns had not made a non-Canadian major signing since Hina Sugita in January 2022, which Mark Parsons and Merritt Paulson can take most of the credit for. Around the league, teams have seen an influx of international talent join their rosters, while the Thorns have been looking in from the outside. With the Bhathal family officially owners, the Thorns have begun their new era, and with it comes new recruits. There are still three international spots open on the roster; with the European season wrapping up shortly, I am keeping my eyes open for another elite striker, as well as a seasoned center-back to join the team. 

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 0, Houston Dynamo 1

Santiago Moreno. Photo: Matthew Wolfe
Santiago Moreno. Photo: Matthew Wolfe

On Saturday, the Timbers picked up their first loss of the season against the Houston Dynamo.

It was the second game on the road for Portland, after traveling to NYC where a team effort turned the tables around and they picked up the three points. In this match, the Timbers went down first again, but there was no moment of brilliance from any of the players to collect at least a point.

Outperforming Houston

Although the team lost, the stats don’t lie. They don’t tell the whole story, but numbers are important. And what do they say? They say Portland was superior on shots (16 to Houston’s nine), shots on target (four versus the Dynamo’s three), and corners (again, four to the home side’s three).

Possession was not on Portland’s side, but that is less relevant. At the end of the day, it’s not as if the Timbers couldn’t generate opportunities due to a lack of the ball at their feet. Houston even let Portland play inside their box many times, as we can see in the touch maps below.

Touch maps (Opta)
Touch maps (Opta)

So, what happened? Houston took one of their few chances, and Portland didn’t. That, added to a miscommunication between Juan David Mosquera and goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, gave the Dynamo the win they needed at home.

The Brazilians

As much as we praised Evander and Antony’s performances against NYC, we have to be honest now.

It’s beginning to look like 2023 again, when Evander was hot in one game and cold in another. That raised many eyebrows among fans, asking themselves if he was worthy of his Designated Player status. After a great performance last week, he had an off night again—as did Antony. Both missed two clear chances that could’ve changed the outcome of this match in the second half.

Leaving those missed chances aside, Evander registered no shots on target, while Antony registered only one. Still, Evander did well in one-on-one situations, with six duels won and four lost, while Antonylost eight and only won one.

In the following video, we can a very nice play constructed by the Timbers. But in the end, Antony decides to cut inside, and the defender reads his intention by a mile and stops him.

Last but not least, Evander did well in winning four fouls, two of them being near the box, which gave Portland dangerous free kicks. Too bad the Brazilian’s aim wasn’t on point that night.

Diego Chará’s match

It is safe to say that Diego Chará usually has solid performances in the MLS, and this time it wasn’t the exception.

In the clip below, we can see the Colombian performing his defensive duties and immediately setting the team to launch an attack. His incisive through passes were always difficult for Houston to read. Too bad the team couldn’t finish the looks Chará helped to orchestrate.

Promising attacks

Despite the loss, the Timbers had their moments of beautiful ball movement, progressing the ball from the initial third to the final third. Houston didn’t have a capable midfield to stop Portland, and the team should’ve taken advantage of that. In the end, a lack of aim and the Timbers’ overall indecision when finishing let the home team come out victorious.

In the clip above, we can see how Santiago Moreno is very close to scoring a golazo. Evander’s key backheel pass is world-class; what a goal it would’ve been if Moreno had bent that ball just some inches more!

Despite the loss, the way the Timbers played can give the fans—and themselves—the assurance that this was just a stumbled stone on the road. And they can bounce back against Philadelphia at home.

 

Categories
Soccer Thorns

Dissecting the Draft

Payton Linnehan. Photo courtesy of Penn State athletics.

On Jan. 12, the Portland Thorns’ coaching staff picked five new college players from the 2024 NWSL Draft. As of right now, three of them—Payton Linnehan, Olivia Wade-Katoa, and Kat Asman—have signed with the club for the 2024 season.

So, let’s get to know this year’s picks a little better and see how they can potentially help the team this season to stay competitive and win some silverware.

Payton Linnehan (forward, 11th overall pick)

Portland’s first-round pick certainly has fans excited to see her in action. This is only logical, since she has not only has played with Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey, but she also helped her school win the Big Ten Tournament Championship in 2019 and 2022.

Linnehan’s certainly fun to watch. The winger is very good at dribbling, with the ability to leave more than one opponent behind or get out of difficult situations when she’s double- or triple-marked.

Her work in tight spaces is great, and she can be unpredictable by fooling the opponent with just one touch. She might not be as fast as a forward like Morgan Weaver, but her dribbling abilities compensate for this. Linnehan has shown that she not only feels comfortable going on the right wing but also through the middle.

The already-existing connection with Coffey, as well as her dribbling abilities makes Linnehan a potential Rookie of the Year in this 2024 NWSL season. Portland has always been able to rely on their Penn State players; let’s hope Linnehan continues that trend.

Olivia Wade-Katoa (midfielder, 23rd overall pick)

Ahead of the draft, the Brigham Young University midfielder appeared on the NWSL Prospect Profiles—and rightly so. Wade-Katoa proved to be a game-changer in her time in college over and over again, notably scoring in BYU’s historic comeback against the University of North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2023 NCAA quarter-finals.

As a midfielder, of course, Wade-Katoa’s position on the field is behind the line of attack. But, interestingly, she always holds her runs, and unless there’s a corner, she stays put in the top of the box.

Her duties as a midfielder for BYU weren’t always to distribute the ball; usually, her work was without the ball. She would stay centrally and wait for her opportunity to arise. Wade-Katoa’s opponents recognized how dangerous she was. As soon as she got the ball on her feet, she would be double- or tripled-marked or would be fouled near the box.

The midfielder doesn’t need many touches or many opportunities to make her shots count, and that’s how she helped BYU to reach an NCAA semifinal last year.

Kelsey Kaufusi (defender, 25th overall pick)

Portland’s first ever draftee from Utah State is also the only defender they selected this year. Kaufusi is an interesting pick. Her natural position in college was right center-back, and she has a variety of qualities that make her an interesting prospect now that Emily Menges is gone.

Although Kaufusi,’s aerial presence is notable, as is her passing range, two other qualities stand out the most. That’s her speed and her passing precision.

Kaufusi can sprint almost 22 yards just under three seconds and 44 yards about five seconds. That feature of her game helped Minnesota many times when school’s defensive shape wasn’t the best in counterattacks.

Kaufusi will remind fans of Menges when it comes to speed, with the former Thorns center-back having saved Portland countless times in that manner.

Kaufusi’s long-passing range precision earned her the nickname “Coast to Coast Kaufusi” from Equal Time Soccer’s Matt Privratsky. And the title suits her perfectly. In this regard, fans will see that she can be likened to a player like Kelli Hubly.

Kat Asman (goalkeeper, 39th overall pick)

Out of all the picks, this was an unexpected one. Knowing Portland already had three goalkeepers, everybody thought there was no need for a fourth. But little did we know that starting goalkeeper Bella Bixby had a surprise for the Thorns’ world—a surprise she announced one day after the draft—which made fans understand why head coach Mike Norris selected a goalkeeper for the club.

Photo: Bella Bixby Twitter
Bella Bixby announced her pregnancy on social media. Image: Bella Bixby’s Twitter.

Make no mistake: Asman’s a certified wall between the pipes.

The Nittany Lion made herself a name while defending Penn State’s goal. “You’re gonna get absolutely nothing past her,” Penn State said to the Thorns after Asman was picked. “One of the greatest stories of growth and resilience in Penn State history. Portland, congratulations on drafting Katherine Asman, the best goalkeeper in America!”

Being a goalkeeper in the United States—and specifically in the NWSL—is hard because many of them are potential national team material. If there’s a position where there’s a vast number of options for the US, it’s in goal.

What about in Portland? Well, goalkeeper backup Shelby Hogan barely played last season. When she did, she did very well, but those performances still didn’t grant Hogan more significant minutes in the regular. When Norris decided to use her, it was maybe in the most important game of the year: the playoff semifinal. By then, Hogan hadn’t played in seven games, with the Challenge Cup match against OL Reign at the beginning of August being the last one she started in.

Third goalkeeper Lauren Kozal didn’t feature at all in the entire year. She sustained an injury in her knee last July, which made the club search for a temporary replacement. 

Without Bixby, the logic points to Hogan getting the starting position this season. But Asman’s rookie status doesn’t entirely rule out her getting some minutes this year, since she will can battle for the backup goalkeeper position against Kozal, whose rookie year was hindered due to that injury.

Can Asman rise to the challenge? She proved her value in her time at Penn State, and her coach, Erica Dambach, has a high opinion of her. “Even as a young keeper, you could see her potential,” she said of Asman. “She’s brave and communicates well.”

Asman is not afraid to wait patiently until she’s game-ready. In college, she decided to redshirt her freshman year, and she saw the field as a redshirt sophomore in just five games. The goalie later said that was one of the best decisions she ever made because it helped her to develop as a person and understand what it really means to play soccer at a Division 1 level for the Nittany Lions and to be part of a family.

According to her coach, it was in Asman’s penultimate season when she realized she could really affect the outcome of a game. Dambach praised Asman’s consistency and steadiness, as well as the big saves she made to help her team win matches.

Asman is no stranger to winning silverware, having won the championship with Penn State in 2022. In the process, she collected individual recognition: she was named Big Ten Soccer All-Tournament and Defensive Player of the Year. Not only did she make history, but helped her team to do so as well.

Now that goalkeeper coach Nadine Angerer is gone from Portland, there’s this fear that the goalkeeper position will not be as good as it used to be. It is comforting to remember that Hogan has spent three years being coached by the German and can therefore pass all that knowledge to Asman. And although Bixby won’t suit up for matches, she is used to coaching young generations and will be sure to pass her knowledge to the younger keepers.

Katie Duong (midfielder, 53rd overall pick)

Given the success of Stanford’s women’s soccer program, it’s kind of impossible not to get excited about the addition of Cardinal Duong to the team.

Duong was a necessary pick. Portland’s midfield is composed mostly of players that have national team duties, and when they’re gone for FIFA windows, the team suffers because of it.

The Stanford graduate is great with quick short passes, which helped her team to get out of pressure and move the ball forward.

Duong is also very good with passing precision, distributing the ball from the midfield to the wingers. She never disengages from the play, which allows her to win rebounds and second balls. She’s not afraid to shoot from outside the box—although her aim could be better.

When it comes to defending, Duong tends to anticipate her rivals to recover the ball. Once she does, she scans the field to see which teammate is available to receive quick pass to start an attack or to make a key pass.

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2, NYC FC 1

Photo: Matthew Wolfe
Photo by Matthew Wolfe.

The Portland Timbers hit the road to play NYC FC on Saturday afternoon, and after a great second half, they flipped the score in their favor and got the three points.

The Timbers arrived at this match with one win and one draw on the season, and they showed some positive things on the field that were absent in 2023—with the highlight being a better end product in the final third.

A change in the lineup

Due to Eryk Williamson’s absence, head coach Phil Neville started Evander, who supposedly couldn’t go 90 but finished the game on the field as a hero. The rest of the lineup remained the same as last game’s against D. C. United.

“He probably should’ve played 60 minutes maximum coming back from injury,” Neville said of Evander after the match. “He didn’t want to come off; he could smell the game was there for him. He was enjoying his football, and in this league, you are going to suffer adversity away from home, and it’s how you deal with that.”

Not a very good first half

The game didn’t start in the best way for the Timbers. After a corner that Portland never could clear, the marking in the box was a mess, and the post helped Santiago Rodríguez to open the score for the home team. The early goal against in the 10th minute made them lose all their nonchalance, leading them to make bad decisions when passing the ball. 

After that, the defense looked shaky, with Zac McGraw not having the best time. Five minutes later he lost the mark of one of NYC’s wingers. Timbers goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau came up big and stopped what could’ve been the second goal of the night for the Citizens. The left wing was a highway for NYC, and if it weren’t for their lack of aim and Crépeau’s timely interventions, Portland could’ve lost the match in only 45 minutes.

McGraw was beaten by his opponent on at least three occasions and didn’t look solid as usual. Still, he had the most duels won of all Portland’s defenders with eight, was second in passing accuracy with 88.2%, was first in tackles with four, second in clearances with seven, and tied with Eric Miller for two interceptions.

It took the Timbers half an hour to produce a nice build-up. At the beginning of the game, they were hasty and weren’t very assertive with their passes going forward. They chose to make long passes, which more often than not ended with a loss of possession in the midfield, helping New York attack Portland’s box over and over again.

In the following video, we can see the Timbers making 10 passes before deciding to go forward. Then, the progression phase is pretty fast, and they lost possession, but Diego Chará recovered it and made a key pass in the process, giving Antony the chance to shoot. Sadly, his finish was very amateur-like.

Although the home team kept controlling the ball and tempo in the first half, Portland started to show more patience after this good buildup.

(The above play also shows how NYC left some space in the right top of the box that the Timbers could exploit—and would in the second half when they found the equalizer.)

A different game, a different mentality

It was nice to see the players’ work ethic in the second half. Unlike the first half, Portland started to press NYC high and recover the ball on New York’s side of the field, near the box, over and over again. They collected second balls and rebounds, won duels, and therefore didn’t let the home team make counterattacks. Portland stopped them before they could cross the midfield, and in this way, kept the risk of NYC doubling the lead at bay.

It was also nice to see how the Timbers took matters into their own hands in the second half. The home team could barely touch the ball from minute 50 on, and if not for NYC’s disciplined defense, Portland could’ve gotten the equalizer sooner.

The plan worked just fine. On previous occasions, Portland had found some space on the right top of the box. Just watch how open Juan David Mosquera is, and how much time he has to send the ball to the box in the following video:

So, it wasn’t a shock when, after a second half of intense pressing, Evander opened up to the right, where Mosquera was above, and sent a low cross to the penalty spot where Antony was placed. The Brazilian beat the goalkeeper with a high shot, and the Timbers still had some minutes to try to turn the score in their favor.

The ball was clearly on the Timbers’ side, and they took advantage of it. 

They didn’t give up, not even in the dying seconds of the game. And although it was indeed Evander’s magical right foot that beat goalkeeper Matt Freese, center back Kamal Miller deserves some recognition; he was the one who played smart and sent the precise aerial pass to Antony in the first place.

Then, the Brazilians worked their magic and produced the winning goal in the last minute of the game. A lot has been said about Portland’s next designated player, and the performance by Evander shows why it’s important for the club to sign one and soon. Those are usually the game-changers and the ones who can help a team to win matches.

“You saw the benefit of having a designated player with high quality and what happens when one person on the team shows quality and courage the rest take confidence from that, and that’s exactly what happened,” Neville said of Evander. “I thought his winning goal was just a reward for a brilliant performance.”

Evander's distribution map. Source: Opta
Evander’s distribution map. Source: Opta

What could’ve been a loss on the road ended with three points in the bag for Portland, thanks to this team performance, and ultimately, to the Brazilians on the team. Evander’s stoppage time screamer gave the visitors their second win in three games. And what is more, the Timbers are at the top of the table of the Western Conference.

I think it’s safe to say that it’s time to get excited about this team now.

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2, D.C. United 2

Photo by Matthew Wolfe.

After their huge 4-1 season opening win against Colorado Rapids, Portland Timbers head coach Phil Neville and crew would host D.C. United.

Earlier in the week, the Timbers announced they had terminated their corporate partnership with DaBella, effective immediately. The news came after the club and fans learned of allegations of misconduct at the company from a court filing made public Feb. 23. The Timbers and a third party conducted a thorough pre-deal vetting process and didn’t learn of the filing until Feb. 27, the club said. Within a day, the organization made the decision to end the sponsorship with DaBella.

According to César Luis Merlo and Tom Bogert, the Portland Timbers are in advanced talks to sign sign forward Germán Berterame from CF Monterrey, with a bid of around $15 million, with their backup option being  Jonathan “Cabecita” Rodríguez of Club América. General manager Ned Grabavoy and Neville were hoping to have their record-setting designated player signed and ready for the United match, but that was not to be.

Maxime Crépeau made his Portland Timbers debut in goal. The lineup remained unchanged outside the goalkeeper switch. (James Pantemis was exceptional last week for his Canadian colleague.) The team had hoped Evander would be ready, but he looks to be another week away.

D.C. United was without the services of their superstar forward, Christian Benteke, who was a late scratch. Benteke motioned to the trainers during pregame warm ups and went back to the locker room.

Crépeau, Mosquera, McGraw, K. Miller, E. Miller, Paredes, Chara ©, Moreno, Williamson, Antony, Asprilla Subs: Pantemis, Araujo, Zuparic, Ayala, Fogaça, Ikoba

After a forgettable first 15 minutes, Santiago Moreno drove the ball down and laid it off perfectly to an onrushing Dairon Asprilla to put the home team up 1-0 in the 18th minute.

In the second half, D.C. United had a few chances that, quite frankly, should have been put away. In the 61st minute, Santiago Moreno made them pay, after a looped ball in from Eric Miller found its way to the Colombian.

United flipped a switch after that.

The replacement refs gifted the visitors a penalty kick in the 72nd minute, which Mateusz Klich calmly finished.

Crépeau made the biggest save of the night in the 78th minute. He did it again in the 80th minute, saved two consecutive point-blank shots in a span of minutes, either of which would have equalized for D.C. United.

In the 82nd minute, Portland’s resistance would be futile. Kristian Fletcher put away the easiest goal of his life on an empty net, when Crépeau valiantly tried to stop the low driven cross, but barely missed.

The last 25 minutes of the game were completely dominated by the visitors, and they probably should of left with three points.

“I think D.C. created enough chances probably to win the game,” Neville said, “and that’s pretty fair from our point of view.”

Santiago Moreno prediction

In the preseason, I predicted that Santiago Moreno would lead the team in goal contributions. He is on his way to proving me right.

With his family moved to Portland, Moreno has found a peace with the club and city. He is happy again. After the saga from last season, it is very apparent how much he has grown.

Neville has also allowed Santi to just be himself on the pitch.

“I feel really good,” Moreno said. “It’s a position where I feel very comfortable, and I always try to play free and play with the ball in front of me.

“We showed that in the first half. I think we always just want to win, at least myself. I always want to win. We couldn’t do that tonight, but hopefully we can do it in the next match.”

He was the player of the match with a goal and assist—and he leads the team in goal contributions currently with three.

Replacement refs

In the 72nd minute, the head official awarded a penalty kick for a hand ball that was clearly offside. That was the worst offense, but the officiators consistently missed calls all evening.

Those heading into the season, thinking the officiating couldn’t get any worse was so wrong. Not only are they replacement referees unable to do the job at a passable level, they are making the product suffer as a result. Players will suffer the most, especially with more injuries possible due to the nature of how these games are being called.

MLS needs to do the right thing and stop this nonsense.

Late game substitutions

The Portland Timbers were up 2-0 after Moreno’s goal. In the 65th minute, Neville opted to bring in Dario Župarić for Eric Miller, shifting Kamal Miller to left back. David Ayala also came on for Eryk Williamson, putting all the attacking midfield pressure on Cristhian Parades which was asking too much.

At this point, the team was trying to hold on for dear life. The game completely flipped.

In Neville’s defense, he doesn’t have enough options right now to adjust and implement his tactics.

Still, in the 85th minute, Neville brought Miguel Araujo on for Juan David Mosquera. At this point, the Timbers had four center-backs on the pitch. They do not have enough players on the bench right now to kill off games properly.

“We’re definitely short on depth. You look at our bench, we’re short on depth on our bench,” Neville said. “We know we can’t fill our bench at this moment in time. You think about adding Evander to that, Claudio Bravo to that, Marvin Loria to that, then you can bring players on.”

Evander’s pending availability next week, even in limited minutes, will help big time.

Bonus: The heroics of the MC

Without the heroics of Crépeau, this game would have been out of reach for the Portland Timbers. He is already one of the best goalkeepers to ever suit up for club, with his endless list of accomplishments and accolades.

By the numbers

xG: Portland Timbers: 1.5, D.C. United: 3.45

Shots: Portland Timbers: 10 (3 on target), D.C. United: 12 (8 on target)

Passes and crosses:  Portland Timbers: 291, D.C. United: 398

Corners: Portland Timbers: 4, D.C. United: 8

Clearances: Zac McGraw: 5 (The team had 12 total.)

Moreno led the team in goals, assists, shots on goal, sitters, ball possession phases, and passes.

Crépeau had six saves, and at least half were from point-blank range. He is one of the best keepers in the league.

 

Categories
Not Soccer Soccer Timbers

Kickin’ It with James Pantemis

Photo by Thomas Lal.
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