PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Portland Timbers won a thrilling Game 2 on penalty kicks against San Diego FC in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 Series at Providence Park Saturday night.
This was a win-or-go home game for the Timbers who had previously lost the first game of the series in San Diego just last weekend.
Portland got on the board first with a goal in the 18th minute by Kristoffer Velde. About 40 minutes of playing time later San Diego’s Amahl Pellegrino found the back of the net and made it a 1-1 game.
At the beginning of the second half, San Diego’s Hirving Lozano gave SDFC a 2-1 lead and left the Timbers trailing for most of the half. That was until Gage Guerra scored a miracle goal in the 98th minute to send it into penalty kicks to break the tie.
San Diego hit the first two in, but missed the last three leaving them vulnerable. Portland missed two, but sunk three into the back of the net and won it on the final kick.
“You could feel our supporters during the game and they helped us sink the ball in the net,” Timbers coach Phil Neville said after the match. “It was my first playoff experience at Providence Park and I think it is one of the most iconic venues. What a fantastic game on both ends.”
Neville continued, “San Diego is a beautiful place and Snapdragon has a great atmosphere. They have one of the best team cultures and we have to go down there play even better than we did tonight.”
The two teams will now head back to San Diego to play the third and final game of the Western Conference quarterfinals at Snapdragon Stadium on Nov 9. The winner of that game will advance to the semifinals.
Emma Watkins
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