April 27, 2023 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Portland Timbers News Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers advanced to the Round of 32 in the 2023 Lamar U.S. Open Cup with a 3-1 victory over USL-side Orange County SC on Wednesday night at Providence Park. Marvin Loría, Tyler Clegg and Jaroslaw Niezgoda registered goals to help Portland to its third round match victory. The Timbers date and opponent for their Round of 32 match will be decided tomorrow, April 27, with the next round slated to take place on May 9 and May 10.
U.S. Open Cup History
Tonight’s match marked Portland’s 36th match in the U.S. Open Cup, dating back to 2004, and was the club’s first match against Orange County SC in the competition. The Timbers have a record of 20-16-0 in the competition and are 10-7-0 when playing at home. Portland’s match against OCSC ended a streak of 15 consecutive Open Cup matches against MLS opponents – the longest such streak by an MLS team in the competition.
Tonight’s Notables
Marvin Loría scored his first goal of 2023. Niezgoda tallied his second goal and first assist of the year. On short-term loans from T2, Noel Caliskan and Clegg made their Timbers debuts. Clegg, the club’s 2023 MLS SuperDraft third-round pick, scored his first goal for the club in his 90-minute performance. Pablo Bonilla tallied his first assist of the year. Hunter Sulte recorded his first appearance of 2023 and the third of his Timbers career, making five saves in the match.
The Return of Blanco
Sebastián Blanco made his first appearance in eight months after battling a knee injury toward the end of the 2022 regular season, logging 34 minutes in his 2023 debut. The last time Blanco played in a match for the Timbers was against Real Salt Lake on Sept. 10, 2022, playing 16 minutes as a second-half substitute. Blanco has made eight U.S. Open Cup appearances (7 starts) for Portland all time.
Goal-Scoring Plays
POR – Marvin Loría (Jaroslaw Niezgoda), 37th minute: Niezgoda dribbled through a group of OCSC defenders at the top of the 18-yard box and slipped the ball to Loría, who set himself up and hit a left-footed shot into the lower right side of the goal.
POR – Tyler Clegg (Pablo Bonilla), 48th minute: From outside of the box on the right side, Bonilla curled a diagonal ball to the far post. Clegg jumped and finished the play with a header
OCSC – Milan Iloski (Thomas Amang), 54th minute: At the top-left corner of the 18-yard box, Thomas Amang slipped a ball near the top of the…
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