Playoff contenders Austin Bold FC won its second consecutive game on Sunday night when they came back from a one-goal deficit to defeat Portland Timbers 2, 2-1, at Providence Park. After going down in the opening half, Bold FC's Kris Tyrpak provided the equalizer just after the hour mark before Andre Lima sealed the result with a deflected goal in the 84th minute to end off an efficient counter attack. The win inches Bold FC closer to securing a playoff picture, while T2's loss means they sit just outside the playoff picture with a handful of games remaining.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Austin Bold FC came back from a one-goal deficit to defeat hosts Portland Timbers 2, 2-1, at Providence Park on Sunday afternoon. The opening half saw the hosts create the majority of the chances, first worrying the Austin defense after a free kick effort from T2’s Eryk Williamson landed just wide of the near post after 17 minutes. In the 25th minute, Portland got its goal when Williamson slid a beautiful, defense-splitting pass in for teammate Harold Hanson, who beat Austin goalkeeper Diego Restrepo with a first-time effort from a few yards out. Then, just before halftime, T2 created another glorious opportunity as Williamson found midfielder Brayan Hurtado with a perfectly weighted pass over the top of the defense, but Hurtado’s effort across goal rolled inches wide of the far post. Despite down at the break, Austin began to pick up momentum as the second half wore on and ended up finding an equalizer after a quick move that saw defender Sean McFarlane find substitute forward Kris Tyrpak with a cross dead center of the area, and Tyrpak produced a powerful header to beat T2 goalkeeper Jake Leeker to equalize in the 64th minute. Both teams continued to trade blows with either looking likely to break the tie, and as Portland failed to get the ball over the line on one end, Austin capitalized on another counter attack as forward Andre Lima eventually ended up with the ball just outside the 18-yard box where he shot and watched a big deflection re-direct his effort past Leeker for what would be the game’s winning goal. With seconds left in stoppage time, Bold FC’s McFarlane then produced a crucial block just a few yards out from goal to prevent T2 from finding a late equalizer and seal the result.

USL Championship Man of the Match

Eryk Williamson, Portland Timbers 2 – Though on the losing side on Sunday, Williamson put in a shift, tallying the assist on T2’s goal, creating five chances in total, and winning 10 of 14 duels in 90 minutes of action.