TACOMA, Wash. – With the second meeting between rivals Seattle Sounders FC 2 and Portland Timbers 2 this season seemingly resigned to a scoreless draw, a goal kick from T2 keeper Alex Mangels found a streaking Victor Arboleda on the left wing whose cross left teammate Eryk Williamson nothing to do but touch it into the back of the net for the decisive strike in a 1-0 victory for Portland at Cheney Stadium on Saturday. Williamson’s intervention came just before the final whistle and felled an effort in which Sounders FC 2 out-shot the visitors overall. Despite the edge, Seattle (2-5-1 7pts) failed to mount a serious threat to Mangel’s goal en route to its fifth loss in seven matches. Portland (5-3-2, 17pts) stole the spoils in an outing that saw the side finish with just three shots on target of its own.

Scoring
90’+2 – POR – Eryk Williamson (Victor Arboleda)
 

• #SEAvPOR: Highlights and Opta Box Score

Three Things That Matter

• 1. A wild finish sends Portland home from a brief two-game road swing with four points and its shutout streak intact after the side played Saint Louis FC to a scoreless draw on May 5. One of the surprises of the young season, Head Coach Cameron Knowles’ emergent side has now exceeded its point total from all of 2017 through just 10 matches.
   
• 2. The performance by Portland continued a stellar run in which T2 has cemented itself as one of the toughest defensive units to crack through the first two months of the 2018 campaign. With three consecutive clean sheets in hand after falling victim to a Danny Musovski brace in a 2-1 loss to Reno on April 21, Portland now sits atop the Western Conference with six shutouts to this point in the season. This, for a side that registered league-lows of four clean sheets and a -36 goal differential just a season ago, is representative of the turnaround that suggests this Portland contingent may have some staying power above the playoff cut line as the season wears on.
   
• 3. Saturday marked another outing in which the Seattle attack failed to find the spark needed to turn the tables in its favor. Despite holding an advantage in attempts at goal, the hosts did not notch a shot on target until the 72nd minute and have now led just 31 of a possible 720 minutes in eight matches following a season-opening 2-1 victory over their Cascadia rivals. S2 Head Coach John Hutchinson’s group has now failed to get on the scoresheet four times in that span and faces an uphill battle over the upcoming weeks with four of the squad’s next five matches scheduled to take place away from home.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:

Eryk Williamson, Portland Timbers 2 – Former U.S. U20 international Williamson was the man on the spot to send T2 over the top, capping a performance in which he recorded three tackles and three interceptions to go with the game-winning strike

Upcoming Games:
Seattle Sounders FC 2 at Reno 1868 FC – May 19, 10:30 p.m. ET, Greater Nevada Field
Portland Timbers 2 vs. LA Galaxy II  – May 18, 2 p.m. ET, Providence Park