Portland Timbers x Real Salt Lake

The Portland Timbers handed Real Salt Lake its fourth loss of the season with a decisive 3-0 shutout victory on Saturday night at Providence Park. Felipe Mora opened the scoring just two minutes into the match, finishing a through ball from Santiago Moreno into the lower right corner of the net. Moreno, celebrating his 100th MLS regular season appearance for the Timbers, doubled the lead in the 48th minute. Evander sealed the victory with Portland’s third goal in the 90th minute, extending the Timbers' home unbeaten streak to seven games.

The Timbers' win marks their 10th of the 2024 campaign, placing them fifth in the Western Conference standings with a 10-8-6 record. Notably, Portland has been prolific in scoring, netting goals in 21 of their 24 matches this season and achieving multiple goals in 18 of those games. The team has shown a strong start in many games, scoring seven goals in the first 15 minutes of matches, more than any other team in MLS this season. Portland’s trio of Evander, Felipe Mora, and Jonathan Rodríguez, each with 11 goals, make the Timbers the only team in the league with three players scoring 11 or more goals.

Santiago Moreno had a standout night, recording his fifth goal and 10th assist of the season, setting a new single-season career high for assists. His performance not only highlighted his individual talent but also marked a significant milestone, with 46 goal contributions and 100 appearances, the most by any Timbers player since his debut in 2021. Evander continued his impressive form, contributing a goal and an assist, surpassing Diego Valeri for the most multi-goal contribution games in a single season in club history. The win, supported by a solid defensive performance that included goalkeeper James Pantemis' fourth clean sheet of the season, underscores the Timbers' strong form heading into the latter part of the season.

[Photography by Hector Mendoza]