Portland Timbers x Columbus Crew

Dairon Asprilla scored twice to lead the Portland Timbers to a 3-2 victory against the Columbus Crew on Saturday night at Providence Park. Two goals from Asprilla in the first half and one from Blanco in the 80th minute gave the Timbers the win.

Dairon Asprilla scored two goals for the first time in his Major League Soccer career today. In the 28th minute, he scored Portland's first goal, and two minutes later, he scored the team's second. Dario Zuparic took a free kick and placed it to Dairon Asprilla, who scored with his right foot in the top left corner of the net on his first touch to make it 1-0.

In the 30th minute, Franck Boli won possession near midfield and played a pass through two Columbus defenders to Asprilla, who controlled the ball at the top of the 18-yard box and finished the play on his second touch, sending the ball past the goalkeeper and into the lower-left corner of the goal giving the Timbers a 2-0 lead.

However, just before halftime, Lucas Zelarayan began the play by dribbling the ball between two Timbers defenders before passing to Jacen Russell-Rowe, who crossed the ball back to Zelarayan near the 6-yard box, who slotted home the ball to make it 2-1.

Later on in the second half, Lucas Zelarayan would score off an assist from Steven Moreira after he dribbled into the box and pulled the ball back to locate Zelayaran, who blasted a right-footed drive into the upper-right corner of the net, tying the match at two apiece.

In the 80th minute, a Columbus defender pushed the ball away and across the six-yard box as Portland's Yimmi Chara tried to dribble in from close range for the finish. When the ball was kicked out of the box to the left, Sebastián Blanco pounced on it and scored with a left-footed effort that landed in the upper right corner of the net securing all three points for Portland and making it 3-2.

[Photography by Hector Mendoza]