Earthquakes sink in 2-0 loss to Timbers in Fourth Round of U.S. Open Cup

Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose Earthquakes paid a visit to the Portland Timbers for the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup at Providence Park on Wednesday night.

The Timbers players walked into their home stadium with what they described as Open Cup swag. Meanwhile, the Quakes called up draft picks Mohamed Thiaw and Kevin Partida just hours before the 7:30 pm kickoff. Thiaw was handed the No. 17.

The Quakes got fired up just moments before the match. San Jose applied some quality pressure early in the first half. This led to a corner for the road team.

Andrew Tarbell appeared to be wide awake, but he missed a shot that went into the net. Jeremy Ebobisse kicked in a goal above Tarbell’s head for his first Timbers goal of 2018. The Timbers were up 1-0 in the 28th minute.

After a sliding challenge, the officials handed a yellow card to Fatai Alashe at the 41st minute. Still, the Quakes didn’t get any offense going in the half.

The Quakes trailed the Timbers 1-0 at halftime. San Jose knew that they had plenty of work to do in the second half. Portland, on the other hand, made a change as Eryk Williamson replaced Jack Barmby.

Barmby found Dairon Asprilla, who was at the right place at the right time. Asprilla kicked the ball into the net for a 2-0 Timbers lead in the 66th minute. Shortly after, Portland, Ore., native Foster Langsdorf entered the match to make his Timbers debut. Langsdorf played college soccer at Stanford University from 2014 to 2017.

Danny Hoesen had a couple of good looks late in the half. However, Hoesen’s attempts went just wide of the net or were caught by Kendall McIntosh.

The Timbers maintained a 2-0 shutout over the Quakes through two halves and three minutes of stoppage time. With the win, Portland advanced to the Round of 16 in the U.S. Open Cup.

Notes
Quakes’ starting lineup