USL Fresno FC

Caffa Shines as Foxes Take Down Portland on the Road

Published on July 8, 2018 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Fresno FC News Release


PORTLAND, Ore. - Juan Pablo Caffa scored two goals and assisted a third as Fresno FC won 4-2 at Portland Timbers 2 to keep moving up in the Western Conference standings as the playoff race heats up.

The Foxes won their second in a row to improve to 6W-7L-7D on the season, also snapping their streak of eight winless matches on the road with their first three away points since March. The result puts the Foxes into a tie for eighth-place at 25 points with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (7-9-4), and just one point behind Timbers 2 (8-8-2, 26pts), who lost their fourth straight.

Caffa got the offense going at the 21st minute, delivering a perfect cross into the box to Christian Chaney, who brought it down with his chest and finished it first-touch into the upper-right corner for the lead. It was Chaney's third goal and Caffa's second assist of the season. Three minutes later, the Foxes were awarded a penalty as Zachary Ellis-Hayden was clipped on his run into the box. Caffa stepped up to the penalty marker and put it in the lower right corner for his fifth goal of the season, and second from the penalty spot.

It was a quick turnaround for the Foxes, but before the offense started firing, goalkeeper CJ Cochran made three diving saves to keep the hosts off the board. Portland eventually broke through the defense as Chaney was called for an apparent handball in the box to set up a penalty by Foster Langsdorf at the 36th minute.

In the second half, Danny Barrera found Rony Argueta wide open in the center of the box, who finessed it first time into the lower opposite corner to give the Foxes a 3-1 lead. At the 65th minute, Pedro Ribeiro was fouled inside the half-moon to set up the lethal set piece from Caffa that curled over the wall and into the left goal past a diving Kendall McIntosh for the 4-1 lead.

Portland chipped at the deficit at the 79th minute as Marvin Loria's free kick took a deflection off the wall to make things 4-2.

Los Zorros return to Fresno with another chance to continue their playoff push against an upper-table team as second-place Phoenix Rising FC visits on Saturday, July 14. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Chukchansi Park. The Foxes played to a 1-1 draw at Phoenix Rising FC earlier this season. Tickets are available at http://tickets.fresnofc.com or the Chukchansi Park box office.

BOX SCORE: PORvFRS | MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: PORvFRS | MATCH PHOTOS: PORvFRS

EL MEXICANO MAN OF THE MATCH: JUAN PABLO CAFFA, MF

Caffa assisted Chaney to open the scoring and later bagged a brace to lead the Foxes to a 4-2 victory in an important road match at Portland Timbers 2.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 8, 2018


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