Timbers2 Earn 2-1 Road Victory against Cascadia Rival Tacoma Defiance
MLS NEXT Pro Portland Timbers 2

Timbers2 Earn 2-1 Road Victory against Cascadia Rival Tacoma Defiance

July 28, 2025 - MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Portland Timbers 2 News Release


TUKWILA, Wash. - Timbers2 earned a 2-1 victory against Cascadia rival Tacoma Defiance at Starfire Sports Complex on Sunday night. Gage Guerra scored Portland's opening goal in the 31st minute and Kyle Linhares doubled the lead just six minutes later. The win marked T2's third on the road in the 2025 campaign.

Tonight's Takeaways

In Gage Guerra's first T2 match since earning a first-team contract with the Timbers, Guerra scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season off a pinpoint cross from Kyle Linhares in the first half. Just six minutes later, Linhares scored Portland's second goal to tally his sixth goal of the season. Guerra and Linhares lead T2 in goal contributions with 12 and 11, respectively.

Goal-Scoring Plays

POR - Gage Guerra (Kyle Linhares), 31st minute: Kyle Linhares centered the ball to Gage Guerra at the top of the 18-yard box, where he scored with his left foot into the right corner.

POR - Kyle Linhares, 37th minute: Kyle Linhares positioned himself to score off a Tacoma deflection in front of the goal with his right foot.

TAC - Yu Tsukanome, 71st minute: After a shot attempt hit the post, Yu Tsukanome controlled and scored off the rebound with his right foot.

Notes

Gage Guerra scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season.

Tonight was Guerra's first game with T2 since June 20th.

Guerra has 12 goal contributions this season (8G, 4A).

Kyle Linhares tallied a first-half goal and assist.

Linhares scored his sixth goal of the season.

Linhares recorded his fifth assist and 11th goal contribution of the 2025 campaign.

Timbers2 earned their third road win of the season.

Next Game

Next up, T2 will face the Real Monarchs at Civic Park on Sunday, August 3, in Eugene, Oregon. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. (Pacific) and will be broadcast live on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.

Timbers2 (6-8-4, 24pts) vs. Tacoma Defiance (6-8-3, 23pts)

July 27, 2025 - Starfire Sports Complex (Tukwila, Wash.)

Scoring Summary:

POR: Guerra (Linhares), 31

POR: Linhares, 37

TAC: Tsukanome, 71

Misconduct Summary:

POR: Pope (caution), 55

TAC: Lopez (caution), 84

TAC: Diaw (caution), 87

Lineups:

POR: GK Burns, D Bamford, D Pope (Jura, 71), D Ondo, M Moreno (Nuñez, 46), M Enriquez, M Johnston ©, M Linhares, M Marquinhos (Santos, 46), M E. Izoita (Gallardo, 84), F Guerra (Bunbury, 71)

Substitutes Not Used: GK VanPelt, D Garcia, M Jura, F Miller, F White

TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Guerra, Marquinhos, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (Guerra, 3); FOULS: 14 (Ondo, Guerra, 4); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 1

TAC: GK Helleren, D Burney (Alvarez, 46), D Yamada (Lopez, 76), D Sandnes, M Sousa (Diaw, 46), M Baker (Hassan, 65), M Robles, M Brunell © (Carli, 46), M Kingston, F Gomez, F Tsukanome

Substitutes Not Used: GK Shour, D Gaffney, M Kang, F Khoury

TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Sandnes, Carli, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Sousa, Tsukanome, 1); FOULS: 16 (Carli, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 6

Referee: Verso Mark

Assistant Referees: CJ Koll, Serghei Celan

Fourth Official: Justin St. Pierre

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.

Check out the Portland Timbers 2 Statistics



MLS NEXT Pro Stories from July 28, 2025


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