Portland Timbers Development Update: Oct. 28, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers Academy teams traveled to Redmond, Wash., over the weekend to take on Crossfire Premier at Marymoor Park. The Timbers U-18 and U-16 Academy teams were each handed a hard-fought, 1-0 loss by the first-place Crossfire teams.

The Timbers U-18 Academy (2-3-2, 8pts) went toe-to-toe with the unbeaten Crossfire U-18s, who currently rank first in the Northwest Division. Midfielder Reid Baez (Salem, Ore.), playing up from the Timbers U-16s, had a noteworthy performance, but Crossfire scored the decisive goal in the 55th minute on a penalty kick by Christian Soto-Gonzales.

The Timbers U-18s sit in fifth place in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s Northwest Division. The loss on Oct. 26 was the team’s only defeat in the month of October.

In a physical match, the Timbers U-16 Academy (2-4-1, 7pts) fell 1-0 to the first-place Crossfire U-16s. Defensive midfielder Kaleb Augat (Riverton, Utah) helped the Timbers U-16s hold the division’s highest-scoring team at bay until late in the match. Crossfire’s Hassani Dotson put away the game’s lone goal with less than 20 minutes remaining.

With the loss, the Timbers U-16s sit in sixth place in the Northwest Division for their age group.

The Timbers Academy teams return to action Saturday, Nov. 2, as they visit San Juan Soccer Club at the Mather Soccer Complex in Mather, Calif. The Timbers U-18s kickoff at 10:45 a.m. (Pacific), followed by the U-16s at 1:15 p.m.

Several youth coaches, players honored at Timbers’ 2013 Stand Together Awards Banquet
The Timbers held their third-annual Stand Together Awards Banquet on Sunday, recognizing achievements, performances and moments throughout the club in 2013. In addition to the first team awards, several coaches and players affiliated with the club’s development teams and programs were honored during the event.

Timbers U-23s Player of the Year – Bryan Gallego

Timbers Academy Player of the Year (2012-13) – Foster Langsdorf

Timbers ODP Boys Coach of the Year – Sorin Popovici

Timbers ODP Boys Player of the Year – Kevyn Lo

Timbers ODP Girls Coach of the Year – Rochelle Hearns

Timbers ODP Girls Player of the Year – Sarah Jean Edwards

Timbers Camp Coach of the Year – Fabio Rodriguez