Edgar "RCTID Thiago" Guerrero and the Portland Timbers got underway Tuesday in day one of qualifiers for the eMLS League Series 1, presented by Coca-Cola.
The night's play left Portland with a record of 4-2-1 and in ninth place, tied on points for eighth with FC Dallas' Alan Avi and two points behind Nashville's Joksan in seventh place. The top eight players qualify for the knockout rounds this weekend and a chance to play for a piece of the $20,000 prize pool.
After dropping a very close result in his first game against Dallas, Thiago reeled off three straight wins: a come from behind 3-1 victory over Vancouver's exraa, a 5-4 goal-fest over San Jose's BenR and a commanding 4-1 win over the Union's Smatias17. Guerrero then ran into a buzzsaw losing 7-3 to Toronto FC's GoalMachine.
- eMLS: League Series 1 Standings
- eMLS: League Series 1 Schedule
Down a goal and down to 10 men after a frustrating second-half red to his FIFA Ultimate Team Kylian Mbappé card, Thiago fought back for a clutch 2-2 draw versus Sporting KC's Alekzander – it was only the second match that saw SKC drop points on the night.
In Tuesday's final game – a Cascadia rivalry match against Seattle – Guerrero soundly defeated the Sounders' Adrian in a 4-2 result.
Day two of the qualifiers continues on Wednesday at 3pm PT with Guerrero having a game in hand as he faces his final seven matches. Be sure to tune in to Leah Revelle's Twitch feed (www.twitch.tv/leahrevelle) to follow along and take part in the chat.
