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SEATTLE, Wash. – Portland Timbers forward Dairon Asprilla started just once in the final eight games of the 2018 MLS regular season after struggling to score in his opportunities on the field during the middle of the year. Asprilla finished the season with just one penalty kick kick.
Asprilla Goes On Thursday night.
The Colombian forward scored in extra time before netting the game-winning penalty kick to lead the Timbers past the Seattle Sounders in a wild Western Conference semifinal series.
"Today, we can do that we can do big things," Asprilla said. "But we have not won anything yet.
The Timbers entered Thursday's game with a 2-1 lead after winning at home in the first leg of the series. The Sounders beat the Timbers 2-1 in regulation in front of 39,542 fans at CenturyLink Field Thursday to tie the aggregate score up to 3-3 and send the game to extra time. After the two teams, the Timbers won the series 4-2 on penalty kicks to advance to the Western Conference Championship series.
Portland will face either Sporting Kansas City or Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Championship series. The series will begin on Nov. 25.
"Seattle and Portland brought the right rivalry to this match and it was incredible," Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said. "There were moments when they looked like it would be difficult, then we went back and forth, back and forth, all the way to PKs.
They have been pitching themselves in the Western Conference Championship after their semifinals, the Timbers were happy to sit back and take over the first half of Thursday's match.
The Sounders Controlled 68.1 percent of possession and forced the timbers to make 20 clearances in just the first 45 minutes. Portland Jeremy Ebobisse fired a shot straight to Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
After struggling to create dangerous chances in the first half, the Sounders came out of the way.
Seattle finally broke through the unlikeliest of ways. Timbers Goalkeeper Jeff Attinella dropped a cross from Midfielder Sounders Victor Rodriguez in the 68th minute, allowing Seattle forward Raul Ruidiaz to score easily. With a 1-0 lead, The Sounders needed to prevent the clock from scoring the game. If the series is tied to the end of regulation, the club with more away goals, according to MLS rules.
"Obviously, you want to do everything you can to help the team and make a mistake like that, it hurts," Attinella said. "But being a goalie, you got to try to shake it off because you always know there's another one coming."
With time winding down and the Timbers desperately needing a goal, Timbers midfielder Sebastian Blanco put Portland back in the game.
Blanco got to the end of a pbad from Asprilla in the 78th minute and fired a shot from the top of the box at the corner of the net. the series.
"We believe that we can achieve great things being together," Savarese said. "The guys are going to be happy with the team." "I'm very proud of the performance of our team."
The Sounders responded to a mistake from Blanco in second half stoppage time. Blanco accidentally headed the ball up to Ruidiaz while trying to make a clearance in the box, allowing the Peruvian forward to score on a volleyball to give Seattle a 2-1 lead in the game and tied the series up 3-3 on aggregate.
With the series tied on aggregate and both teams holding one away goal, the game went to extra time.
It was Asprilla's moment to shine. Asprilla, who entered the game as a substitute in the 72nd minute, headed into a cross from Diego Valeri in the 93rd minute to give Portland a 4-3 lead on aggregate.
But Seattle tied the series back up four minutes later. Referee Jair Marrufo awarded the Sounders a penalty kick after Blanco committed to a handball in the box following a Seattle kick corner. Midfielder sounders Nicolas Lodeiro feels his shot at the corner of the net at 4-4 on aggregate.
"I had two big mistakes," Blanco said. "But this is soccer. There is adversity. You won to recover really quickly and I got to the penalties (and I scored) .We won and every teammate helped."
When Marrufo blew the end of the time, Blanco and a few other Timbers began to celebrate. The Timbers insisted on the game that they were celebrating the chance to go kicks, but it looked on the field as if the players thought they had won the tiebreaker goal, which does not apply in extra time. Whatever the Timbers thought in that moment did not end up mattering.
Portland went on to beat the Sounders 4-2 on penalty kicks. Blanco and Attinella, who both made their way to Seattle during the game, came up big on PKs. Blanco scored his penalty kick and Attinella made a save during the shoot out.
Asprilla then closed the series by firing the final penalty kick into the net.
"It was a very special moment," Asprilla said. "Thank God, we are committed to everything we want to tonight."
– Jamie Goldberg | [email protected]
503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg
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