RENTON, Wash. – On Sunday afternoon during MLS Next Pro’s own Decision Day, Tacoma Defiance secured their place in the playoffs...sort of. Their shootout win following a 1-1 draw against Portland Timbers 2 was enough to secure 9th place in the West with 41 points. A 50th minute goal for Defiance from Charlie Gaffney was eventually answered in the 90th minute by a Gage Guerra goal for T2, and a pair of saves in the shootout from Max Anchor secured the extra point.
Defiance found themselves under pressure early when winger Colin Griffith forced a save from Anchor in the 2nd minute, but the real tone of the game was set following that, as 4 fouls were committed between the 3rd and 8th minutes as both sides exchanged a pair of fouls. Most notably were two fouls both committed in the 8th minute between Defiance centerback Gallatin Sandnes and Portland forward Daniel Cervantes, which foreshadowed a moment that changed the rest of the match a few minutes later.
In the 16th minute, an otherwise innocuous ball was launched from back to front by T2, and as Cervantes and Sandnes turned and ran towards the Defiance goal the striker struck Sandnes in the back of the head with what looked like his forearm. While the broadcast didn’t get a particularly good look at the play, the referee immediately blew the whistle and showed Cervantes a red card for violent conduct. Down to 10 and with little to play for, Portland opted to more or less close up shop.
Defiance out-shot T2 10-4 in the first half, generating 0.6 xG to 0.1 according to Sofascore, while amassing 26 touches in the penalty area to Portland’s 2. Despite all that they couldn’t break T2 down and went into halftime level at 0-0. Fortunately they found a way through not long after halftime. In the 50th minute, following some impressive work from Matthew Bell to put the defense under pressure, Defiance won a deep throw in and used it to set up a fantastic cross from the sideline by Jasper Winslow that hooked perfectly into the path of Gaffney, who was running in at the back post. Gaffney took it first-time out of the air and smashed Defiance into the lead with 40 minutes to play.
The home side continued pushing for a second goal and came close on several occasions – Mark Bronnik himself accounted for 4 shots after the goal and had one particularly good look where he seemed to surprise the goalkeeper and his defender, but put the ball just wide of the far post – but couldn’t find an insurance goal and were ultimately punished. Defiance ended up being out-shot 9-8 in the second half, with 7 of T2’s 9 shots coming in the 80th minute or later. With 10 minutes to go, and no difference between losing 1-0 or 2-0 for Portland, the visitors started looking for a haymaker. As they mounted pressure and Defiance struggled to regain control, Guerra provided the punch his side was looking for. Slow pressure to a crosser and the lone clear error by Anchor as he was unable to reach the ball as he came out for it contributed to Guerra’s 90th minute equalizer, which sent the two sides to a shootout to decide who earned the extra point.
Anchor made up for his mistake with a pair of saves in the shootout to offset a miss from Kevin Bonilla, and Defiance were able to close out their regular season with a 4-3 shootout win. They’ll next be in action in the play-in round, where they’ll hit the road to face the San Jose Earthquakes 2 on the weekend of October 9th-11th, with the final schedule still to be announced.
Overview
Lineup
Substitutions
- 61’ Jared Rios ⇆ Demian Alvarez
- 77’ Edson Carli ⇆ Matthew Bell
- 88’ Kevin Bonilla ⇆ Codey Phoenix
- 88’ Danny Robles ⇆ Jared Rios
Goals
- 50’ Tacoma Defiance - ⚽ Charlie Gaffney (Jasper Winslow)
- 90’ Portland Timbers 2 - ⚽ Gage Guerra (Bryce Vanvoorhis)
Shootout
- Tacoma Defiance - ⚽ Edson Carli (1-0)
- Portland Timbers 2 - ⚽ Nicklas Lund (1-1)
- Tacoma Defiance - ⚽ Charlie Gaffney (2-1)
- Portland Timbers 2 - ❌ Maximilian Kissel (2-1)
- Tacoma Defiance - ❌ Kevin Bonilla (2-1)
- Portland Timbers 2 - ⚽ Eric Izoita (2-2)
- Tacoma Defiance - ⚽ Xavi Gnaulati (3-2)
- Portland Timbers 2 - ⚽ Adolfo Enriquez (3-3)
- Tacoma Defiance - ⚽ Rafael Jauregui (4-3)
- Portland Timbers 2 - ❌ Sawyer Jura (4-3)
Stats
Key Performers
Matthew Bell
After a very impressive first couple of appearances in which he had 2 goals and an assist, Bell has been a little quiet. While this marked his fourth consecutive game without a goal contribution, Bell’s performance was much improved and the lack of anything to show for it was more a product of Portland’s packed-in defense and his teammates’ inability to convert the chances he created. During his 77 minutes he racked up 12 touches in the box (the most in the game), completed 8 dribbles from 9 attempts (again, the most in the game), created 3 chances, had 4 passes into the final third, completed 2/3 crosses and 5/6 long balls, and won 10/12 ground duels. He was cooking, but his longest outing since joining Defiance was cut short by an injury that hopefully won’t keep him off the field when the play-in game comes around.
Charlie Gaffney
Gaffney’s the goal that ultimately earned Defiance a shot at the playoffs was a remarkable finish. He finished the regular season with 3 goals and 8 assists in 1,938 MLSNP minutes from his position as the wide threat in the team’s attack. Beyond the goal he created 3 chances, completed the 1 dribble he attempted, had 7 touches in the box and a couple of defensive contributions. Other elements of his stat line were illustrative of his and Defiance’s struggles in the match as he went 4/17 on crosses, won 3/5 ground duels and 0/3 aerial duels. Still, what a finish!
Xavi Gnaulati
Xavi Gnaulati has been a fixture in the Defiance lineup since joining the team. He’s dropped back a line from where he’d mostly played throughout his young career, now operating as part of the double-pivot. Against T2 he was exceptional in the middle of midfield, functioning as the metronome that kept everything else in time as he completed 56/58 passes including 33/35 in T2’s half and 3/3 long balls. He had 5 progressive carries, a successful dribble, drew 3 fouls, and had 2 key passes. Gnaulati’s really grown this season, and while he’s still got some growing to do he’s a great piece to have in midfield for a team that wants the ball.
