Tacoma Defiance fell to the Portland Timbers 3-2 on Tuesday night at Starfire Stadium in the Open Cup Round of 32. Osaze De Rosario and Yu Tsukanome scored for Defiance while Zac McGraw, Gage Guerra and Kevin Kelsy provided goals for the Timbers.
In the 13th minute, Snyder Brunell nearly had the first goal of the night for Defiance when Reed Baker-Whiting found the midfielder inside the box, but his shot attempt went wide.
20 minutes later, Portland got on the board first. Zac McGraw redirected a corner kick with his head from close range and into the top left corner of the net.
Tacoma tried to respond quickly when Minoungou played the ball across the goal in the 34th, but nobody was there to retrieve it.
It wasn’t until the 48th minute when Defiance found their way to an equalizing goal. After Minoungou beat a Portland defender 1v1 down the right flank, he placed the ball perfectly inside the six yard box for De Rosario to tap-in.
Two minutes later, Tacoma came up clutch again, but this time, it was Tsukanome who provided the goal for Defiance, giving the home side their first lead of the night. After finding Minoungou on the flank, the winger played the ball back to Tsukanome inside the eighteen for him to finish one-time.
A set piece in the 66th minute from Stuart Hawkins nearly earned Defiance its third goal of the night when Kaito Yamada found the ball inside the eighteen yard box, but his shot attempt went high and wide.
In the 80th minute, Portland leveled the score when Ian Smith curled a cross in the box for Gage Guerra, who guided the ball with his head toward the far post of the net.
De Rosario was inches away from providing an immediate response goal for Defiance with a header inside the six, but a diving save from Maxime Crepeau prevented the forward’s second one of the night.
It looked as if the match was heading into overtime, but in the third minute of stoppage time, Kelsy earned a penalty kick for the Timbers. He finished Portland’s third and final goal from the spot, advancing them to the Round of 16.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Talented Tsukanome
Not only did Tsukanome provide the second goal of the night just five minutes into entering the match, he played a major part in both attacking buildups that led to both his and De Rosario’s finishes with two crucial passes to Minoungou on the right flank.
Osaze on offense
With his first-half goal, De Rosario now has 10 goals to show for across all-competitions in 2025. This marks his second consecutive Open Cup goal in two matches.
Back to league play
Following Tuesday's loss against Portland, the team will turn their attention back to MLS NEXT Pro competition as they gear up to face Whitecaps FC 2 on May 14 at Swangard Stadium.
