Portland Timbers Earn 3-3 Draw In Wild Game At LA Galaxy

Portland Timbers forward Felipe Mora reacts after an own goal by LA Galaxy defender Eriq Zavaleta during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

By 750 The Game Staff

The Portland Timbers extended their unbeaten run to seven games, tying the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-3 in a back-and-forth game at Dignity Health Sports Park heard on 750 The Game.

Felipe Mora scored the equalizer in the 76th minute and the Timbers kept the Galaxy off the scoreboard in the second half after trailing 3-2 at the halftime break. It was Mora’s fifth goal of the season in MLS play and second straight game with a goal. He has scored in three of the Timbers last four games.

Santiago Moreno scored his third goal of the season in the fifth minute to put the Timbers up early 1-0. It was assisted by Dairon Asprilla and Mora.

Five minutes later, the LA Galaxy equalized with a goal from defender Eriq Zaveleta.

Portland took a 2-1 advantage when Juan David Mosquera combined with Moreno and eventually Mora whose touch to continue the combination play deflected off Zaveleta’s face and past Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond for an own goal and a Portland lead in the 38th minute.

Douglas Costa equalized for the Galaxy side five minutes later to make it 2-2 in the 43rd minute, and Zaveleta – who hadn’t score in MLS play since 2017 – scored his second goal of the first half (to make no mention of the own goal) in the first minute of first half stoppage time to make it 3-2 for the home side entering half time.

The result keeps the Timbers unbeaten run alive, now at seven games, and they have scored two or more goals in each. Since Miles Joseph took over as interim head coach following the firing of Giovanni Savarese, the Timbers have 5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.

With the result, the Timbers have 43 points through 32 matches with 11 wins, 11 losses and 10 ties. They’re in seventh place in the Western Conference standings, tied on points with the Vancouver Whitecaps and Real Salt Lake who both have a game in hand on the Timbers after this weekend.

The Timbers have two games remaining in the regular season, visiting CF Montreal next Saturday Oct. 7th before the international break, and hosting Houston Dynamo on Decision Day on Sat. Oct. 21st at Providence Park.

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