MNUFC2 Scores Four in Victory at Timbers2
September 11, 2022 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro) – Minnesota United FC 2 News Release
HILLSBORO, Ore. — It was a night full of debut appearances and notable scoring milestones for MNUFC2 as it defeated Timbers2 by a score of 4-2 on Sunday night in Oregon.
Minnesota forward Tani Oluwaseyi opened the scoring when midfielder Nick Mendonca sent a long-ball pass into the Loons’ attacking half, where Oluwaseyi found open space and drilled his shot into the top of the goal, giving MNUFC2 the 1-0 lead in the 19th minute. Only three minutes later, the Loons earned a corner kick which was taken by midfielder Diogo Pacheco. The kick landed inside the six-yard box where midfielder Aziel Jackson connected and scored on a header to double the lead 2-0. But, Timbers2 responded late in the first half, slipping a shot past Loons goalkeeper Fred Emmings in the second minute of added stoppage time to cut the deficit to 2-1 before half time.
The second half saw plenty of goal-scoring chances created for both Timbers2 and MNUFC2. In the 60th minute, Portland saw a shot from distance hit the right post, which Minnesota eventually cleared. Midfielder Justin McMaster additionally had space in the box with a shot that went just wide a few minutes later. Timbers2 then equalized the game at 2-2 in the 77th minute when Ismaila Jome chipped a shot past Emmings. In the 82nd minute, Portland’s Pablo Bonilla was shown a straight red card and was ejected from the match following a forceful shove. The Loons then promptly responded and yet again scored off a header from a corner when defender Nabilai Kibunguchy found the back of the net in the 87th minute to give MNUFC2 the 3-2 lead. Then, in the third minute of second-half stoppage time, forward Loic Mesanvi – who made his MNUFC2 and MLS NEXT Pro debut on Sunday – netted the fourth goal of the night to seal the 4-2 victory over Timbers2.
With the win, MNUFC2 remains in the sixth position in the MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference standings (9-9-5, 36 points).
MNUFC2 next returns home to Minnesota to play in its final match of the 2022 MLS NEXT Pro regular season on Sunday, September 18 when it faces Earthquakes II at the National Sports Center Stadium in Blaine, Minnesota. Kick is set for 6:00 p.m. CT, and the contest will be streamed live at www.mlsnextpro.com.
GOALS
1-0 MIN – Tani Oluwaseyi, Assist by Nick Mendonca (19′)
2-0 MIN – Aziel Jackson, Assist by Diogo Pacheco (22′)
2-1 POR – Nathan Fogaca, Assist by Ismaila Jome (45’+2′)
2-2 POR – Ismaila Jome, Assist by Selmir Miscic (77′)
3-2 MIN – Nabilai Kibunguchy (87′)
4-2 MIN – Loic Mesanvi, Assist by Tommy Williamson (90’+3′)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
Yellow, POR – Siver Haugli (12′)
Yellow, MIN – Juan Mosquera (15′)
Yellow, POR – Johan Hinestroza (71′)
Red, POR – Pablo Bonilla (82′)
NOTABLE STATS
800 – MNUFC2 midfielder Aziel Jackson scored MLS NEXT Pro’s 800th goal in the league’s history during tonight’s match against Timbers2. The 22nd-minute goal was also his 10th tally of the season.
1 – Loons forward Tani Oluwaseyi scored his first MNUFC2 and MLS NEXT Pro goal on Sunday night against the Oregon side. This season, he has made nine appearances (four starts).
1 – Forward Loic Mesanvi – a Minnesota United Academy player from Lakeville, Minnesota – scored the fourth goal on the night during his MNUFC2 and MLS NEXT Pro debut.
TEAM LEADERS (Updated through September 11)
Goals – Aziel Jackson (10)
Assists – Aziel Jackson (7)
Saves – Fred Emmings (49)
Wins – Fred Emmings (4)
Shutouts – Eric Dick (2)
MLS NEXT PRO STANDINGS, WESTERN CONFERENCE (Through September 11)
(W,L,D, points) SOW*
1. s-Tacoma Defiance (14-5-4, 49 points) 3
2. x-St. Louis CITY2 (15-6-2, 48 points) 1
3. x-North Texas SC (13-5-5, 46 points) 2
4. x-Houston Dynamo 2 (13-5-5, 46 points) 2
5. e-Earthquakes II (11-8-4, 38 points) 1
6. e-MNUFC2 (9-9-5, 36 points) 4
7. e-Whitecaps FC 2 (7-9-7, 31 points) 3
8. e-Colorado Rapids 2 (7-10-6, 31 points) 4
9. e-Sporting Kansas City 2 (9-12-2, 29 points) 0
10. e-Real Monarchs (5-14-4, 20 points) 1
11. e-Timbers2 (1-18-3, 9 points) 3
*Shoot Out Wins count as two points
y – Clinched #1 Conference Seed
s – Clinched Division Title
x – Clinched Playoffs
e – Eliminated from Playoffs
MNUFC2 POST GAME QUOTE SHEET
HEAD COACH CAMERON KNOWLES
On the victory over Timbers2…
“I think we deserved to win the game when you look at the balance of it. We could have taken our chances early on, but credit to the guys for sticking with it and the guys who came into the game for fighting back when we conceded that equalizer and getting the result. But, it was a great team performance from the guys. I think when you look at the balance of play, there was some excellent stuff from the guys in the number of chances created.”
On the team having grit to find the game-winner and get three points…
“Portland [Timbers2] put out a strong team. They had a number of first team players in their squad and we knew it was going to be difficult. For us to dig deep – obviously, the red card helped – the guys were pressing and kept pushing for that goal. We mentioned grit and that’s exactly it. We had to dig deep, we had to have some big moments in the back. Then the composure: When you look at that great service from Veljko [Petkovic] and that finish from Nabi [Kibunguchy], then the fourth goal – the composure for such a young player in Loic [Mesanvi] to sort of ice the game – was huge.”
On Loic Mesanvi’s performance tonight…
“He’s showed a lot of promise in training. We’ve wanted to get him in a game, but the situation hasn’t yet seemed right and tonight was the perfect fit. We knew there were going to be chances on the counterattack, we knew they were going to push the game, so he came in and he did what we’ve seen him do in training. We’ve seen that goal in training, we’ve seen him run and exploit defenders and show his face and then show his quality in front of goal. It was an exciting first appearance for him and hopefully he can kick on from there.”
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