Highlanders Host Timbers U23 In Northwest Division Clash

VICTORIA, BC - Victoria Highlanders FC (0-0-1) host MLS-affiliated side Portland Timbers U23 (0-1-0) in Week 3 of the USL League Two regular season, May 19th (2:00 PM PST KO) at the University of Victoria’s (UVic) Centennial Stadium.

WATCH LIVE / TICKETS / STANDINGS

The Highlanders return to Centennial Stadium for their second home game of the year. The Victoria squad is coming off a hard-fought 1-1 draw in their Home Opener versus Lane United FC. The match will be streamed online through the Highlanders Official YouTube channel.

VICTORIA HIGHLANDERS FC
An excited crowd for the Home Opener gathered to see the young Highlanders squad kick off their season against the visiting Lane United FC. The home side started strong, controlling large portions of play during the first half, including a USL League Two Goal of the Week runner-up from Elyad Shojaei. Despite the early pressure, Lane United was able to push back in the second half and score the equalizer, ensuring both teams would walk away with a point in the Northwest Division standings. While the result wasn’t a win, the home side showed their skill and potential for the 2019 season.

“I was very happy with the performance in our home opener,” said head coach Thomas Niendorf. “It was our first really competitive game as a group and the defense organized themselves very appropriately. The early goal gave the team some confidence and we were able to generate several chances and really took control for the first 30 minutes of the match. Lane started to push in the second half, and it showed as they scored the game tying goal. Overall, between these two teams and how they both played I thought it was a deserved result for both teams.”

Portland Timbers U23

Timbers U23 travel to Victoria on Sunday after opening their season on the road in a Friday night matchup against the Vancouver TSS FC Rovers at Swangard. That match saw the Vancouver side come away with three points after claiming a 5-0 win over the Timbers U23.

 “This will be our first match against Portland but we know they have skill and that they will be looking for those three points,” added Niendorf. “All the teams in the league are strong competitors and every game will be contested at a level where we need to make our efforts count.”

2018 SEASON SERIES
Victoria and Portland’s 2018 regular season series saw the squads square off three times. Timbers U23 won the first match-up by a score of 1-0 on May 20th at Centennial Stadium, with the only goal of the game coming in the 77th minute off the foot of Portland’s Magana-Rivera.

In the second match, Timbers U23 picked up a 2-1 win on June 24th at McCulloch Stadium. Portland’s Blake Bodily scored both goals for the home side while Francesco Bartolillo scored the lone goal for the Highlanders.  

The final match of the season between the two clubs saw the Highlanders pull out a 2-1 win on July 11th at McCulloch Stadium. It was Timur Zhividze that opened the scoring for the home side Timbers, but a quick response goal by Blair Sturrock and a go-ahead goal by Thomas Shores secured three points for the visiting team.

Tickets are available for Sunday’s clash against Portland Timbers U23 at Centennial Stadium at www.highlandersfc.ca/tickets. For more information, please visit www.highlandersfc.ca.


MATCH DETAILS
2019 USL League Two Regular Season – Week 3
Centennial Stadium – University of Victoria
May 19, 2019 – 2:00 pm PST
WATCH: Highlanders YouTube Channel