With playoffs not far away, Sacramento extended its unbeaten streak to seven games bybeating Portland Timbers 2, 1-0, at Providence Park. Wilson Kneeshaw scored his fourth goal of the season in the 14th minute, capitalizing on a feed from Matthew Weisenfarth, whocollected a high ball into the box that the Timbers 2 defense failed to deal with and poked it into Keenshaw’s path.
Tyler Blackwood nearly doubled the lead with 10minutes left with a shot that struck the post. Sacramento notched its third straight shutout and improved its record when it leads at halftime to 6-0-0.
Weisenfarth, a UC Davis productwho joined the team on Friday, and Kneeshaw both picked up cautions in a scrappy match that Timbers 2 finished with 10 men. Referee Mark Allatin issued eight cautions, the last of which sentHarold Hanson of Timbers 2 off the field with his second yellow card.
Sacramento Republic FC is fifth in the Western Conference with a record of 10-6-4 (34 points). The miserycontinues for Timbers 2; it has three lost of its last five games and is last at 2-17-3 (7 points). PTFC2 has not managed to win a game this season after falling behind.
Elsewhere …
Portland’s Northwest rivals tangled at Starfire Sports Complex and with a resounding 3-0 defeat of Vancouver Whitecaps FC2 the Soundersstopped a six-game winless skid. Ivan Parra notched a goal and an assist as Sounders 2 stayed in the playoff hunt in 10th place with a record of 8-13-2 (26 points). Hope is nearly gone for theCaps; they are 14th at 4-12-6 (18 points).
The goals came in bunches at Toyota Stadium, where Saint Louis FC beat Tampa Bay, 4-3. Seth Peterson scored before and after theRowdies wiped out a 2-0 deficit with goals by Marcel Schäfer, Giorgi Hristov, and Martin Paterson. After Peterson’s second goal re-tied the game, 3-3, midway throughthe second half, Saint Louis kept pressing and snared a victory when Konrad Plewa tallied in the 89th minute.
Pittsburgh captured the Keystone Derby Cup by beating HarrisburgCity, 3-0. Romeo Parkes scored the winner and Chevaugh Walsh added two goals in the second half as the Riverhounds rounded out a 2-0-1 series victory.