La Maquina, a team that qualified for Open Cup play last fall before being suspended by its league following an altercation at the end of a playoff match, bested the Portland Timbers U23s 2-0 Wednesday night at Providence Park.
Travelling with just fifteen players, the Southern California United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) side was aggressive from the get-go, dominating possession and bossing the home team.
The visitors opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Alejandro Velazquez tipped the ball past the near post. An already confident team only grew more dominant.
The game was chippy at times, perhaps showing the inexperience of the home team and the passion of the visiting side. U23s’ Ben White was shown a yellow in the 45th minute for a fairly harsh challenge on goal-scorer Velazquez. La Maquina’s Eduardo Almaraz picked up a yellow in the 70th and the Timbers Chavez earned his own yellow for a tackle on former Chivas de Guadalajara forward Edwin Barboa.
Barboa was down on the field for an extended period, but recovered and, catching the U23s keeper off his line, tapped the ball over the goal line in added time to seal the win for the UPSL side.
La Maquina will host NPSL’s Sacramento Gold May 18 at Westminster High School in Westminster, Calif.
Scoring Summary
MAQ: Velazquez, 6
MAQ: Borboa, 90+
Lineups
POR: Nelson, De Vera, Chavez, White, Coffee, Murphy (Martinez, 56), Johnson, Dee (Macchione, 72), Jones (Small, 53), Prescott, Mueller.
TOTAL SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 12; SAVES: 2
MAQ: Sosa, Vasquez, Orozco (Palomares, 79), Borboa, Velazquez (Godinez, 88), Godinez Jr. (Almaraz, 57), R. Perez, J. Perez, Paniagua, Ramirez, Martinez.
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 12; SAVES: 4