Portland, Ore. (June 1, 2024) – Houston Dynamo FC earned a 2-2 draw versus the Portland Timbers at Providence Park tonight behind goals from forward Sebastian Kowalczyk and midfielder Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla.
Houston took the lead in the ninth minute when a loose ball from a Héctor Herrera corner delivery fell to the feet of Kowalczyk, and the Polish international poked the ball home for his third goal of the season. Kowalczyk has now found the scoresheet in back-to-back matches after capping Houston’s 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday.
Portland equalized in the 37th minute on a counterattack that saw Jonathan Rodríguez find Felipe Mora in the six-yard box, who hit the ball into the back of the net.
The Dynamo retook the lead in the 50th minute when Herrera turned his body to thread a ball to midfielder Carrasquilla. The Panamanian international wasted no time, running onto the ball and slotting it inside the far post for his first goal of the season. Carrasquilla scored in Houston’s last visit to Portland in Houston’s victory on Decision Day last season.
The Timbers managed an equalizer in the 76th minute when a set piece delivery from Evander found the head of Nathan Fogaca, who nodded the ball into the left side of the net.
The action got started early, as defender Micael went up to meet a corner delivery from Herrera in the third minute, but his strong header was blocked by a Timbers defender.
Goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell was called into action in the 44th minute, diving to bat away a shot from Dario Zuparic outside of the box. The veteran goalkeeper, who made his third consecutive start in relief of an injured Steve Clark, tied current general manager Pat Onstad’s single-match club record with 10 saves in the previous match.
In the 69th minute, Carrasquilla crossed a ball from the right side to Amine Bassi, but the forward’s shot was blocked by a Timbers defender just outside of the six-yard box.
Houston thought they had taken the lead in the 83rd minute when Kowalczyk found the back of the net again, however, VAR official Michael Radchuk deemed forward Aliyu Ibrahim to be in an offside position in buildup play upon further review.
Tarbell came up with two big saves in stoppage time to help keep the match tied.
After the June international break, the Dynamo travel to face Atlanta United FC on Saturday, June 15, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.
