Development Academy: Double hat-tricks for Portland Timbers’ U-18s

By Jimmy LaRoue

Portland Timbers’ U-18 Development Academy squad trailed 2-0 to Vancouver Whitecaps after the first 21 minutes, but behind hat-tricks from Timur Zhividze and James Nosack, the Timbers rallied for a 6-3 win over the weekend.

Carlos Marquez opened the scoring in the 15th minute for the Whitecaps, and six minutes later, teammate Yassin Essa doubled the lead.

But Zhividze cut the lead in half just before halftime, and then within a four-minute span early in the second half, had tallied his hat-trick to give the Timbers the lead.

Ten minutes after Zhividze’s third, in the 64th minute, Nosack got the first of his three. Twelve minutes later, Nosack got his second to put the Timbers ahead 5-2.

Brody Huitema cut the lead to 5-3 in the 79th minute, but a minute later, Nosack gave the Timbers their eventual three-goal advantage.

The win for the Timbers was their second straight and they moved to fourth place in the Northwest Division with a 5-6-2 record.

In the U-16 matchup, the Whitecaps got a brace from Terran Campbell and beat the Timbers 2-0.

“It was a good battling performance, we controlled the game again as we have in recent weeks and got some rewards in the first half,” said Whitecaps coach Craig Dalrymple on the club’s website.

“The game got a little scrappy in the middle phase so at halftime we regrouped the players and reminded them of some of the things we wanted to do in possession. They came out and Terran scored a second goal early in the second half. It was a good strike from distance and we generally managed the game from that point on so it was a good performance.”

The New York Red Bulls’ academy teams continued their strong starts, with the U-18s defeating Oakwood Soccer Club 4-2 and the U-16s winning 1-0.

In the most lopsided academy game of the weekend, McLean Youth Soccer’s U-16s defeated Richmond Kickers 7-0 as William Metzler tallied a hat trick, and Iain Holmes had a brace.