PORTLAND, Ore. (May 31, 2024) – Houston Dynamo 2 opened a three-game road trip with a 1-1 draw against Portland Timbers 2 at Providence Park earlier this evening. Timbers 2 claimed an extra point after edging past Houston 4-3 in the shootout.
The Timbers took the lead in the 10th minute following a foul on John Penn outside the box. Penn took the ensuing free kick and found the inside of the near post for the first goal of the game.
Dynamo 2 forward Gabe Segal scored the equalizer in the 27th minute following a free kick that found the top corner of the near post. The forward won the foul outside the box and took the ensuing free kick for his first goal of the MLS NEXT Pro campaign. This is Segal’s second goal of the year, the 23-year-old scored Houston’s first goal of the MLS regular season in a 1-1 draw with Sporting Kansas City at Shell Energy Stadium in February. The forward was one of four first team players to earn minutes tonight against Timbers 2.
Dynamo 2 forward Exon Arzu found space behind the backline in the opening minutes of the game to win the first corner kick of the game. Houston won a second corner kick moments later and defender Jeferson Medina forced a save from Timbers 2 goalkeeper Trey Muse.
Medina made his MLS NEXT Pro debut today and he joined the team earlier this month on loan from Fortaleza CEIF in Colombia. The 18-year-old has also represented Colombian at the youth national team level, most recently during the qualification micro-cycles ahead of the 2023 CONMEBOL U-17 Championship. The defender finished with seven recoveries against Timbers 2 tonight.
Dynamo 2 goalkeeper Nico Hansen was called into action in the 13th minute when he got a hand on Christian Mendoza’s effort inside the box. Hansen finished with nine saves against Timbers 2, nearly double the regular season high (five).
Dynamo Academy player Findlay Maddox entered the game in the 21st minute following a pause in play to provide medical treatment to Arzu. Maddox scored in back-to-back games during Houston’s two-game homestand last week and the 17-year-old was one of five Dynamo Academy players or alums to earn minutes in tonight’s game.
Hansen was called into action in the 74th minute to deny a shot from Noah Santos from the edge of the box.
Segal nearly scored a brace in the 82nd minute with a shot from the top of the box that just skipped past the outside of the near post. Houston’s final opportunity in regulation came off a cross from captain Diego Gonzalez, who found forward Ifu Achara inside the box in the 90th minute but his shot went over the crossbar.
Dynamo 2 return to SaberCats Stadium on June 23 when they host Colorado Rapids 2 at 7:00 p.m. CT. Tickets for that match and all Dynamo Dos matches at SaberCats Stadium are free and available HERE.
