Pedersen Strikes Again, Lane Steals Point Late
Pedersen Strikes Again, Lane Steals Point Late
Portland, OR — The Bangers hosted their in-state rivals, Lane United, this evening at Hilken Community Stadium in Portland, Oregon. Lane entered this game on a 7-game unbeaten streak with their only loss of the season coming in the first game of the year where they dropped points against Snohomish United, who the Portland Bangers beat this past Saturday in Snohomish. The Bangers came into this match on a 3-game winning streak with wins against the aforementioned Snohomish as well as Tacoma and West Seattle.
The first good chance of the game was created by the home side in the 16th minute. Micheal Dunne found a clever penetrating long ball to the run of starting right winger, Andrew Lovell. Lovell’s heavy first touch let him down and he was not able to beat the goalkeeper, Will Ficek, who was rushing out of his box to greet him.
GOALLLLLLL!!!!! Drew Pedersen connected on his fourth of the season on a beautiful free kick from the service of Loic Baures. A beautifully whipped in ball went right over the heads of the watching Lane United defenders and fell perfectly to the feet of Pedersen. The Lake Oswego native struck it wonderfully, leaving the goalkeeper no chance to react. The college connection was shown perfectly on display as the ex-Gonzaga Bulldog of Baures linked up with his old teammate in Pedersen.
With the scoreline 1-0, the Bangers went into halftime with a lead, even though they were massively outshot and outpossessed in the first 45 minutes of play, they were the only team to finish a chance coming by the way of their team’s leading goalscorer, Drew Pedersen.
With a multitude of substitutes from head coach Jorge Villafana throughout the second half, the Portland attack seemd the lose their momentum, only recording two shots in the second 45. A stellar second half performance by the Portland Bangers backline was spoiled in the 88th minute with a goal coming from the Lane substitute, David Lee.
Despite facing a red-hot Lane United team riding a 7-game unbeaten streak, the Portland Bangers proved they could hang with the league’s elite. A moment of brilliance between Loic Baures and Drew Pedersen gave the Bangers an early lead. Though Lane controlled much of the possession and generated more chances, Portland’s defensive resilience kept them ahead for most of the match. While a late equalizer denied the Bangers a fourth consecutive win, the draw extends their unbeaten run to four games and sends a clear message that they’re clearly in the playoff hunt with only 3 games remaining on their schedule.
Match Timeline: Portland Bangers 1 – 1 Lane United
First Half:
24’ – 🔁 Substitution: Christian Mendoza-Soto enters for Portland
37’ – ⚽ Goal: Drew Pedersen (Portland Bangers)
37’ – 🅰️ Assist: Loic Baures (Portland Bangers)
45+2’ – 🟨 Yellow Card: Loic Baures (Portland Bangers)
Second Half:
46’ – 🔁 Substitution: Efetobo Aror enters for Portland
46’ – 🔁 Substitution: Jadon Dubon enters for Portland
46’ – 🔁 Substitution: Jaime Villanueva enters for Portland
59’ – 🔁 Substitution: Vance Sheffield enters for Portland
59’ – 🔁 Substitution: Lukas Fisher enters for Portland
61’ – 🟨 Yellow Card: Michael Dunne (Portland Bangers)
65’ – 🟨 Yellow Card: Hayden Galas (Lane United)
88’ – ⚽ Goal: David Lee (Lane United)
88’ – 🅰️ Assist: Ethan Doud (Lane United)
90+4’ – 🟨 Yellow Card: Christian Mendoza-Soto (Portland Bangers)
Starting XI – Portland Bangers:
GK: Norris
Defenders: McClellan, Dunne, McDowd, Baures
Midfielders: Lopez, Miller, Salaudeen
Forwards: Lovell, Pedersen, Saghafi
Substitutes Used: Mendoza-Soto (24’), Aror (46’), Dubon (46’), Villanueva (46’), Sheffield (59’), Fisher (59’)
Unused Subs: Sappington, Klein, Sundby
