PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Felipe Mora scored in the 3rd minute, Santiago Moreno scored three minutes into the second half and the Portland Timbers ended Real Salt Lake’s club-record 10-match unbeaten run on the road with a 3-0 victory on Saturday night.
James Pantemis finished with three saves to earn his fourth clean sheet in his 11th start of the season for the Timbers (10-8-6), who handed Real Salt Lake (12-4-7) its second loss in its last 19 matches. Real Salt Lake had not lost on the road since a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Inter Miami in the season opener.
Mora used Moreno’s 10th assist of the season to score his 11th goal and give the Timbers the early lead.
Moreno took passes from Evander and Jonathan Rodríguez and scored in the 48th minute for a 2-0 lead. Evander notched his 12th assist and Rodríguez snagged his sixth on Moreno’s fifth goal of the season.
Evander put the icing on the victory with his 11th goal of the season off a pass from Antony Alves Santos in the final minute of regulation. It was the fourth assist this season for Antony, who had one goal in three starts and nine appearances last season — his first in the league.
Zac MacMath stopped four shots in goal for Real Salt Lake.
Rodríguez, Mora and Evander all have 11 goals, giving the Timbers a trio of players with 10-plus goals in a single season for the first time in club history.
Pantemis held Real Salt Lake’s high-scoring threesome in check. Cristian “Chicho” Arango entered play with 17 goals and 11 assists, while Andrés Gómez had 11 goals and nine assists. Diego Luna began the day with a team-high 12 assists to go along with five goals. Luna became first player in the league’s 29-year existence to register multiple three-assist matches before his 23rd birthday. He needs three more goal contributions to give RSL three players with 20-plus in a single season for the first time.
Portland leads the all-time series 14-9-10.
Real Salt Lake went 4-0-6 during its unbeaten run away from home. The club has gone 11-2-6 in its last 19 matches to climb into a three-way tie for first place in the Western Conference with Los Angeles FC and the Los Angeles Galaxy. All three leaders lost on Saturday.
Real Salt Lake stays on the road to play Los Angeles FC on Wednesday. The Timbers travel to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday.
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