During their Thursday practice session San Diego FC spent some time practicing penalty kicks. In the Major League Soccer first round playoff format, games that are tied after the final whistle go straight to a shootout, so they figured it was a good idea to freshen up on the PK.
They might want to focus a little longer on it this week. SDFC saw three players miss the net entirely in a 5-4 shootout loss in Portland, keeping the Timbers season alive and forcing a decisive Game 3 next Sunday night at Snapdgraon Stadium.
San Diego had a 2-1 lead on the back of goals by Amahl Pellegrino and Chucky Lozano, who came off the bench to score after being held out of the last two matches for internal disciplinary reasons. They were on the brink of sweeping the Timbers when Gage Guerra headed home the equalizer in the 8th minute of stoppage time to force a shootout.
Anders Dreyer and Lozano converted then goalie Pablo Sisniega made leaping saves on two straight Portland attempts, an effort that gave SDFC the advantage. They failed to take advantage of it. Onni Valaraki and Marcus Invartsen both sent terrible shots high over the goal and Jeppe Tverskov’s effort hit the cross bar, opening the door for Portland to score two straight and force the series to a situation San Diego did not want to be in.
The winner-take-all Game 3 will take place on Sunday, November 9 at Snapdragon Stadium with a kickoff time to be determined.