Woodbury’s Miller scores in Timbers’ debut

Woodbury native and Creighton soccer player Eric Miller, who is playing for the Portland Timbers’ development team this summer – the Timbers U-23s – played in his first match with the team last Tuesday night as the Timbers U-23s played PSA Elite in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Miller, a 2011 Woodbury graduate, scored a goal in his first appearance with the team, becoming the sixth Timbers U-23s player to score in his debut.

The Timbers U-23s is an amateur team affiliated with the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer and serves as a development platform for the club’s first team. The team consists of standout players from collegiate and youth programs from Oregon, the Northwest and throughout the country. Since its founding, four Timbers U-23s players signed with the first team, including midfielder Freddie Braun, goalkeeper Jake Gleeson, defender Ryan Kawulok and forward Brent Richards, who became the Timbers’ first Homegrown Player in 2012. The Timbers U-23s assembled an historic campaign in 2010, posting a perfect 16-0-0 record during the regular season on their way to becoming the first undefeated champion in PDL history.

In the loss to the PSA Elite, in front of 1,524 fans at JELD-WEN Field in Portland, the PSA Elite, from the U.S. Adult Soccer Association, took a 2-0 lead into halftime. The Timbers U-23s pulled one back in the early stages of the second half on a goal by Miller, a midfielder, to cut the deficit 2-1. Despite heavy offensive pressure by the Timbers U-23s in the second half, taking 17 second-half shots, PSA Elite sealed the 3-1 victory with a goal in the 89th minute.

With the win, PSA Elite advanced to the second round of the 2012 U.S. Open Cup to face the Carolina RailHawks of the North American Soccer League. The Timbers U-23s’ debut run in the U.S. Open Cup, a knockout tournament, comes to an end with the loss.

The loss marked the just the Timbers U-23s’ fourth loss all-time at JELD-WEN Field and now has an overall record of 11-4-0 at the venue since 2009.

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