The Rise of T2

In the 100th year of Providence Park’s existence, it’s worth remembering all of the moments that have made this cathedral so special. From Tony Betts’ header to beat Seattle in ‘75, to Pele’s final professional match in ‘77 (where he did the world a favor by beating the Seattle Sounders) to Rodney McCray’s barrier-breaking catch in ‘91, and the countless other moments that the Portland Timbers and Thorns have provided over the years. Anyone who calls this stadium home is able to draw on the power of the fans who fill the seats. And today, for the first time in their history, it’s time for the Timbers’ second team (known colloquially as T2) to get their chance to build the fortress.

The reason for this opportunity is very easily explainable. For the first time in their history, T2 is good. Not just good. They’re the best defensive team in MLS NEXTPRO, and that outstanding defense brought them to the 2 seed and a home playoff game. After years of T2 being a complete afterthought, things are different now. Head coach Jack Cassidy has raised the baseline competitiveness of the squad in his first season, and now he prepares to lead them into a much-anticipated home playoff game.

The Key Contributors

The foundation for T2’s success begins at the back. Center back Nicklas Lund, a MLS NEXTPRO Best XI honoree, led the team with 2,493 minutes and started every game. “It means a lot, obviously. It’s a great honor,” Lund said in regards to his Best XI recognition. “We talked a lot about consistency throughout the year. As a team we’ve performed at a high level after a couple of weeks of finding our rhythm. We started really strong, and it doesn’t matter if we’re at home or on the road. We know that we have the quality on the pitch, and I think the last 3-4 months showed how resilient we are, and no matter what we do our job and normally then the outcome’s great.”

Lund has been partnered with Alex Bamford for 27 of those 28 starts. The English center back scored a memorable game-winner in a wild 2-1 victory against Austin II on August 30th. That Austin team won the Western Conference, finishing with 65 points and a +33 goal differential. A NEXTPRO Shield doesn’t exist, but Austin would have won it by 7 points. That T2 win was only the third defeat Austin suffered all season. 

Sam Joseph has been the starter for 23 of T2’s 28 games. He averaged one clean sheet every other game, finishing the season with a league-leading 12 shutouts. Those shutouts are not his alone. “It’s definitely a team identity, especially starting up front,” he told reporters on Monday. “The way we press is really, really important…It’s not built on expertise or things like that, it’s more about working your ass off really hard.”

Joseph took home the Goalkeeper of the Year award, and rightfully so. American Soccer Analysis tracks underlying data for NEXTPRO, and those underlying numbers paint an excellent picture of Joseph’s season. In terms of goals prevented (post-shot expected goal differential), he finished 3rd in the league with a +6.6 mark. If we want to get a little more granular with G+, Joseph accumulated the 4th-most passing G+ and 2nd-most shot-stopping G+ in the division. I think he should get a chance to compete for the first-team starting job next season.

The face of the team is unquestionably Eric Izoita, who joined Lund and Joseph on the Best XI. 6g/3a from the midfield is nothing to sneeze at, and his rapid rise from academy player to first-team regular has been one of the most enjoyable parts of the season. “I didn’t expect to sign a first team contract, but I mean, at the beginning of the year, I set a list of goals and that was one of my goals, and I’m happy that it happened,” Izoita said on Monday. “This past month, it’s been big for me. I’ve been getting more sharp. I’ve been cleaning up the areas where I’ve been a little messy and I’ve just been getting better and better.” I think the Timbers need to enter next season under the assumption that Izoita will be a starter for the first team. If his rise over the past year is anything to go off of, he’s just going to keep getting better with more playing time.

Striker Daniel Cervantes led the team with 11 goals. Unfortunately, he will miss the playoff game after getting sent off in the season finale against Tacoma. Speaking of Tacoma, T2 didn’t lose to them in regulation during their 5 meetings this season. 3 of them ended in a 2-1 T2 win. Adolfo Enriquez, who made his first-team debut in 2024’s 4-1 blowout of Nashville, led the team with 6 yellow cards. He joined Lund, Bamford, Joseph, and Izoita with over 2,000 minutes during the season. Izoita finished second on the team in goals, followed a 3-way tie between Colin Griffith, Max Kissel, and Noah Santos with 3 goals. Santos, another academy graduate, has found a home on the left wing. 

The assist leader is former Oregon State Beaver Lucas Fernandez-Kim. Although he shares the same alma mater as Lund, the two did not play together in Corvallis. In addition to his team-leading 4 assists, he tallied 2 goals in 24 games. “I think I could have had a lot more goal involvements, so hopefully the playoffs go a little better. But I think it’s just about working hard. Making runs behind defense comes first. We’re always trying to be creative and have fun.”

The Fearless Leader

Much has already been written about Jack Cassidy, the man who provides the base platform for his players to, in Fernandez-Kim’s words, “be creative and have fun.” Despite his brief sojourn with the first team over the summer, the standards he created stayed with T2 during his absence. Under the interim stewardship of Andres Flores, T2 went 5-2-0, with both of the draws ending in penalty shootout victories. “You have to have a really consistent framework about how you want the team to look. What are the daily behaviors, and I’m talking about on-pitch and off-pitch behaviors. And then you have to hold people accountable to it. That’s what we’ve been really consistent with. Even when I wasn’t around the results remained really, really consistent. In fact, we had one of our best spells during that period as well, so I think it’s just making sure those daily behaviors and standards are there every day and you’re holding people accountable towards them.”

This is why I think that Cassidy is such a good coach for T2 in particular. Providing a helpful structure and list of standards that the whole team can match creates an excellent environment for young players. It also helps when the team is winning. And the defense has been the force behind T2’s ascent. “I think we’ve had a really consistent backline and goalkeeper this season. Lund, Bamford, and Joseph have been ever-present in the middle of the pitch, and I’d probably add Adolfo Enriquez and Eric Izoita to that as the 2 sitting midfield players. I think that consistency and then linking back to what I said about the behaviors and what we train every day. I think that’s sort of enabled us to be really consistent with the goals against it.”

Final Whistle

This is the first playoff game in T2 history, and they’re going to play in front of a home crowd. “We’re all excited,” Fernandez-Kim said about an expected 15,000 fans in the stands. His fellow Beaver (Lund) backed up that sentiment. “I think it shows the work that we put in and the good results. It’s something that you want as a player to play in front of a lot of people. I think it’s a huge push for us; Friday night game at home in front of fans. It really fits our style of play and who we are, so it should give us the push that we need to win this game and be successful.”

Cassidy echoed the thoughts of his players in regards to the crowd: “I’ve been keeping them updated with the amount of tickets that have been claimed…It was good that the attendance has picked up a little bit for our last couple games, particularly the Austin game as it fel on a holiday. So that was good, but this is going to obviously be something a lot bigger…I’m actually really delighted that the players will get a chance to play in front of a crowd, because I think they deserve a reward for everything that they’ve put in this season, and hopefully we can go one step further than Friday as well.”

Tickets remain free on SeatGeek. Kickoff is at 7 PM. I’ll be there. I hope all of you are too. Cassidy is right. These players deserve a reward for their fantastic season, and it’ll give y’all a chance to introduce some of these future first-teamers to a magical night at Providence Park. They’ve never made the playoffs before. Time to go win the whole thing. That journey starts on a fall Friday night against St. Louis 2. The quest begins.