Luis Ramirez

Statesman Journal

The Timbers U23s started off their first Premier Development League regular season in Salem with a 2-0 victory over the visiting TSS FC Rovers, who fell to 0-3-1.

Francesco Amorosino started the season strong, connecting on a through ball from Reid Baez in the sixth minute to give the Timbers U23s the early 1-0 lead.

“It’s so important to start off well and getting the clean sheet too,” Amorosino said. “As long as someone is scoring that’s all that matters as it could have been anyone else.”

Amorosino doubled the lead in the 23rd minute with his second goal of the match after a perfectly placed corner kick by Timur Zhividze.

“Francesco is kind of a matchup problem because he’s not small, but he can win some balls in the air and he’s quick,” head coach Aaron Lewis said. "He can score in different ways.”

“It was the biggest crowd we’ve had and they were into the game,” Lewis said. “It’s fun to be playing in front of a crowd like that.”

Amorosino plays as a midfielder for Virginia Commonwealth University, but has been asked to play higher on the attack for Lewis and the Timbers U23s.

The change seemed to be working as he played well off of Zhividze, Gio Magana-Rivera and Rey Ortiz in the attack.

“I’m playing with guys I’ve never played with before and so we’re still developing a relationship up top,” Amorosino said. “We can definitely work on still shutting it down more and being engaged at all times. There were times when we let off the gas a little and those were the opponents’ best moments.”

The Timbers U23s will now shift their focus to Cascadia rival Seattle Sounders U23s on Friday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Bonney Lake, Washington. The game was picked as the PDL Game of the Week.

Players of the game

Christo Michaelson was a steady presence on both offense and defense, pushing the ball forward to the wingers and dropping back consistently on defense.

Timur Zhividze recorded the assist on the second goal off a perfectly placed corner kick in the 23rd minute.

Francesco Amorosino scored both goals for the Timbers and could have scored another two or three goals on the night.

lramirez@StatesmanJournal.com or Twitter.com/@LuisRamirez1