Kalif Alhassan is adamant. The goal he scored against Philadelphia was a shot. Not a cross.

"I was trying to score," he said.

The midfielder's goal - the first of his career in MLS regular season play - in the Timbers' 3-1 win against the Union Monday night continues to be the subject of debate. Was it a shot or a cross?

Alhassan insists his goal was not a result of luck, but others are not so sure.

"My instinct as a commentator - having seen many similar instances - was it was a cross," said Adrian Healy, ESPN play-by-play announcer who called the game. "It looked to me like he was trying to dink it into that soft spot at the far post and hope that someone would be able to finish it off.

"As it turned out, he didn't need anyone to finish it."

Alhassan's goal completed an exceptional game for the second-year player. He added an assist and was named the MLS player of the week for his work. But it was the goal that has people talking.

Alhassan started the play by splitting the lax defense of Philadelphia's forwards Danny Mwanga and Jack McInerney on the right side. One short and one long touch later, Alhassan was deep inside the Union's box. With Mwanga closing in on his left, Alhassan let fly with a quick right-footed kick while still on the run from about 15 yards out.

"The goalie was expecting me to (make) a cross, so I was just trying to chip it," Alhassan said.

The ball arcs across the six-yard box, and with Philadelphia goalkeeper Zac MacMath standing flat-footed near-post, it curls and sails just inside the far post and into the side netting.

Shot or cross?

"It was shross," left back Rodney Wallace said, combining the two words while laughing. "Whatever it was, it went in."

Those doubting that the goal came on a shot point to the difficult angle. But Alhassan shots rarely fly in a straight line.

"Sometimes, you just have to put the ball in there," said midfielder Eric Alexander. "Sometimes it goes in and sometimes, other people put it in. He was fortunate for his to go in."

As if to add intrigue, Alhassan's shot wasn't among the top-five choices for MLS goal of the week. Portland striker Kris Boyd was nominated for the award, along with Vancouver's Sebastien Le Toux and Camilo Sanvezzo, Ricardo Vilar of Dallas and Quincy Amarikwa of Colorado.

Portland coach John Spencer isn't at all concerned about the aesthetics of the goal.

"It doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is the ball ends up in the back of the net," Spencer said. "There's no such thing as a bad goal when you score one."

For Alhassan, who has struggled and chafed at times under the hard-driving Spencer, the goal represents another step in his maturity as a player. Alhassan has relied on eye-popping offensive skills to get by in the past, but he is learning the demands of playing at the outside midfielder position calls for more effort and playing defense.

"Kalif is like a lot of young players who are still learning what it takes to be a professional footballer in MLS," Spencer said. "It's a process they go through and he's still going through that process."

Alhassan, perhaps sensing he could be replaced by newcomer Franck Songo'o before the Cameroon midfielder suffered a preseason knee injury - Alhassan probably would've been a substitute in Monday's game had Songo'o not injured his right knee - said he has stepped up his training and Spencer is giving him a little more freedom.

"I've been working hard throughout the preseason," Alhassan said. "I feel better this year, because the coach has given me the license to express myself in the context of the offense."

Alhassan started quickly last season - five of his six assists occurred in the first 10 games of the 2011 season - then faded. He must avoid the drop-off, particularly when Songo'o is readying himself for his regular season debut, Darlington Nagbe is itching to play more minutes and Sal Zizzo has been cleared for full training after rehabilitating his knee injury.

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