As summer school goes, the Portland Timbers under-23 soccer team is an ideal training ground.
That is the consensus of Clark County natives — current college soccer players — who this summer are part of the Timbers Premier Development League team.
“It’s better than just playing pick-up games with your friends when you’re playing against guys from North Carolina and Akron,” Foster Langsdorf said after a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders U-23s on June 25 at Doc Harris Stadium in Camas.
Langsdorf and fellow Mountain View High School graduate Peter Prescott were in the lineup for the match in Camas, as were former Papermakers Niko De Vera and Anthony Macchione. Former Union goalkeeper Collin Partee is also on the team.
Each of them said the regular two-hour training sessions with top college players from around the country are as important as any of the matches.
A coaching change — Vancouver resident Brett Jacobs recently took over as head coach — and roster fluctuation as players come and go from various colleges have made building cohesion a challenge for the team. Wednesday’s 1-0 win in Eugene over Lane United was only the second in nine matches for the Timbers U-23s (2-6-3). Their one remaining home match is on July 9 at Delta Park against Washington Crossfire.
The players from Clark County all were part of the Timbers youth academy before going to college. All are now preparing for their third college season — a time when they expect to be key members of their teams.
With that in mind De Vera has spent his time with the U-23s focusing on his one-on-one defending. “I’ve focused on that every single game and every training, so I feel like I’ve improved on that a lot,” De Vera said.
De Vera is the U-23s’ starting left back, the position he hopes to patrol for the Akron Zips in the fall.
Prescott, who plays at Creighton, will be competing for a starting center back for the Blue Jays. Playing for the U-23s is good preparation he said.
“When we come here to train it helps by getting a lot of touches,” Prescott said. “I’d like to build my aerial play and improve at being strong out of the back and stepping into a leadership role out of the back.”
On Wednesday Partee, a Union High grad, stopped a penalty kick to earn the shutout in the win over Lane United. The goalkeeper’s focus this summer is to get stronger.
After two years as the No. 1 goalkeeper at Utah Valley University, Partee is transferring to Loyola Marymount. He said he is preparing for more physical play in the West Coast Conference. The opportunity to train with Timbers 2, the club’s professional USL team, is a significant chance to improve, Partee said.
For Macchione, this summer has been about fitness. Hamstring injuries slowed him during Akron’s spring season, and the match in Camas was his first significant game action this summer. He said it was his first pain-free outing in quite a while, crediting the treatment of the Timbers medical staff.
Macchione said that returning to Doc Harris Stadium to play in front of an estimated 1,500 fans was special.
“It’s kind of surreal coming back here after growing up here and playing high school soccer here,” Macchione said. “It’s the second or third time I’ve played here with a Timbers jersey on. Every time is pretty special.”
Langsdorf experienced a special season in 2015. A midfielder, he was a second-team all-Pac-12 selection who finished with seven goals and three assists in 23 games. Langsdorf scored perhaps the most dramatic goal on the Cardinal run to the NCAA national championship — a flick header in extra time to send Stanford to victory in the NCAA quarterfinals.
Langsdorf said his focus this summer is to improve his finishing around goal and to play faster. Competing in training with players from other top college programs has helped, he said.
Which is not to down play the games.
“I definitely care about these games,” Langsdorf said. “I want to be a winner in whatever I’m doing, whether it’s in practice or out here in a game that doesn’t count for college.”
