Portland Timbers 2

Portland Timbers 2 is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. The team, often referred to as "T2", serves as the reserve squad for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS).

The team was a member of the USL Championship from 2015 to 2019, and was in the second tier of the United States soccer pyramid beginning in 2016. The organization withdrew from the 2021 USL Championship season so it could better transfer players to its parent club during the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

The Timbers announced the formation of their USL Pro team at a press conference on October 14, 2014. Jay Vidovich, long-time Wake Forest head coach and two-time NSCAA National Coach of the Year, was hired as T2's head coach on December 18, 2014. Timbers 2 held an open tryout in February 2015. It was announced on February 19 that there are six players currently signed to Timbers 2. Their home games were played at Merlo Field, a soccer-specific stadium at the University of Portland for their first two seasons. After the 2016 season, the Timbers moved T2 home games to Providence Park, and T2 would play there for the next three seasons. After the 2019 season, the Timbers announced that the ownership group of the Hillsboro Hops, a minor-league baseball team based in the Portland suburb of Hillsboro, Oregon, would take over the business operations of T2, while the Timbers would remain T2 owners with responsibility for the playing staff. As part of this agreement, T2 will move to Hillsboro Stadium for 2020 and beyond.

In T2's first season, the team finished in 8th place in the Western Conference of the league table with 11 wins, 15 losses, and 2 ties. Kharlton Belmar was named USL Rookie of the Year and selected for the All-League Second Team. Jay Vidovich resigned to become head coach of the University of Pittsburgh.