Aravena's 96th-Minute Header Lifts Timbers Past Charlotte FC 3-2, Lassiter Scores Twice

Charlotte FC came to Providence Park with a playoff spot sitting right there on the table. It left with nothing after a header in the 96th minute.

Alexander Aravena rose on a stoppage-time corner and headed home the winner, Ariel Lassiter scored twice, and the Portland Timbers beat Charlotte 3-2 on Saturday night in Portland. The result, as The Associated Press noted, kept Charlotte from clinching an Eastern Conference playoff place for at least one more match. Charlotte stays at 13-10-8. Portland improved to 10-14-7.

Biel strikes before anyone sits down

Charlotte could not have scripted a better start. In the third minute, Pep Biel carried the ball into the attacking third down the right, cut inside and fired from just outside the box past James Pantemis to the left side of the goal. Ashley Westwood was credited with the assist in the USA Today Sports match summary. It was Biel's 13th goal of the season, according to Charlotte FC.

For about eight minutes, that looked like a road team doing exactly what a road team with something to play for is supposed to do. Then Portland turned the night into a siege.

Lassiter flips it

In the 11th minute, Lassiter finished from right in front of the net to tie it. Eric Izoita set it up, per the Timbers' recap. The Timbers kept leaning on Charlotte for the rest of the half, and in the 40th minute Lassiter struck again, once more off an Izoita assist, to make it 2-1.

That is the version of Portland that has been hard to find this season. The record says 10 wins in 31 matches, but on this night the Timbers played like a team that wanted to ruin somebody's weekend.

Portland pushes, Charlotte survives

The second half opened the same way the first half ended. Portland came out with several early shots, and all of them missed the mark, according to Charlotte's club report.

The full-match numbers show how lopsided it was. Portland took 27 shots to Charlotte's six and put 13 on goal to Charlotte's three, per the USA Today Sports summary. The Timbers also had 54 percent of the ball and won nine corners to Charlotte's three. Charlotte was not just bending. It was getting bent nearly in half.

And yet, for a while, it looked like Charlotte might steal something anyway, because that is what efficient teams do.

There is a version of this game where Charlotte's finishing is the whole story. Two of its three shots on target found the net. Biel's opener came from a moment of individual skill, and the equalizer came from one clean combination. A team does not need 27 shots when it makes the few it gets count. The problem is that a defense can only absorb so many waves before one gets through.

De la Torre to Toklomati, and the night tilts again

In the 69th minute, Charlotte found its equalizer. Luca de la Torre and Biel worked the ball back and forth before de la Torre pushed down the right and swung in a cross. Idan Toklomati had slipped behind the Portland defense and volleyed it in to make it 2-2.

According to Charlotte FC, the goal extended Toklomati's scoring streak to four matches and put him back alone at the top of the club's scoring chart after Biel had pulled level with him earlier in the night.

That was the moment where the math looked good for the visitors. Three shots on goal, two goals and a tie on the road. Charlotte only needed to hang on for a little over 20 minutes plus stoppage time.

The chaotic final stretch

It did not get any calmer. Late in regulation, Tyger Smalls had a look with Pantemis out of position, but his shot hit the side netting. A minute later, Portland answered with a flurry of shots in front of the net. One forced Kristijan Kahlina to fly across his goal and punch the ball away, per Charlotte's recap.

Kahlina's save bought Charlotte some time. It did not buy enough. Portland kept winning corners, and in the sixth minute of stoppage time one more ball came into the box. Aravena got his head on it and finished, and Portland finally had the lead its pressure had been building toward all night.

The USA Today Sports summary credits Cole Bassett with the assist on the winner.

What it means

For Portland, this was a reminder that a disappointing season does not have to look like one every night. Lassiter's brace and Izoita's two assists were the headliners, and Aravena got the moment that will live in the highlight package.

For Charlotte, the frustration is obvious. It scored first, answered after falling behind, and was minutes away from leaving with a point. It also spent most of the night under siege, and when a team gets outshot 27-6, eventually the dam usually breaks.

The timing is what will sting. A playoff spot clinched on the road in late October would have let Charlotte breathe a little. Instead, the club has to carry the job into midweek, and it has to do it knowing that its defense gave up wave after wave of chances in Portland. Kahlina kept it close. The back line in front of him did not give him much help when it mattered most, on a set piece in the final seconds.

The good news for Charlotte is that it does not have to wait long for another chance to lock up its spot. The club returns home to face CF Montréal on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium. Charlotte has proved it can finish chances. Now it needs to prove it can close games.

Sources: Charlotte FC club recap, Portland Timbers club recap, The Associated Press and the USA Today Sports match summary.

Photos: Aaron Leopold/Undrafted, Providence Park, Portland.