Hamzat Ojediran and Lucas Herrington Score First MLS Goals as Colorado Rapids Beat Portland Timbers 2-0

Two first career MLS goals, one clean sheet and a goalkeeper at the other end who earned every cent of his paycheck. The Colorado Rapids beat the Portland Timbers 2-0 on Saturday afternoon at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, with 22-year-old midfielder Hamzat Ojediran and 18-year-old defender Lucas Herrington each scoring for the first time in MLS, according to the AP.

It could have been a lot worse for Portland. Colorado took 24 shots, put 9 on target and won 12 corners, and only seven saves from James Pantemis kept the margin at two. Zack Steffen made three saves at the other end for his first shutout of the season, and the Timbers finished with 10 men after Jimer Fory's straight red card in the 77th minute.

A Rocket and a Siege

Portland actually threw the first punch. In the 3rd minute Cole Bassett, facing his former club for the first time per the Timbers, met a Kristoffer Velde cross with a header from a tight angle and Steffen saved.

Colorado answered fast. In the 6th minute Pantemis kept out a Rob Holding header from a Paxten Aaronson cross, and from the corner that followed, the ball worked its way to Ojediran outside the box. His right-footed shot took a deflection, which the AP said came off Finn Surman, and finished in the bottom right corner. Jackson Travis was credited with the assist.

From there the first half turned into a siege. Pantemis saved a Rafael Navarro header in the 11th minute, a Navarro shot from distance in the 23rd and a Reggie Cannon effort in the 25th. Navarro headed wide from close range off a corner in the 28th, Holding fired over in the 31st and Dante Sealy did the same in the 36th. Colorado had won eight corners by the 40th minute.

Portland's best reply came in the 21st, when Felipe Mora headed a Velde cross from the right side of the six-yard box and Steffen saved in the center of the goal. Velde also blazed over on a counter in the 39th. Josh Atencio was booked for Colorado in the 22nd minute.

Herrington Makes It Two

The second goal took a little patience. Navarro had a shot blocked in the 51st minute, and in the 52nd Herrington slid a through ball to Alex Harris, whose shot from outside the box was saved by Pantemis. The corner that followed changed the game: Sealy swung it in and Herrington, at the back post, headed down into the bottom right corner in the 53rd minute.

Portland pushed back. Mora went close from outside the box in the 57th minute, Antony narrowly missed on a fast break in the 59th and Brandon Bye fired over in the 63rd. Steffen got down to save Gage Guerra's shot in the 69th, and substitute Kevin Kelsy headed wide off the ensuing corner. Pantemis and Herrington were both booked in the 73rd minute, and a minute later Holding headed Aaronson's set-piece delivery off the crossbar.

Then Fory was sent off in the 77th, and the Timbers played the rest of the afternoon a man down. Captain Diego Chará was booked in the 83rd, and the Timbers noted the caution was his 123rd, tying the all-time MLS record for yellow cards. Colorado kept firing until the end. Pantemis stopped Navarro from a tight angle in the 86th, and Ted Ku-DiPietro missed narrowly in the 88th before having a shot saved and another blocked in the 94th minute of an eight-minute stoppage-time period.

Who Stood Out

Hamzat Ojediran scored on one of his two shots before coming off in the 61st minute. As first career goals go, a deflected strike from distance in the 6th minute of a home game is a pretty good way to announce yourself.

Lucas Herrington scored, set up a chance for Harris and picked up a yellow card. That is a complete afternoon for an 18-year-old center back.

Paxten Aaronson was Colorado's chief supplier. The commentary feed credits him with setting up eight Colorado attempts, including the Holding header that hit the bar.

Rafael Navarro took a game-high seven shots and put three on target, and Pantemis stopped all three. Some days the goalkeeper just has your number.

James Pantemis made seven saves and deserves better than a 2-0 loss on his stat line. Zack Steffen was rarely stretched but made all three of his stops count. They came on Bassett, Mora and Guerra, and those were the only Portland efforts on target all afternoon.

Cole Bassett logged the full 90 minutes against his former club, per the Timbers, and his early header forced Steffen into the first save of the day.

The Turning Point

The 53rd minute. Portland had survived the first-half barrage down only one goal, and Pantemis had just made another save on Harris. One corner later it was 2-0, and Herrington's header took the air out of any comeback hopes before the Timbers had a real chance to build momentum.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Colorado 24, Portland 12.
• Shots on target: Colorado 9, Portland 3.
• Saves: Pantemis 7, Steffen 3.
• Corners: Colorado 12, Portland 6.
• Possession: Colorado 54.1 percent, Portland 45.9 percent.

What It Means

Colorado improves to 1-0-1 with 3 points after a 2-0 loss at Seattle on opening weekend. Per the AP, the Rapids are now 12-15-7 all-time against Portland and 10-3-5 in Colorado. The LA Galaxy visit Dick's Sporting Goods Park next, on Saturday, March 7.

Portland falls to 1-0-1 with 3 points after a 3-2 home win over the Columbus Crew to open the season. This was the Timbers' first road match of 2026, and it showed. They return to Providence Park to host Cascadia rival Vancouver on Saturday, March 7.

Closing Take

Two first goals in one afternoon is the soccer equivalent of a double album drop, and the Rapids' young core got to hear both tracks in front of a home crowd of 16,113. Portland, meanwhile, spent most of 90 minutes watching Pantemis play whack-a-mole. He hit a lot of moles. Not all of them.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details from the AP recap via ESPN and the Portland Timbers (timbers.com).