André Luiz Scores Twice as Sporting KC Rally From 3-1 Down for 3-3 Draw With Portland Timbers

Two minutes. That is all it took Sporting Kansas City to turn a lost cause into something resembling a party at Sporting Park on Saturday night. Down 3-1 to the Portland Timbers in the 70th minute, Sporting got a goal from Justin Reynolds, threw three substitutes on, and watched André Luiz level it in the 72nd.

The match finished 3-3. Neither side won, and both had a late chance to, but the moods at the final whistle could not have been more different. Portland had let a two-goal lead slip away. Sporting had shown a kind of resilience its own players admit has not always been there this season.

Portland Take the Wheel

For most of the first half, the Timbers looked like the team in charge. In the 10th minute, Ariel Lassiter dribbled past his defender into the box and cut the ball back for David da Costa, who took a calm touch and placed it into the bottom left corner. Portland says the goal was the 800th of the club's MLS era.

Taylor Calheira forced James Pantemis into a save from distance in the 21st minute, and Luiz had two efforts blocked. But the real chaos arrived at the end of the half. Jansen Miller was called for a foul on Kristoffer Velde in the box, VAR backed the call, and Vincent Janssen sent the penalty high into the middle of the net in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Then the referee pointed to the other end. Diego Chará fouled Calheira in the box, and Luiz stepped up. Pantemis saved the penalty, but Luiz pounced on the rebound and scored from the center of the box. It was 2-1 at halftime, and the first half had run nine minutes past the 45.

Raphael Wicky did not sugarcoat what had happened before that. "And then we just gave up pretty silly goals, goals out of nowhere," the Sporting coach said afterward.

The Lead Grows, Then Vanishes

Sporting opened the second half on the front foot, winning three corners in the first eight minutes. Jansen Miller headed just over in the 53rd minute and Calheira had a header blocked two minutes later. Portland absorbed it, made a double change in the 63rd minute with Antony replacing Janssen and José Caicedo replacing Chará, and struck again a minute later. Jimer Fory pulled the ball back from near the left end line and Lassiter finished first time into the bottom right corner. Portland says it was his fifth goal of the season, a new single-season career best.

At 3-1, this is where Sporting games have often gone sideways. Wicky said as much: "probably at 3-1 down we have seen games where then the guys started chasing, losing their shape, losing their heads, and then you get the fourth one."

Not this time. In the 70th minute, Calheira slipped the ball to Reynolds, who hit a left-footed shot from the center of the box into the top left corner. Wicky immediately made a triple change, sending on Ian James, Rubén Ramos and Seymour Reid. Reid needed about a minute to matter. He sprang a fast break and found Luiz, who finished left-footed into the bottom left corner. Three goals for Portland, three for Sporting, and an entire stadium suddenly believing.

Seven Minutes of Nerves

The finish was a coin flip. Eric Izoita forced Stefan Cleveland into a save in the 81st minute, and a minute later Luiz went off injured, replaced by Shapi Suleymanov. James sent a shot high and wide in the 84th. Then, after seven minutes of added time were announced, Calvin Harris got the look of the night on a fast break and blazed it high and wide from the middle of the box.

"I think, in the end, we deserved this point. We could have won this game with the big chance of Calvin (Harris)," Wicky said.

Portland had its own moment. Alexander Aravena, on as a late substitute, got a shot away from the left side of the six-yard box in the fifth minute of stoppage time, and Cleveland got down to save it. Caicedo had a final effort blocked, and that was that.

Who Delivered

André Luiz was Sporting's best player by a distance: five shots, three on target, two goals, one of them on the rebound of his own saved penalty. Wicky called him "obviously the engine of this team" and it is hard to argue.

Ariel Lassiter scored one and set up another, and Portland says he now has five goals and six assists this season. Both of his goal-and-assist games this year have come against Sporting, according to the club.

David da Costa opened the scoring and, per Portland, has now scored in back-to-back matches.

Justin Reynolds scored the goal that started the comeback. "It was amazing because obviously there's been times where we go down a goal and we completely shut down," he said.

The Turning Point

Wicky's triple substitution in the 71st minute. Sporting had just made it 3-2 and the building was loud, and rather than wait, he added fresh legs. Reid's assist came almost immediately. Wicky credited the bench afterward, saying "I felt like the subs came in really, really good."

Stats That Matter

• Shots on target: Five apiece, with Sporting holding a 12-9 edge in total shots.
• Possession: Portland had 54.4 percent of the ball.
• Corners: Sporting won six to Portland's one.
• Crosses: Sporting attempted 22 and completed only two.
• Fouls: Sporting committed 17, Portland nine.

What It Means

Portland sit at 9-6-13 with 33 points and, according to the club, 10th in the Western Conference. The Timbers had lost three straight before this, so the point stops the slide, but blowing a 3-1 lead stings. Next up is a trip to the LA Galaxy on Wednesday, the third leg of a three-match road swing.

Sporting are 6-4-18 with 22 points. The results have been ugly all year, but Reynolds put it well: "Of course, you can be happy with the comeback, but you have got to be hungry for more because we want three points, not one." This was also a long way from the first meeting between these teams in May, when Portland won 6-0.

The Closing Take

This was a Marvel third act: the heroes trail, the music swells, and a couple of characters you barely noticed earlier (looking at you, Reid) show up to save the day. The only problem is that nobody got the post-credits win. Sporting will take the moral victory. Portland will want to skip the rewatch.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by Sporting Kansas City. Additional match details as reported by the Portland Timbers.