Evander curls in a free kick and the Timbers beat Austin to end a 3-game road losing streak

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Evander curled in a beautiful free kick in first-half stoppage time, Jonathan Rodríguez added a penalty-kick goal in the 66th minute and the Portland Timbers beat Austin 2-0 on Wednesday night to end a three-game road losing streak.

Portland (5-7-4) won its first game away from home since March 9 against New York City. Austin (6-5-5) had won its last five matches at Q2 Stadium. The Timbers have a head-to-head series lead against Austin with five wins, two losses, and one draw.

Rodríguez, who scored his sixth goal of the season, has produced a goal contribution in five straight games to tie the second-longest streak in Portland history.

The Timbers earned their first clean sheet of the season. James Pantemis, who made his fourth start of the season, dove to his left to deny Sebastián Driussi’s penalty-kick attempt in the 16th to keep it scoreless.

It was the first time Austin went without a goal at home in its last 21 games.

The Timbers have scored at least one goal in 14 of their 16 matches this season.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer