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As we Timbers fans ride this unexpected high so very late in the season—far longer than most of us dreamed—we haven’t yet put much thought into next year. There will be plenty of time for that later, after all. However, portents from the Twittersphere indicate that Portland will buy 2018 T2 standout Marvin Loria from Costa Rican side Saprissa, a team that has already given us so much: David Guzman, Julio Cascante, Roy Miller, and a butt-whooping in the CONCACAF Champions League.
El Portland Timbers comprará a Marvin Loria tras sus 7 goles y 6 asistencias en el Timbers 2. El jugador estaba a préstamo del Saprissa pic.twitter.com/D68e62p0Pd
— TDMás (@tdmas_cr) November 30, 2018
If true, this is excellent news. Loria, on loan this year, proved himself a creative and skillful presence in the attacking midfield this season for T2, scoring six goals and seven assists in 31 matches. With the Timbers’ aging core once again leading them to an MLS Cup final, they will need players like Loria to take their places so they can be cryogenically frozen until needed in future playoffs.
We’ll dig deeper into T2’s potential first-team candidates in the slow off-season. In the meantime, feast your eyes on this run and goal from Loria:
Marvin Loria, y'all. #RCTID pic.twitter.com/FKFfUCl4zQ
— Richard Farley (@richardfarley) August 1, 2018
...and this free kick goal:
Which Jedi master-Timber might he be the perfect padawan for?