The Portland Timbers' rookies played a combined 0 minutes this year. They combined for 0 goals, 0 assists, a 0% pass completion rating, and 0 shutouts.
Yesterday SB Nation released our pick for Rookie of the Year, with Dillon Powers and Deshorn Brown of the Colorado Rapids splitting the votes evenly with 11 a piece. Also in the running were Andrew Farrell, with two votes, and DeAndre Yedlin, with four. (I voted for Powers.)
In their first year as professional players Powers and Brown played 4,636 minutes, scored 15 of the Rapids' 45 goals, and tallied 10 assists.
The Timbers' rookie class, however, was not given that opportunity. With a huge influx of mostly veteran talent in the off-season, the Timbers went with experience over youth in Caleb Porter's first season in charge. The 15 new players brought in to the Timbers roster over the course of this year, not including the rookies, averaged just over 27 years-old.
What happened with the Timbers' rookies?
Steven Evans
The Timbers' second homegrown signing, Evans was a dangerous attacking midfielder during his three years with the University of Portland Pilots where he scored 14 goals in 2012, the 8th highest in the NCAA.
Not a player known for his speed, Evans' lack of mobility saw the Timbers work on converting him to more of a defensive or box to box midfielder this season, in the vein of Will Johnson. Evans also saw some time filling in as a central defender and outside back in practice and with the reserves where he played the second most minutes in for the Timbers in 2013.
Evans did make the Timbers bench once during the regular season this year, filling in the 18 during the Timbers' 3-3 tie against Real Salt Lake on August 21st.
Dylan Tucker-Gangnes
After a promising preseason that saw Caleb Porter pair Tucker-Gangnes with several of the Timbers' starters, the Timbers' second second round pick could not get a sniff of the first team during the season despite the Timbers' injury issues at the centerback position.
Unfortunately Tucker-Gangnes suffered a concussion during practice in June that has kept him out since.
David Meves
Meves may have never actually signed with the Timbers after being taken in the second round, but he has been a consistent part of the team since arriving during the preseason. A regular part of first team practice this season, Meves' current livelihood and future prospects are something of a mystery.
Meves did backstop the Timbers U-23s to a 7-3-4 record this summer, good enough for second place in the USL PDL Northwestern Division and a selection to the PDL All-Western Conference Team.
Alvas Powell*
The only Timbers player who both could qualify as a rookie and actually get on the field this year, Powell played 382 minutes over the course of five games for the Timbers, of which he started four. Powell's insertion into the Timbers' line-up came primarily as a result of an ongoing ankle injury issue that Jack Jewsbury dealt with mid-season.
In his time on the pitch, Powell provided a real boost to the Timbers attack, quickly covering ground on the flank thanks to his fantastic speed. Powell's ability to press forward was his main advantage over Jewsbury, whose relative lack of speed often kept him in a more reserved position on the pitch. Despite this, Powell was not able to beat out the veteran for the starting job and spent most of his season with the Timbers either on the bench of with the reserves.
*Although his inclusion is questionable after playing ten games for Portmore United FC last season, hence all those zeros at the top of the page.