As soon as Jorge Villafaña stepped up for his spot kick, I got a pit in my stomach. The Portland Timbers were still knotted up with FC Dallas in the eighth round of sudden death of a penalty kick shootout at the conclusion of their first round playoff clash. The only way it was ending was when someone blinked first, and someone on the field was going to be pegged as “the guy who missed.” Villafaña deserved it the least.
Villafaña had scored what appeared to be the winner in the 82nd minute, and despite Portland conceding a late equalizer yet again, he had put in a solid 120 minutes of work in the playoff bout.