The early signs say the Portland Timbers may have struck gold by acquiring forward Jack McInerney this offseason.
The 23-year-old on Saturday night netted a brace in a preseason match against rivals Seattle Sounders in front of 3,112 fans at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona.
McInerney came on at halftime for star striker Fanendo Adi and scored an equalizer in the 66th minute and the game-winner in the 88th as the Timbers downed the Sounders 2-1. In the process, he became the first Timbers player in team history to score two goals in a preseason match.
"Love Jack McInerney coming in and scoring two goals," head coach Caleb Porter told Timbers.com. "We knew he was capable of that. So that's a real positive.
The Timbers landed McInerney in a trade with Columbus Crew SC on January 13, sending targeted and general allocation money to the team they defeated to win MLS Cup 2015.
"It's a great confidence builder," said McInerney, who is joining his fourth MLS team in 2015 after stints with Philadelphia, Montreal and Columbus. "I've been working on it in training all week -- getting the ball wide and putting balls into the box. I've been known to get on the end of them and to do against Seattle feels that much better."
