PORTLAND — Brent Richards isn’t much for celebrating.
But the smile on his face and the hardware in his hands were clear demonstrations that Saturday was special to the Camas native.
The 20-year-old capped his MVP summer with an MVP performance, scoring twice to lift the Portland Timbers under-23 squad to a 4-1 win over the Thunder Bay Chill from Ontario, Canada, in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League championship match.
Richards, who will be a junior for the Washington Huskies this fall, scored the go-ahead goal early in the second half, and gave the Timbers a 3-1 lead 10 minutes later. Both goals came from headers off long free kicks served into the 18-yard box.
Those two plays lifted the Timbers U23s past a Thunder Bay team that was trying to muscle its way to a championship as 3,729 watched in PGE Park.
By finishing the season with 20 wins in 20 games, the Timbers under-23 team became the first unbeaten, untied champion in PDL history.
The PDL, which traces its history to the mid-1990s, is a pro-am league for players 23 and younger. It had 67 clubs this year. Many of the players are current and recent college players.
For scoring the two goals that separated the Timbers from the Chill, Richards was named the MVP of the PDL final four. Prior to Friday’s semifinal games, Richards was honored as the league MVP and rookie of the year.
Team captain Tracy Hasson scored early, and Freddie Braun converted a late penalty-kick for the other Timbers goals.
A physical first-half ended in a 1-1 draw and the Chill down to 10 men because midfielder Rafa Heck drew a red card for a dangerous kick that connected with Braun. Richards and the Timbers rose to the challenge set forth at halftime by coach Jim Rilatt.
“(The Chill’s) intent, either intentionally or through tired legs, was to try to intimidate us physically,” Rilatt said. “It was something we had to sort out. We talked about it at length, and not in very nice tones, and we came out and responded.”
Richards’ broke the tie by beating Thunder Bay keeper Stephen Patterson to the free kick taken by Steve Evans from near the midfield line along the right wing.
“The keeper was coming out behind me. I heard him say ‘Keeper!’, so I knew I had to get a little touch on it and that would be enough,” Richards said.
Just in case one unlikely header wasn’t enough to finish off the Chill, Richards repeated himself 10 minutes later, getting a piece of a free kick taken from the Timbers side of midfield. Richards said he didn’t remember what part of his head deflected the ball between defenders for a 3-1 lead.
“On that one I was just trying to get a little flick on. I got a little touch on it and that threw him off, and luckily it went in the goal.”
Gavin Wilkinson, the man who oversees the Timbers professional squad, coached Richards as a youth player with EastSide United in Gresham. He said there was nothing lucky about Richards’ success on Saturday.
“Brent’s always had the ability. He’s maturing,” Wilkinson said. “And he’s maintained belief in his ability. The same things he was doing against players his own age, he’s doing against older players.”
Added Wilkinson: “He has the ambition of becoming a professional, and he’s making the necessary sacrifices to do that. Brent is also an exciting player to watch, so it’s fun.”
It certainly was on Saturday. Richards said he wants to keep the good times rolling this fall, his junior season with the Washington Huskies.
But — for timing and significance — it will be difficult to top the tie-breaking goal he scored to Saturday.
“We won a national championship, so I’ll always remember (scoring) that one,” Richards said.
“There was a ton of adrenaline. I’m not big on celebrations. I didn’t know what to do. I like to celebrate with my team, and it felt great.”
