Darlington Nagbe, A History

It was Sunday, March 3, 2013. I was sitting at home in a small town called Somerset, Kentucky and I had the TV turned on to ESPN to watch the Portland Timbers play the New York Red Bulls.

I watched a packed Jeld-Wen Field (now called Providence Park) welcome the home side as the Timbers began their 2013 MLS Season, their third season in Major League Soccer. The energy was electric and people seemed to feel right at home.

Less than eight weeks before the season began, the Timbers acquired someone that would play a momentous role in their history. On January 10, the Timbers acquired Diego Valeri from Club Atletico Lanus on loan.

I had heard so much about this player before the match started and it did not take long for him to make his mark on that Sunday afternoon in the great northwest.

Valeri scored this incredible goal.

And while the Timbers did trail 3–1 at the end of the first half, the tenacity and “never say die” attitude made me love them even more. Especially when a young man by the name of Darlington Nagbe scored in the 56th minute.

Nagbe’s shot in the 83rd minute lead to an own goal by Jasimon Olave and that tied things up at 3 goals each and the match ended in a thrilling draw. However, that night felt like a victory for Timbers fans and myself. I had found my team.

That 2013 season was one of the most successful seasons for the Timbers as they would finish the regular season on top of the Western Conference with 57 points, which is still the most points accumulated by the team in the club’s seven year history in MLS.

It was also the most successful season for Nagbe, scoring 11 goals across all 42 competitive matches and also getting four assists in MLS matches that season.

That season was a breakout year for Nagbe and I believe it was all because of the new coach that the Timbers brought in, although that coach wasn’t all that new for Nagbe.

Former Akron men’s soccer coach Caleb Porter was given the Portland job on August 29, 2012 and Porter would take the reigns after Akron finished their 2012 season. Porter was the coach of Akron from 2006 to 2012 and coached Nagbe from 2007 to 2010.

Together, Nagbe and Porter would win four straight Mid-American Conference Tournament titles and would make back-to-back College Cup appearances in 2009 and 2010. After going unbeaten (23–1–0), the Zips would fall to Virginia in penalties in the National Championship. The Zips would return to the title game the following season and defeat top seed Louisville.

Nagbe would win the Mac Hermann Trophy, the award given to the top college soccer player in the country, that year. Nagbe would scored 19 goals and tally 19 assists in the 73 matches that he played in an Akron jersey.

Nagbe was selected 2nd overall in the 2011 MLS Superdraft by the new expansion club, the Portland Timbers. While he missed the first few weeks of the season, Nagbe made an instant impact when he finally stepped on the pitch. And his first ever MLS goal was a wonder goal and would eventually be named the 2011 Goal of the Year.

Since then, Nagbe has scored 27 goals in MLS to go along with 30 assists. Nagbe has played a massive role in the Portland attack and that role carried over to the United States national team when he finally got his call up to be on the roster. And while we won’t be seeing Nagbe or the US in the World Cup next summer, I guarantee you that Nagbe will be a key factor in the rejuvenation of US Soccer in future competitions.

But as for Nagbe’s time in the Rose City, that is unfortunately over.

While words cannot express how upset I am at this, I wish Darlington nothing but the best. For part two of this tribute to Darlington Nagbe, click here.