This Idaho native only needed 6 minutes to set a record in his first MLS start
The Portland Timbers awarded Blake Bodily his first MLS start on Saturday, and it didn’t take him long to make a lasting impression.
The Eagle native recorded an assist six minutes into the Timbers’ 2-1 win over Houston, making him the fastest player to score a goal or tally an assist in his MLS debut in club history.
Bodily settled a pass while posting up a Dynamo defender down the right flank. Catching the defender overcommitting, he laid the ball off to Pablo Bonilla, who quickly fired a cross into the box that Dairon Asprilla finished off for a 1-0 lead.
Bodily was credited with a secondary assist, ensuring his place in the Portland record books.
“It’s something that I’ve dreamed of since I can remember,” Bodily said of his first MLS start. “I remember coming to games in Portland before I was even in the academy. So being able to make my start and make a little bit of an impact is something that was super special to me and (hopefully) something that I can continue to do moving forward.”
The performance capped a whirlwind 24 hours for Bodily. The 23-year-old didn’t receive word he’d start Saturday until the day before. Injuries thinned the Timbers’ lineup, and they were slated to play five games in 16 days, forcing them to search for fresh legs.
Bodily joked that his family, which already planned to attend the game, was skeptical of the news at first.
“They honestly thought I was lying to them,” Bodily said in a press conference after the game. “Being able to start in front of them, it’s just the best feeling in the world. I know they’re super proud of me, and I’m just so happy they could make it out.”
Bodily also made his debut out of position, starting as a forward. He trained as a midfielder in the Timbers’ academy, and Portland examined him as a left back during its preseason training camp.
But Bodily made his presence felt early, recording a shot on goal in the fourth minute before setting up the goal a couple of minutes later. Portland subbed him off in the 60th minute.
“Playing up top is not my most comfortable position, but it’s something that I enjoy and something that I’m willing to do,” Bodily said. “... I think I did an OK job. I feel like I could improve in other areas. But you live and you learn, and there’s more games ahead.”
Saturday marked Bodily’s third official appearance with the Timbers’ top team. His first came in the knockout stage of the MLS is Back Tournament last summer. He also converted a penalty kick in a shootout loss to Dallas in the MLS playoffs. That made him the first homegrown player in MLS history to make his playoff debut before appearing in a regular-season game.
Bodily attended Eagle High for his freshman and sophomore years before joining the Timbers’ youth academy. He first suited up for Timbers 2, Portland’s USL club, at 17 years old.
He later starred at the University of Washington, where he won a Pac-12 Player of the Year award and was a first-team All-American. The Timbers signed him to a homegrown contract in January of 2020, protecting him from entering the MLS Draft.
Bodily is just the second Idaho native to play in an MLS game. Centennial High grad Logan Emory (2006) played in 26 games for Toronto FC from 2012-13.
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 12:06 PM.
