Kelsy's header changes Timbers' fortunes in win over first-place LAFC
LAFC hadn't allowed a goal this season before Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Timbers.
Kevin Kelsy admits the haircut came out of boredom.
It’s been a rough start to the year for his Portland Timbers, and the first six games of the season weren’t what the forward envisioned for his second year with the club.
He’s still splitting minutes with Felipe Mora, and the last time the Timbers played at Providence Park, he lasted just 22 minutes before a Kamal Miller red card forced Phil Neville to take him off the pitch.
Looking to change things up, the 21-year-old shaved his head.
On any other Saturday, that might have gone unnoticed. But it was impossible to miss in the 96th minute, when Kelsy’s closely-cropped dome met a ball that changed the momentum of Portland’s young season.
The Timbers (2-4-1, 7 points) beat LAFC (5-1-1, 16 points) 2-1, taking three points from a team that not only hadn’t lost in 2026, but had yet to surrender a goal. And it was a roller coaster even before Kristoffer Velde fed a cross to Brandon Bye, who headed it over to Kelsy for the goal that handed LAFC its first defeat of the season.
“Breaking their unbeaten streak felt great,” Kelsy said. “But the most important part is we’re getting a victory in this very tough stretch.”
Portland’s path to three points began with a bit of overconfidence from the visiting side.
The Western Conference leaders came into Saturday with a 14-0 goal differential and fresh off a 3-0 win Tuesday over Cruz Azul in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals. With the return leg coming Tuesday, LAFC figured it could heavily rest its roster against a Timbers club that hadn’t won since February. Star forward Son Heung-min didn’t make the trip, nor did starting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Velde made that look like a mistake in the 32nd minute.
Taking a pass from Cole Bassett, who played 89 minutes after missing the last four games due to injury, Velde quickly surged up the middle of the pitch, crossed up a pair of defenders as he cut to his right and ripped a low shot that beat Cabral Carter at the far post.
In celebration, Velde jumped over the stadium ad boards and momentarily onto the Victory Log in front of the Timbers Army. He threw both arms into the air before losing his balance and hopping off.
“I wasn’t thinking straight,” Velde said. “I don’t know if it’s legal to jump on the log or if it’s holy. I don’t know. But I should have stuck to the log because I lost my balance.
“Next time, maybe I grab the chainsaw and cut the log myself.”
Velde’s third goal of the season came against LAFC’s third-string goalkeeper. Just minutes before the tally, Thomas Hasal left the match following a collision with teammate Artem Smolyakov.
The Timbers looked to be in control.
Then, as has so often been the case this season, Portland’s late-game demons returned.
The Timbers surrendered the equalizer just three minutes into the second half when 17-year-old Jude Terry ripped a shot from outside the box for the first goal of his career. And a week after a win turned into a loss in the final minutes against Vancouver, it appeared disaster had struck again for Portland when LAFC found the back of the net in the 87th minute.
Then the goal went to review.
As officials watched the replay, Neville said he thought back to a lunch he had earlier in the week with Timbers owner Merritt Paulson. After the Vancouver result left the coach frustrated with the refereeing, Neville said the two talked about shifting their mentality.
“We spoke about that attitude and not thinking that the world’s against us,” Neville said.
His first sign that maybe things were turning came that morning, when Neville got emotional after seeing a post from the Timbers Army calling on supporters to rally behind the team amid its struggles.
His second sign came when the goal was waved off for offsides.
With new life, Neville subbed Kelsy on for Mora. And seven minutes after debuting his new look to the home crowd, Kelsy sent 24,686 into jubilation for the first time in far too long.
But Neville said it’s more than just a new haircut that Kelsy is sporting. It’s the growing maturity of a young player finding his way.
“Yesterday when I left him out, he said to me, ‘The team is more important than me for this game tomorrow,’” Neville said. “... I think when you have that kind of spirit of togetherness, eventually the tide will turn.”
— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor