Working hard key to Remick’s playoff moment
With outsiders telling the story of the Dynamo’s run to the Western Conference finals as if it were a fairy tale, it is appropriate that the most celebrated chapter features the most hard-to-imagine detail.
Reserve left back Dylan Remick had scored only one goal in his first five MLS seasons, but he scored the biggest goal of the Dynamo’s season with his right foot.
It was not just a tap in, either. Remick ran to a pass intended for him in the heart of the penalty area and struck a brilliant shot into to the back of the net.
Remick had a confident swagger as he celebrated his first postseason goal. But in the days following the shot that sent the Dynamo past the Portland Timbers and into the conference finals, where they will face the reigning MLS champion Seattle Sounders FC, even he said he had a hard time believing it.
“I’d say it was pretty unlikely,” Remick said. “I tend not to use my right foot that much. I trust my left foot. My right foot is mostly for standing on.”
Based on his passion for tireless work in everything he does, however, scoring a goal with his weaker foot is perhaps the only thing Remick could do to surprise anyone.
‘100 percent all the time’
Remick grew up in Inverness, Ill. — a 30-minute drive from Chicago — with a twin brother named Spencer. There were daily scuffles in the back yard and a constant desire to outdo the other in every venture.
Both played soccer and ran track. Sometimes when they played soccer, they cared as much about producing more than each other as they did about helping their team win.
Mom and dad helped to fuel the fire.
“Our parents told us if we were going to do something, to do it 100 percent all the time,” Dylan said.
That background paid off for both brothers, who were on the Loyola Academy 1,600-meter relay team that won a regional title. Spencer ran track at USC and set a respectable personal record of 1 minute, 53.71 seconds in the 800-meter run.
Dylan played soccer at Brown University, where he also majored in biology and pre-med.
Though Remick played center back in high school, Brown coach Patrick Laughlin saw him as a left back who could spark the attack.
It did not take him long to stand out. His two goals
and one assist helped him earn the Britton Chichester Award, which is given to the freshman on the team who contributes the most.
Remick was a first team All-Ivy defender as a sophomore and unanimous pick to the All-Ivy team as a junior.
Wants to win
Laughlin said the coaches always expected Remick to play well, but what stood out most was his competitiveness.
The day before games, the Bears played a onetouch game inside the penalty area. It involves a lot of quick play and a lot of goals. Laughlin said Remick was on the winning team more often than not.
“It’s not the day when guys who are established starters are going after it,” Laughlin said. “But he wanted to have fun and win, so he had energy.”
Remick had enough energy before summer camp one year that he woke up in time for a long, hard run. Laughlin saw Remick drenched in sweat as he drove to the soccer field at 7 a.m. that day.
Another day, Laughlin walked into the team building and saw Remick, who was wearing a walking boot because of an ankle injury, pedaling hard on a stationary bike.
“I said, ‘It’s OK. You can take a day off if you need to,’” Laughlin said. “He said, ‘I don’t want to lose my fitness, coach.’ ”
It is that kind of attitude that has driven Remick to be ready every week this year for the Dynamo, even though he knows DaMarcus Beasley is coach Wilmer Cabrera’s top choice at his position.
That just-in-case preparation was necessary in the decisive game against Portland.
Beasley suffered a quadriceps injury in training the day before the match. Remick, though, did not know he would be starting until the day of the game.
Later that night, he didn’t know he’d be in position to score one of the biggest goals in Dynamo history. He was ready for it anyway.
“He’s a hard working player who does everything he can to get on the field and be ready for any situation,” Laughlin said. “It is not surprising to us that he is doing what he is doing.”