“I’m figuring out where I fit and I hope to make a positive contribution on the field and beyond,” he said last month.
Porter has made an immediate impact. Earlier this week, Porter scored a injury-time goal to give the Impact a 1-1 draw and an aggregate victory over Mexican team Pachua in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
“For all the practices leading up to this, coming from the veterans, they’re just always saying, don’t be tense, don’t be tense, just relax on the ball and be ready for your moments, and seize those opportunities,” Porter said in an interview with the team’s Web site. “The opportunity came and you just got to put the ball in the net. Be calm, touch it through.”
As a senior at Princeton, Cameron led the NCAA in points with an average of 2.00 per game and .88 goals per game. He ranks fourth in all time points at Princeton and fourth in goals. He was also named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year and is an Academic All-American Scholar.
Like many kids, Porter began playing soccer at a young age (4).
“He started playing with the Washington Township Recreation Center,” said his mom, Debbie Spiegel. “His dad (Jim Porter) coached him along his uncle (Don Porter). He was always a very active child.”
Spiegel said she and Cameron’s dad signed him up for several sports but it became clear almost from the beginning that soccer was his favorite. He quickly moved from playing recreational soccer to joining a select team.
“I just had a knack for the game,” Cameron said. “I guess I was above average.”
Porter, who played club soccer for Cincinnati United Premier, set his sights on attending an Ivy League School after participating in a soccer tournament during high school and talking with a coach from Princeton.
“I decided on Princeton because my family put a high value on academics,” said Porter, who graduated as salutatorian of his high school class. “I communicated with the coach there and he encouraged me.”
Porter’s father described his son as having a “laser focus,” and once he decided upon Princeton, there was no doubt he would be accepted. “He achieves whatever he sets out to do,” Jim Porter said.
Cameron will return to Ohio on June 6 when the Impact visits the Columbus Crew.
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