Jerry Smith, head coach of the Santa Clara University women's soccer team, was one of the first people to congratulate University of Portland head coach Clive Charles when the Pilots beat Pennsylvania State University last year in the semifinals of the Women's College Cup.

"I said, 'Clive, I could not be happier for you and your team making it to the championship game. We're about to defeat North Carolina in the semifinals, and when we do, we're going to kick your butt in the finals,' " Smith recalled with a laugh.

Of course, Portland went on to beat Santa Clara in double overtime to win its first national championship, but Smith said he doesn't harbor a grudge.

"The moment the ball went into the goal against Santa Clara, I was really disappointed for my team, I was disappointed for my players, I was really heartbroken for my seniors, and one moment after that I couldn't have been happier for Clive Charles," Smith said. "He and I shared a nice embrace and moment and brief conversation within 15 seconds of that ball going into that goal.

"If Santa Clara wasn't going to win the national championship, I would want Portland to win it because of my good friend Clive Charles and everything that he's been though."

The soccer community lost a legend August 26 when Charles succumbed to cancer at age 51. But those who knew him best say Charles was more than just a great coach or player -- they describe him as an honest, genuine human being, a well-respected man and an inspirational teacher.

"When I first met him I knew I wanted to play for him," said Portland senior Imani Dorsey. "He just commanded your attention and your respect every time he spoke to you. He was pretty much a father figure to almost all of his players."

Collective coaching success

Charles, who was born in England and played there professionally before coming to America, coached Portland's men's and women's soccer teams for a combined 31 seasons. He was named coach of the men's team before the 1986 season and then became the university's director of soccer and took over the women's team in 1989. His teams collectively won 13 conference championships and earned 20 NCAA playoff berths, including nine College Cup appearances.

He was named regional coach of the year four times and West Coast Conference coach of the year seven times. He is one of only two coaches in the history of collegiate soccer to have two teams (men's and women's) competing in the College Cup in the same year (1995).

That year, Charles, an eloquent speaker, delivered memorable remarks at the men's championship banquet, imploring student-athletes from all four participating teams to file the moment they take the field as unforgettable.

Charles ranks third among NCAA Division I women's soccer coaches in all-time winning percentage and is one of just five coaches in NCAA history to win more than 400 college soccer games.

"Him winning that national championship, there wasn't a coach out there who didn't want him to win," said Anson Dorrance, head women's soccer coach at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "He was always very gracious after every match regardless of the outcome. He didn't change his demeanor. He wasn't catatonic if he lost a game and arrogant when he won one. He was just a very gracious man and that's the way you win respect in our profession, the way you handle yourself in triumph and defeat."

A friend to all

Those who knew him best say there wasn't anyone who had a negative word to say about Charles.

"Clive was a person you never heard somebody badmouth," said Joe Etzel, Portland's longtime athletics director who calls Charles the best hire he ever made. "All the success he had, he didn't seem to have people who were jealous of what he'd accomplished. He was just a great individual."

And those who knew him off the soccer field say he knew how to liven things up.

"He would walk into your office and if you weren't there, he would grab a sticky note and draw a little cartoon, and it was usually off color, and hide it somewhere so a couple of days later you would find it," remembered Loren Wohlgemuth, a former sports information director at Portland who worked with Charles for seven years. "You knew it was him. He was the practical joker in the building."

Wohlgemuth said Charles was always making side bets with people -- like wagering a quarter that he could spit his gum into a garbage can 25 feet away, or a betting a milkshake that he could kick a ball into a goal from a far distance.

"There was always somebody who would take him up on it and they would always lose," Wohlgemuth said.

In addition to his collegiate coaching, Charles was named an assistant coach to the U.S. men's national team in 1995. He served as coach of the U.S. men's Olympic team for the 2000 Games and as head coach of the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team from 1993 to 1996.

Dorrance described Charles' work with the men's Olympic team as inspiring.

"I was just so impressed with the job that he did with our Olympic team in Australia," he said. "They played some of the most attractive soccer I've ever seen an American team play."

Charles also played soccer professionally for 17 years, including four seasons for the Portland Timbers of the North American Soccer League, from 1978 to 1981. His NASL career also included stints in Montreal and Pittsburgh. He was a three-time NASL all-star and was named to the all-time NASL team.

In his honor, the Timbers retired his No. 3 jersey and hung a permanent banner from the rafters of PGE Park. Charles' jersey was the first to be retired by the Timbers.

Another tribute to Charles is "The Clive Charles Soccer Complex," which is being built at Portland. The $1.8 million facility will include the Harry A. Merlo Field, which was built in 1990, a new state-of-the-art practice facility and other features.

"He'll never be replaced," said Etzel. "We're just going to have to do the best we can in his absence."

Smith admitted it would be odd to play against Portland this season and not see Charles across the field from him.

"The number of times we would look over at each other and just have a smile, or a shrug of the shoulders or a raise of the eyebrows, I will really miss that because I don't have that with many of my colleagues," he said. "Portland will always remain my second favorite women's college team, and it always will be because of Clive."