AU Appoints Head Men’s Soccer Coach
Mark Whitehouse
ALFRED, NY — Alfred University Director of Athletics
Paul Vecchio announces the appointment of Matthew Smith as the Saxons' new men's soccer coach.
Smith is former head coach at Johns Hopkins University, where he compiled one of the top career coaching records in NCAA history. He also has extensive experience managing and coaching nationally-recognized youth camp and player development programs in Maryland.
"I feel extremely fortunate that Matt has chosen Alfred University to continue his collegiate coaching career," Vecchio commented. "It is also a testament to everyone that he met on his campus visit and to the exciting future that he and I envision for our soccer program. I know that in him we have a coach who has the passion, experience, integrity, and soccer knowledge to take our program in a bold and exciting direction."
"I am very excited and honored to join AU and have the opportunity to lead the soccer program," said Smith, who outlined some short- and long-term objectives for the team – both on the field and academically.
"My immediate goal is to get to know the current players while developing a professional and structured environment where we can work together to excel on the field and in the classroom. Over the years I will want AU to consistently compete for an Empire 8 Conference title, a berth in the NCAA tournament, and win the NSCAA national academic team award."
Smith was head coach at Johns Hopkins, a Division III school in Baltimore, MD, from 1993-2007. During his tenure coaching the Blue Jays, he compiled a record of 240-45-19, with his .821 winning percentage ranking seventh all-time in NCAA history for all divisions and third all-time for Division III. His 117-19-8 record in Centennial Conference play ranks first all-time in league history.
His teams competed in the NCAA Division III championship tournament nine times, appearing twice in the round of 32; twice in the "Sweet 16"; twice in the national quarterfinals, and advancing to the national championship match in 1995. In Smith's tenure at Johns Hopkins, the Blue Jays won eight Centennial Conference titles and were three-time league runners-up, and he won Centennial Conference Coach of the Year honors three times. His teams were ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 for 14 straight seasons.
Under Smith's guidance, 13 Johns Hopkins players earned NSCAA All-American honors and 38 won NSCAA all-region recognition. Eighty-one players earned Centennial Conference all-star honors, with three earning conference Player of the Year recognition.
His players at Johns Hopkins excelled in the classroom as well, earning NCSAA national academic honors eight times. Four of his players won NSCAA Academic All-American accolades and 16 earned NSCAA Academic All-Mid-Atlantic honors. Twenty-eight players earned academic honors from the Centennial Conference; three were CoSIDA academic All-Americans; and 13 earned CoSIDA all-district academic honors.
Prior to taking over as head coach at Johns Hopkins in 1997, Smith served as an assistant at his alma mater, Division I Towson (MD) State University, from 1991-93. His previous experience also includes serving as a head coach for the Maryland State Youth Soccer Olympic Development program from 1993-98.
Since leaving the collegiate coaching ranks in 2007, Smith has been involved in numerous player development programs in Maryland. Since 2009, he has been president of the Soccer Player Development Institute, a youth training program in Maryland. Since 2012, he has been president and director of Collegesoccerid.com, directing marketing, staffing/coaching and curriculum development for a college evaluation program that employs 20 collegiate coaches.
From 2007-09, he was director of coaching for Crystal Palace USA, an English professional development academy in Maryland. And for two years, from 2011-12, he was special projects director for Soccer Association of Columbia, a 5,000-member club in Ellicott City, MD.
Smith played two seasons at Towson State, twice leading his team in scoring, before graduating in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in business. He also has an associate's degree (1986) in general studies from Catonsville Community College, where he played two seasons before transferring to Towson. He earned a master's degree in technology education from the University of Maryland in 2010.