Matt Reis

Matt Reis

Personal information
Full name	Matt Reis
Date of birth	(1975-03-28) March 28, 1975
Place of birth	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	New England Revolution
Number	1
Youth career
1994–1997	UCLA Bruins
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2002	Los Angeles Galaxy	39	(0)
2000	→ Orange County Waves (loan)	7	(0)
2003–	New England Revolution	242	(0)
National team‡
2006–2007	United States	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 11, 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of April 3, 2009

Matt Reis (/riːs/; born March 28, 1975 in Atlanta) is an American soccer player who currently plays for New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.

Career

College

Reis played college soccer at UCLA. He finished his college career with an NCAA Championship in 1997, and was named 1997 NCAA College Cup Defensive MVP after recording 20 saves - including a school-record 11 in the semifinals - and posting 221 shutout minutes on the way to the title.

Professional

Reis was selected by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the third and last round of the 1998 MLS College Draft. However, with Kevin Hartman firmly entrenched in the nets, Matt did not see much playing time during his five seasons in LA; the most games he played in a season was 16 in 2001 when Hartman was out with injuries. In 2000, the Galaxy sent him on loan to the Orange County Waves for seven games. Reis was traded to New England Revolution after the 2002 MLS season for a draft pick.

With the Revs, Reis started out as a backup to Adin Brown, but won the starting job midway through the 2004 season. He became the first goalie in MLS history to stop two penalty kicks in one playoff game, doing as the Revs upset the much-favored Columbus Crew. He also saved two out of four penalties in the penalty kick shootout against the Fire in the first round of the 2006 Playoffs. Reis was a finalist for the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award in both 2005 and 2006. He won the SuperLiga in 2008 and the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in 2007 with the Revs.

International

He got his first cap for the United States on January 22, 2006, a 0-0 shutout against Canada.

Personal

Luis "El Lobo" Fangoso

Matt is considered to be a bit of a jokester among his teammates and in the soccer community. As an April Fools Day prank in 2004, the Revs' front office announced their newest foreign acquisition, Luis "El Lobo" Fangoso, who eventually turned out to be Matt Reis wearing a shaggy wig and headband. Although the initial joke died down fairly quickly, Reis' antics helped him win over many Revolution fans (to this day, Revs fans occasionally make joking references to Fangoso when discussing possible player transactions). On April 1, 2007, the Revolution announced that they had resigned Fangoso to a 2 year deal.

Reis, who is bald, also convinced Mexican international José Manuel Abundis, who had just signed with the team, to shave his head for the 2006 MLS Playoffs. This has enabled Reis to achieve cult status among Revs fans who know him as the "Shaven headed, short sleeved shot stopper".

Matt is 37 years old (was born in 1975), and is married to Nicole Reis (née Odom), who was an All American Softball player at UCLA. They have three boys - Jacob, Christian, and Weston, of whom the latter two are identical twins. He is the son of J.T. and Kathy Reis of Mission Viejo, California, and he has one older brother, Mike.

Honors

United States

• CONCACAF Gold Cup Champions (1): 2005

Los Angeles Galaxy

• CONCACAF Champions Cup (1): 2000
• Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2002
• Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield (2): 1998, 2002
• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1): 2001

New England Revolution

• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1): 2007
• North American SuperLiga (1): 2008

See also

• List of current MLS players

External links

• MLS player profile
• Matt Reis at National-Football-Teams.com