Matthew L. Thompson
Matthew L. Thompson
  • Title:
    Head Men's Soccer Coach
  • Phone:
    (202) 274-5074
  • Email:
    mlthompson@udc.edu
  • Year:
    1998
  • Previous College:
    Slippery Rock University

Bio

Matthew L. Thompson was named the University of the District of Columbia men’s head soccer coach on May 3, 2011. He was also appointed to serve a four-year term (2014-2018) on the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Committee, representing the East Region.

In his first year at the helm of the UDC men's soccer program, Thompson doubled the Firebirds' win total from the previous year as he guided them to an 8-5-4 record in the Fall 2011. It was double the wins UDC had the previous season and equaled the combined win total of the previous two seasons.

In 2012, Thompson led the men's soccer program to a 6-9-2 record (2-6-1 in conference) in their first season in the very competitive East Coast Conference.  The Firebirds earned their first ever ECC win against Dowling College, 2-1, on September 29, 2012. They also defeated an eventual NCAA Division II Final Four team in Mercyhurst, 1-0 on September 7, 2012.

A raw but talented 2013 team which finished 7-6-3 overall offers proof that Thompson and the Firebirds are well on their way to ascending into the ECC's elite. The Firebirds were 6-4 through 10 games when their season was suddenly interrupted by the US federal government shutdown from October 1st through October 16th. Consequently, two non-conference games had to be cancelled and the Firebirds were forced to play their remaining six ECC contests in a period of just 10 days. Running on fumes, the Firebirds managed only one win in those final six games, though they did force three ties; including, a 2-2 tie vs. the No. 15 ranked team in the country, LIU Post.

The 2014 season saw the Firebirds earn the program's most wins in 10 years, as they went 9-7-1 overall (5-5 ECC). UDC remained in contention to qualify for the program's first ECC Championship Tournament all season long; however, needing a win or a tie in its final regular season game at home, the Firebirds fell to Dowling in overtime, 2-1. Along the way, UDC earned a No. 21 NSCAA national ranking - the program's first top-25 national ranking ever - on September 9th. That same week, after opening the season 2-0, they also earned their highest ever East Region ranking of No. 3. Also, goalkeeper Louis Connor and forward Felix Angerer were named 2nd and 3rd Team NSCAA All-Region. Connor (Honorable Mention) and Angerer (1st Team) also joined Nenad Smiljanic (2nd Team)  and Atunde Akum (2nd Team) as All-East Coast Conference selections.

The Firebirds had their best season in program history in 2017. They qualified for the ECC tournament for the first time since joining the conference back in 2012. After defeating the No.2 seed in the semifinals, UDC suffered a tough loss to the No.1 seeded LIU Post in the finals. Despite the loss the Firebirds received their first-ever program bid to the NCAA Tournament. They defeated Southern Connecticut in the first round giving them the programs first ever NCAA tournament win but fell to LIU Post in the second round. UDC finished the season with a 15-7 record. Gabriel Torres and  Michael Agboola were named to the ECC First-Team, Raphael Pacano, Kelvin Herrera and Jason Mayorga were named to the Second-Team and Gabriel Velluto and Victor Salinas Furio was named to the Third-Team. Torres became the first Firebird in program history to earn a post-season indivudal award after being named the ECC Offensive Player of the Year. He was the first Firebird to be named the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (CCA) East Region Player of the Year, and became the program's first All-American (CCA First-Team All-America and United Soccer Coaches Second-Team All-America). Agboola was named to the Second-Team All-East Region team (United Soccer Coaches and CCA) and Salinas Furio and Torres became the programs first Acadmeic All-Americans. After graduating Torres went on to play professional soccer for Hartford Athletics for two seasons and now currently plays professionally for FC Tulsa.

After taking a year off due to COVID, the Firebirds made their return to the field in 2021, where they would have another historic season. Despite a rough start and losing their firtst four games, UDC went a program record 11 games unbeaten, never losing a home game. They finished the season with a second place finish in the conference (the highest in program history). They fell to Molloy in the Conference Semi Finals after a double overtime and eight rounds of penalty kicks. Vitor Gomes was named to the ECC First-Team and became the second player in program history to be named the ECC Offensive Player of the Year and All-American (CCA Second-Team All-America). Gomes was also named to the CCA and the United Soccer Coaches  First-Team All-East Region teams. Javier Abadia Torres, Michel Egbame, Sammuel Nicolodi and Ignacio Pericet were all named to the ECC Second-Team. Abadia Torres was also named to the United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-East Region Team. 

Thompson came to UDC from Lees McRae College (Banner Elk, North Carolina), where he led the Bobcats to a 13-5-3 record, winning the 2010 Conference Carolinas Regular Season and Conference Tournament Championships as well as a 2010 NCAA Championship berth.  A 1998 graduate of Slippery Rock University, he served his alma mater as head men’s soccer coach from 2002-2009. Prior to Slippery Rock, Thompson was an assistant coach for three years at NCAA DI Robert Morris University.

Among Thompson’s career highlights:

  • ·         Named PSAC Coach of the Year in 2005, 2008 and 2009
  • ·         Achieving most wins in school history at Slippery Rock in 2009 (18 wins)
  • ·         Leading Slippery Rock to three NCAA Championship appearances
  • ·         Reaching the Sweet 16 in 2008 and 2009
  • ·         Winning the PSAC Championship in 2005 and 2009
  • ·         Coached four NCAA All-Americans and two current professional players 

As a student-athlete, Thompson was  a two-time PSAC All-Conference selection,  a three-time Western Pennsylvania All-Star,  two-time team captain at Slippery Rock and was named the team's most valuable player in 1997.

Thompson has been extremely active in community engagement. He founded SRU Forgotten Angels, a student-athlete charity aimed at improving the quality of underprivileged children's lives around the world. He led a missionary trip to Haiti in the summer of 2008 and volunteered in New Orleans during the summer of 2009, painting houses and coaching children after Hurricane Katrina. Thompson also guided a group of student-athletes to St. Lucia in 2010 as part of the Forgotten Angels project, and was involved in Special Olympics of Pennsylvania while at SRU. 

He and his wife Danielle are proud parents of two sons, Liam (20) who joined the Firebirds in the 2021 season  and Joshua (15).