Matt Napoleon

Matt Napoleon (born August 18, 1977) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played professionally in Major League Soccer and the USL A-League. He was a member of the United States men's national under-20 soccer team at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Matt Napoleon
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-08-18) August 18, 1977
Place of birth Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1995–1997 Columbia Lions
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998 Miami Fusion 4 (0)
1998 → MLS Pro-40 (loan) 6 (0)
1999–2000 Columbus Crew 10 (0)
2000 → MLS Pro-40 (loan) 6 (0)
2001–2002 Portland Timbers 54 (0)
2001 → Dallas Burn (loan) 0 (0)
2002 → Colorado Rapids (loan) 0 (0)
2003 Charlotte Eagles 1 (0)
National team
1997 United States U20 3 (0)
1998–1999 United States U23 (0)
Teams managed
2001 Portland State Vikings (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Player

Youth

Growing up, Napoleon played for the FC Delco youth club and graduated from Neshaminy High School in 1995.[1] He attended Columbia University, playing on the men’s soccer team for three seasons.

Professional

On January 15, 1998, Napoleon signed a professional contract with MLS Project 40.[2] The league placed him with the Miami Fusion. He played four games for the Fusion in 1998 in addition to playing for the Project 40 team which competed in the USISL A-League. On January 19, 1999, the Fusion traded Napoleon to the Columbus Crew for Tim Sahaydak.[3] Napoleon spent two seasons with the Crew before moving to the Colorado Rapids. On April 14, 2001, the Rapids waived Napoleon.[4] In May 2001, he signed with the Portland Timbers of the USL A-League.[5] He went on loan to the Dallas Burn during the 2001 season. In 2002, Napoleon remained with the Timbers, going on loan to the Dallas Burn on July 13, 2002 for a U.S. Open Cup game. In August and September 2002, he went repeatedly on loan to the Colorado Rapids, but never entered a league game. Napoleon retired in January 2003.[6] However, he came out of retirement and made an appearance for the Charlotte Eagles in 2003 before retiring again.[7]

International

In 1997, Napoleon earned three caps with the United States men's national under-20 soccer team. He played another nine non-international games with the U-20 team as it prepared for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. In that tournament, Napoleon backed up Andy Kirk. In 1998 and 1999, Napoleon played for the United States men's national under-23 soccer team as it prepared for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Napoleon was an unused alternate for the team at the Olympics.

Coach

While with the Portland Timbers, Napoleon also served as an assistant coach with the Portland State University women’s soccer team.

References
  1. FC Delco Hall of Fame
  2. January 15, 1998 Transactions
  3. Goalie Napoleon Dealt For A Young Defender
  4. 2001 MLS transactions
  5. Timbers find answer in goal: Matt Napoleon Archived 2011-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
  6. January 25, 2003 Transactions
  7. http://www.uslsoccer.com/scripts/runisa.dll?M2:gp::72011+Elements/Display+E+47107+Stats/+22761 Archived 2003-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
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