"The Revolution" Matt Turner's Story

“The Revolution” Matt Turner

When the MLS Superdraft occurred in 2015, Matt Turner was amongst those included in the pot of players to be chosen after another successful season for Fairfield University in Connecticut. For those that aren’t familiar with how the MLS draft works, there are 4 rounds, 21 players to be chosen in each round, and 84 players in total. Turner went undrafted. Disappointed that he may have missed out on his shot, Matt signed up for the second semester of his senior year to finish his college education. On a Sunday, Matt received a call from an agent he was working with. He had thrilling news; New England Revolution invited Matt to practice with the team on a trial period. Matt would train with the first team during their preseason. The coaches would carefully watch him and his progress to determine if he had potential to play for them. Matt capitalized on his chances and signed his professional contract on March 3, 2016 at the age of 21 finishing his college career with impressive statistics. “The goalkeeper spent the last two seasons as the Stags' starting goalkeeper, getting the nod in 37 of the team's 38 games played during that stretch. He played in all 18 games in 2015 and recorded a .793 save percentage with a 0.98 goals against average. Turner collected seven shutouts in just over 1750 minutes of action, playing every minute of the season. He earned a berth to the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) second team. As a junior, Turner led the nation in save percentage by stopping 89 percent of the shots he faced in 2014 (78 saves, 10 goals allowed) and helped the Stags lead the nation in shutout percentage by not allowing a goal in 72 percent of the games in which he played. He ended his season with a 0.50 goals against average. He earned two MAAC defensive player of the week awards and was named to the MAAC All-Tournament team after helping the Stags reach the championship game.” (Fairfield Stags Website)

A month later, in April, Matt was loaned out to United Soccer League (USL) side Richmond Kickers to get ample game time. The USL is a Division II Professional League, which basically places it as the second tier on the American soccer pyramid with the MLS being tier 1. Matt spent most of his time during the week training with New England and would have to fly down at the end of the week to be able to play in the games on the weekend for Richmond. One might expect that fan and player reactions to Matt showing up for only for the games would create a hostile atmosphere for him. However, that was not the case at all, Matt made sure he was his regular affable and friendly self, getting to know all the players and sign autographs for fans. You see the following situation often in the top professional level, a player reluctantly gets loaned out and shows a very poor attitude, and as a result, their performances dip. That was never the case with Turner, he wanted to be in Richmond, he was giving the fans, players, and staff his all. He did not see Richmond as simply a stepping-stone to where he wanted to be, he truly enjoyed playing there and his performances proved that.

He would have liked to win silverware with Richmond but the team was not able to manage it. Despite that, his first season in Richmond was largely a success. He returned to New England full time in November of 2016. He was then loaned back to Richmond again on March 30, 2017 and stayed another season, developing a close relationship with the fans and a love for the city. The team placed in a similar position as the last season. He returned to New England November 30 2017. It would now seem as if Matt would be staying in the team for this upcoming MLS season. I spoke to Matt 2 weeks ago to discuss a few things with him, mostly regarding preseason and the new season.

Christian De Luca: So Matt, preseason starts very soon, what have you been doing with the team in preparation for it and how are you feeling about it.

Matt Turner: I’m very excited and so far we’ve just done our physicals and done some light gym work to stay in shape.

CD: Where are you guys heading for preseason?

MT: We’re heading down to Bradenton, Florida, where the IMG Academy is located. So we’ll be training in nice warm weather.

CD: What are your goals for this upcoming season?

MT: To show what I can do in practice and continue working hard and play some games. I want to play 5-10 games this season.

CD: Goals for the future?

MT: I want to play at the highest level for as long as possible and be the one competing in between the sticks week in week out. If it doesn’t work out how I want to I’m going to use soccer as a passport to see the world. Beyond that, I’d like to return home to eventually settle down in North Jersey to start a family and pass my knowledge down to them and just anyone who is willing to listen. I also plan on sending my son to Saint Joe’s High School in Montvale.

CD: Speaking of your time at Saint Joe’s, when did you realize that you wanted to seriously give soccer a shot?

MT: 2010, when the World Cup in South Africa was going on. I would watch it on TV and see the atmosphere the fans created. I fell in love with that, there’s no sport quite like soccer. That was the summer going into my junior year of high school. I knew I was good but that’s when I was motivated put in the work and take it more seriously so I can play in college and eventually as a professional.

CD: There’s been a coaching change at New England; can you speak a little about that and how it’s affected the camp already?

MT: Yeah, it’s definitely a culture change but the team is motivated and fit. The goal is to not lose a game at home and basically make the Gillette Stadium a fortress for us.

CD: To what degree does a longtime player like your captain, Chris Tierney have an effect on the dressing room?

MT: He has a huge influence on the team, he’s basically another coach, and he’s always willing to help any of the guys and makes sure no one is falling behind.

CD: Do you have a close relationship with fellow Jersey boy Juan Agudelo?

MT: Yeah! Juan is a great guy and we originally became friends for that reason that we are both from Jersey.

CD: The game of soccer is ever changing and now many coaches are requiring their keepers to be very good with the ball, have you been trying to sharpen your ball skills in order to give yourself an edge?

MT: Yes, anything that can give me an edge, I’m going to work at it tirelessly. The coaches notice my work ethic and attention to detail.

We’d like to thank Matt for taking time out of his day to talk to us. We wish him the very best of luck in this upcoming season and hope to see in between the sticks proving how good he really is. We’d also like to wish him a very warm welcome into the Under the Lights family.

Follow his career and life on his social media

Instagram & Twitter: @headdturnerr

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Thanks for reading!

Christian De Luca