Matt Smith was appointed head coach of men’s soccer at Alfred University in February 2014.
In two seasons at the Saxons' helm, Smith has a 17-13-6 record, with the Saxons qualifying for the postseasopn both years.
In 2014, AU placed fourth in the Empire 8 Conference standings (3-3-1) and qualified for the E8 championship tournament. The Saxons played top-seeded Stevens to a scoreless tie before falling on penalty kicks. Alfred would go on to play in the ECAC Upstate/Metro Championship tournament that season and again in 2015.
Smith has coached eight Empire 8 all-stars and was named Empire 8 Conference Coach of the Year in 2014. He has also coached two ECAC Upstate all-stars (Jeff Thomas in 2014 and Richard Lander in 2015); and a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) all-region pick (Lander, 2015).
His players have enjoyed success in the classroom at AU as well, with the Saxons earning NSCAA Team Academic Award honors for 2013-14 and 2014-15. Thomas (2014) and Lander (2015) were both named to CoSIDA Academic All-District teams, with Lander going on to earn CoSIDA Academic All-American honors last fall.
Smith came to AU as one of the most successful coaches ever in collegiate soccer. He 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 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. Smith’s teams were ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 for 14 straight seasons.
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 Blue Jays posted a 117-19-8 record in Centennial Conference play, which ranks first all-time in league history.
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.
After leaving the collegiate coaching ranks in 2007, Smith was 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.
Smith was inducted into the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame in April 2014.
