Matthew Gooden '15 Recruiting Profile

Hi, my name is Matthew Gooden (NCAA ID: 1401591910) and at the time of writing I am a 17 year old beginning Senior (birth date: 22 April 1997). I am now with Chivas USA U17/U18 for the 2014-15 US Soccer Developmental Academy Season.

For the 2013-14 season I was with the Strikers FC U16 Academy squad as the starting forward and had been playing for the Strikers FC club since June of 2011.

My experiences playing in club, pre-academy and now academy soccer span from competing in in-state tournaments, playing international youth tournaments that have teams competing from around the globe as well as Academy showcase events. At the U15 level my team competed in National Cup, Nike Premier Cup in Oregon, and the Northern Ireland MILK Cup. In addition to which in the Nike Premier Cup, we lost in the semi-finals and finished 4th out of the 20 best B97 teams in the country. I competed in the MILK cup in the summer of 2011 and in 2012, and that year we won the vase trophy in the 3rd division of the tournament. Apart from the tournaments that we played in, my team did very well in league season. We finished 1st in our bracket in the Southern California Developmental Soccer League (SCDSL), and I was the second highest goal scorer on my team. As a 15yr I was a DP with the B96 Strikers FC academy and I am now as the primary forward for the B97 (U16) academy team. I had also participated in the 2013 Winter Academy showcase in Florida. For the 2013-14 season our team ended up in the Academy finals at the Stub Hub Center in Carson.

When I had first started playing in the Coast Soccer League (CSL) at 8 years old, I played for Pacific Coast Soccer Club (PCSC) and Santa Monica United (SMU) up until I was 14, as a box-to-box central mid-fielder. When I was being scouted by Strikers FC, I went through a position switch from a holding mid-fielder to an attacking mid-fielder role due to the increase in my speed. Now I am deployed as a right-wing/forward and now primary striker. However I can fit into formations as an attacking mid-fielder quite comfortably. I was recommended by my coach to attend the U-14 national training session at the Home Depot Center as an attacking mid-fielder back in 2011. Ever since then, I have been playing against tougher and more skilled opposition which has improved my game in more ways than I had anticipated.
I currently attend Harvard-Westlake High School which is one of the top ranked college prep schools in the U.S. In my freshman year, I was selected for the Varsity soccer and track and field team. Even though I was not listed as a starter, I still showed that I had more than enough ability to perform at the Varsity soccer level. For the 2012/13 season I was selected as a starting right forward/right mid-fielder for the Varsity team. I was not only top scorer for HW during the 2012/13 CIF season, but I was also awarded top soccer player for the school as well as being all conference first team CIF.

 In the classroom, I always try to improve in every class that I take. I currently have a 3.3 GPA, so I’m able to find a good balance between sports and scholastics. For 10th grade I made the honor roll at Harvard Westlake. My current goal is to play at the highest level of competitive college soccer, and to potentially play professionally as well as to strive academically. Fields of study that I would like to pursue in college are architecture and music production. On and off the field I am capable of performing at the highest level in sports and in academics as well. I am also a second degree black belt in Take Kwon Do and a white belt in Jiu-Jitsu. I am a hardworking, dedicated, and respectful young man looking to constantly improve in everything that I do.

Personal Soccer Accomplishments:

1997 Boys ODP Summer Pool 2010 (U13)

Invited by US Soccer Federation to attend US National Training Days for B97 kids in May 2011

Milk Cup 2012 (Northern Ireland)- Vase Champions

SCDSL - U16 - Flight One Champions

Harvard Westlake High School - Athlete of the month, January 2013

CIF: 2013 Mission League: All League First Team

Harvard Westlake High School - 2012-13 Varsity Boys Soccer most valuable player of the season

2013/14 US Soccer Development Academy Season: Third highest scorer for the Strikers FC U16 Academy team

http://ussda.demosphere.com/teams/60852305/47187210-60852392/TEAM.html

2014 Dale Farm NI Milk Cup - Top Goal scorer for the OC Blues

If you would like to contact me, you can reach me at my email ([email protected]), or at my cell number (323-895-0208). Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear back from you soon.