Nick Matese '24 Recruiting Profile

Soccer has been a huge part of my life ever since I started playing at four years old for my club, Princeton FC.  My aspiration is to find a college where I can continue to play the game that I loved for so long, and to work with my teammates to be the best on and off the field.

I am a strong, all-around player who can organize the back line or the whole team. The position I have played most often is center back, but depending on the game situation or opponent, I also have a lot of experience playing center mid (both defending and attacking), outside mid and outside back.  I am always open to playing any position where the team needs me. I have been a captain or co-captain of my club, ODP, and high school teams. I encourage my teammates, while also looking for their best performance. I organize our club team's summer pick up games and conditioning runs. I also organized and ran all of my club team's zoom workouts during the COVID-19 shutdown.  I always respect the coach's decisions, and try to implement each of their teachings into my play and my teammates. I always fight for every ball.  I look out for the people around me on the field and in school, and support them.  

I train hard, both in soccer and school, and have excellent grades.  I was chosen to participate in the US Club Soccer Nike ID2 National Identification Camp in Florida in 2018.  I played NJ ODP and was invited to  the ODP East Region ID Invitational Camps. My club team won the 2022 USYS NJ, East Regionals, and Nationals President's Cup, and I was selected in the Best XI at Center Back in the USYS Nationals President's Cup tournament. For my fall 2022 high school season, I was also named 1st team all-conference and 2nd team all-state by high school coaches poll, and 2nd team all-conference and 3rd team all-area by the Trentonian newspaper.

I want to prove myself at the highest level at a college where I can challenge myself on and off the field and do whatever I possibly can to make sure my future college team is successful.  I want to be the best version of myself I can be, to help my team and individual teammates be the same.