Matt Glaeser

Matt Glaeser
Personal information
Full name Matthew Glaeser
Date of birth (1985-04-27) April 27, 1985 (age 40)
Place of birth Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S.
Height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Position Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Forward Madison (head coach)
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2005 James Madison Dukes
2006–2007 Hartford Hawks 33 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008 Western Mass Pioneers 20 (0)
2009 Pallo-Iirot 7 (0)
2010–2013 Fort Lauderdale Strikers[1] 67 (0)
2010FC Tampa Bay (loan) 0 (0)
2014–2015 Wilmington Hammerheads 2 (0)
Managerial career
2017–2021 Real Monarchs (assistant coach)
2020–2021 Real Salt Lake (set-piece specialist / assistant coach)[2][3]
2021 Sacramento Republic (assistant coach / director of goalkeeping)[4][5]
2022– Forward Madison (head coach / technical director)[4]
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Matthew "Matt" Glaeser (born April 27, 1985) is an American soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the head coach and technical director of USL League One club Forward Madison FC.

Playing career

College

Glaeser played college soccer at James Madison University and the University of Hartford. At Hartford, he was the 2007 America East Conference Goalkeeper of the Year and the NSCAA Northeast Region Goalkeeper of the Year, and he helped lead the Hawks to an America East Championship appearance while allowing 18 goals, fewer than one per match.[6]

Professional

Glaeser was expected to be a high pick at the 2008 MLS SuperDraft,[7] but was not drafted by any team, and was forced to look elsewhere for games; he subsequently signed for the Western Mass Pioneers in the USL Second Division, and played 20 games between the posts in his debut professional season.[8]

After a successful trial Glaeser signed for Finnish club Pallo-Iirot in 2009, and spent the year playing for them in the Kakkonen, the Finnish third division.

Glaeser returned to the United States in 2010 and signed for Miami FC of the USSF Division 2 Professional League. He spent most of the early part of the year as a backup keeper to Caleb Patterson-Sewell, and spent a brief period on loan at state rivals FC Tampa Bay as injury cover, before making his debut for the team on September 11, 2010, in a 2–1 win over Montreal Impact.[9]

During the 2011 season Glaeser started 27 games for Fort Lauderdale. As a result of his good performances, Glaeser signed a new contract with the club in July 2011, tying him down through the 2012 season with an option for an additional year.[10] In 2012, he recorded 108 saves in regular-season play and ranked second in saves in the league, according to James Madison University athletics.[11]

On March 28, 2014, Glaeser signed with USL Pro club Wilmington Hammerheads. In addition to his signing as an active player on the club roster, Glaeser would also serve as the club's goalkeeper coach and community development coordinator.[6]

Glaeser retired from playing at the end of the 2015 season.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Glaeser transitioned into full-time coaching with the Wilmington Hammerheads in 2015–16.[6]

In 2017, Glaeser joined the coaching staff of Real Monarchs and later also worked with Real Salt Lake.[3] In January 2020, Real Salt Lake announced he would serve in a dual role as a Real Monarchs assistant coach and Real Salt Lake set-piece specialist.[2] In January 2021, Real Salt Lake announced that the club and Glaeser had mutually agreed to part ways so he could join Mark Briggs' staff at Sacramento Republic FC.[3]

On 3 December 2021, Glaeser was announced as head coach and technical director of Forward Madison FC ahead of the 2022 USL League One season.[4] In July 2023, he was named USL League One Coach of the Month for June.[12] In November 2023, Forward Madison announced a contract extension that would keep him in charge for the 2024 season.[13] In July 2024, he was named League One Coach of the Month for June for a second time.[14] In November 2024, the club announced a multi-year contract extension for Glaeser.[15]

Honours

As a coach

Individual

  • USL League One Coach of the Month: June 2023[12]
  • USL League One Coach of the Month: June 2024[14]

References

  1. ^ Team was known as Miami FC in 2010.
  2. ^ a b "RSL Announces Additions to Coaching and Technical Staffs". Real Salt Lake. January 20, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Real Salt Lake Parts Ways with Assistant Coach Matt Glaeser". Real Salt Lake. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c "Forward Madison FC Appoints Matt Glaeser as Head Coach and Technical Director". USLLeagueOne.com. December 3, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  5. ^ "Republic FC Bolsters Technical Staff With Addition of Matt Glaeser". Sacramento Republic FC. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c "Real Monarchs Promote Mark Briggs to Head Coach". Real Salt Lake. April 3, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  7. ^ Matt Glaeser: Player to Watch
  8. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2011-05-21.
  9. ^ "USSF Division-2 Pro League". Ussf.demosphere.com. 2010-09-11. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  10. ^ "| Fort Lauderdale Strikers". www.strikers.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Men's Soccer's Zimmerman MVP of NASL Carolina RailHawks". James Madison University Athletics. October 2, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  12. ^ a b "Madison's Matt Glaeser Named League One Coach of the Month for June". USLLeagueOne.com. July 11, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  13. ^ "Forward Madison FC Agrees To A Contract Extension With Matt Glaeser". Forward Madison FC. November 2, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  14. ^ a b "Madison's Matt Glaeser voted USL League One Coach of the Month for June". USLSoccer.com. July 10, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  15. ^ "Forward Madison FC Extends Multi-Year Contract with Head Coach and Technical Director Matt Glaeser". Forward Madison FC. November 20, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2026.