Matt Brown begins his first season as a volunteer assistant coach with the Elon Phoenix men’s soccer coaching staff in 2017.
Brown joins the Phoenix from the University at Buffalo after recently serving as the top assistant coach. Brown oversaw the UB goalkeepers as well as the day-to-day activities of the program, including practice sessions, recruitment and video analysis.
Brown made his presence felt after just one season on campus as he turned junior goalkeeper Joseph Kuta into one of the best keepers in the country. Kuta finished the season with a 12-4-3 record to go along with a 0.86 goals-against average, .805 save percentage and 10 clean sheets. The 10 shutouts tied Bobby Shuttleworth's program record for clean sheets in a season. The junior also earned MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week twice this season, becoming the first UB men's soccer player to do so.
Under Brown's tutelage, the Bulls set a team-record for shutouts in a season (10) while ranking third in program history in goals against (17) and goals-against average (0.86).
In the classroom the Bulls posted an impressive 3.54 Team GPA for the 2016 Fall semester, making them the top academic team on campus. Eight student-athletes were named Academic All-MAC, the highest in the program’s history.
Brown also served as the Goalkeeping Director for Global Premier Soccer Buffalo from 2016-17. Prior to this he spent seven seasons as a coach in England with his last stop coming as the head coach at Bournemouth & Poole College 2013-15 where he posted a 20-11-9 ledger. Before Bournemouth & Poole College, he was the head coach at Hounsdown High School from 2011-12.
Brown had a very successful semi-professional playing career in England, appearing between the pipes for five teams during his career beginning in 2007. The teams he appeared with include Poole Town, Sholing FC, Romsey Town FC, Launceston Town and Eastleigh FC.
The highlight of his career came in 2014 when he helped lead Sholing FC to the Wessex Premier Division Championship as well as their first FA National Vase title. Brown was awarded the FA Vase Most Valuable Player award after earning the clean sheet in his team’s 1-0 victory over West Auckland Town at Wembley Stadium.
Prior to his professional career, Brown spent seven seasons in the Southampton FC Academy with the likes of Real Madrid's Gareth Bale and Arsenal's Theo Walcott. He graduated from the Southhampton FC Academy in 2006.
Brown earned his Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education from the University College St. Mark & St. John in 2011. He is currently pursuing his Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration at the University at Buffalo. The England native also owns his UFEA B License, an NSCAA Premier Diploma and a NSCAA Goalkeeping level 3 Diploma.
