Matt Chulis (born August 29, 1977 in Central Islip, New York) is a retired U.S.

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

defender who is currently associate head coach with the University of Virginia men's soccer team. He was the captain of the U.S. U-20 national team at the

1997 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the 1997 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 11th staging of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It was held from 16 June to 5 July 1997 in Malaysia. It was th ...

. He later played two seasons in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

, three seasons in the USL A-League and two in the USL Second Division.

Youth and college

Chulis grew up in Central Islip, New York, playing on the boys’ soccer team at

Central Islip High School Central Islip Senior High School is a high school in Central Islip, New York, United States, serving students in grades 9- 12. It is part of the Central Islip Union Free School District. Academics According to 2007 data, 78.6% of Central Isl ...

. During his high school career, he was named both the New York State and New England Regional Player of the Year. He then attended the University of Virginia where he played on the men's soccer team from 1995 to 1998. He started 93 games during his four seasons as a Cavaliers. He was a 1996 and 1997 second team All American. In 1998, he was selected as a first team All American. He was also the 1998 NSCAA Defender of the Year. He graduated in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in sociology.

Professional

In 1999, the Columbus Crew selected Chulis in the first round (ninth overall) of the

1999 MLS College Draft The 1999 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on February 6 and 7, 1999 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The first round of the draft took place on February 6 with the second and third rounds on February 7. The College Draft was followed by the ...

. He spent two seasons in Columbus, seeing time in only ten games. In March 2001, the Crew waived Chulis and he was signed by the Chicago Fire where he played the first game of the season before being waived in April. On May 4, 2001, the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

of the USL First Division signed Chulis. On December 7, 2001, the Timbers released Chulis. In April 2002, he signed with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, playing three seasons there. He finished his career with the Long Island Rough Riders of the USL Second Division in 2005. In 2005, he was selected to the USL-2 second team All Star team.

National teams

In 1996, Chulis joined the U.S. U-20 national team as it prepared for CONCACAF's

qualification tournament. The U.S. qualified, and Chulis and his teammates traveled to Malaysia where they were knocked out of the tournament in the second round.Matthew CHULIS
Fifa.com. Retrieved on December 12, 2013. Later that year, he played five of six games for the U.S. soccer team which took third place at the 1997 World University Games. He then joined the U.S. U-23 national team. He appeared regularly with the team through 2000, but was not selected to the U.S. team which played in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

References

External links

Virginia Cavaliers coaching profile

2001 Portland Timbers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chulis, Matt 1977 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Columbus Crew players Chicago Fire FC players Long Island Rough Riders players Major League Soccer players MLS Pro-40 players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players A-League (1995–2004) players USL Second Division players Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer coaches Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players Soccer players from New York (state) Columbus Crew draft picks People from Central Islip, New York All-American college men's soccer players Men's association football defenders