Matt Pickens (born April 5, 1982) is an American retired

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 ...

player who is currently the goalkeeping coach for

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...

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 ...

Career

Youth and amateur

Pickens initially attended

Meramec Community College Meramec is a name for several places in the United States: * Meramec River in Missouri * Meramec Caverns on the Meramec River * Meramec State Park in Missouri See also * Merrimac (disambiguation) * Merrimack (disambiguation) Merrimack may refer to ...

before playing

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

for

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

from 2000 to 2003. He also played for

Chicago Fire Premier Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. The ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

Professional

Upon graduating, Pickens was drafted 19th overall in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft by the Fire. He was not able, however, to break through a deep lineup of Fire goalkeepers, which initially included Henry Ring and D.J. Countess, and later

Zach Thornton Zach Thornton (born October 10, 1973) is an American former goalkeeper who spent 16 seasons in Major League Soccer with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (1996–97), Chicago Fire (1998–2006), Colorado Rapids (2007), New York Red Bulls (2008 ...

. He was loaned out for much of the year to the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

Virginia Beach Mariners The Virginia Beach Mariners were an American football (soccer), soccer club, who formerly played in the USL First Division of the United Soccer Leagues, the second division in the US Soccer hierarchy behind Major League Soccer. On March 30, 2007 t ...

, where he played 290 minutes, conceding only 3 goals. During the latter half of 2006, after an injury to

, Pickens started in goal for the Fire even once Thornton was match fit again. Pickens won the 2006 Open Cup as the starter for Chicago Fire. Also in 2006, was his first MLS play-off start on October 22, 2006 for the Fire, keeping a clean sheet in a game that the Fire won, 1-0 thanks to a goal from Justin Mapp in the 35th minute. Zach Thornton was traded to the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

before the 2007 season, clearing the way for Pickens to start. In February 2008, Pickens signed a deal with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

until the end of the 2008 season. In May 2008, it was announced that Pickens would not have his contract extended and that he would be released by the club at the end of June. Pickens trained/trailed with numerous clubs in England and Scotland after his release, including Hibernian,

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

and

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, the latter of which he claims he was close to signing with. However, despite not securing a new contract in Europe, Chicago Fire traded Pickens rights to

on January 15, 2009 and was signed by the club shortly after. Pickens helped the Rapids to playoff appearances in 2010 and 2011. In 2010 the Rapids and Pickens won their first MLS Cup, beating FC Dallas 2-1 in extra time. Early in the 2013 season, Pickens suffered a broken arm in a match against Real Salt Lake making this his last appearance with the Rapids. Pickens was released early in the 2014 season. After Pickens was released by

in early 2014

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

acquired him in the waiver draft. Soon after signing with New England, Pickens was sold to

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. On November 30, 2017

announced Pickens as the club's first signing ahead of their inaugural 2018 season in

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

. Nashville S.C. earned back to back playoff appearances in 2018 and 2019. Pickens was the USL Championship Goalkeeper of the year in 2019. Also in 2019, Pickens broke the 100 professional shutouts milestone in his career.

International

As of December 2010, Pickens has been called up to five

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

training camps, including the camp in January 2011. However, he has never earned a national cap or been part of the final 18-man roster.

Coaching

In January 2020, Pickens was announced as the first goalkeeping coach for

Honors

Chicago Fire

* U.S. Open Cup:

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Colorado Rapids

Eastern Conference Championship:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

MLS Cup:

Nashville SC 2019 USL Championship Goalkeeper of the Year

References

External links

Tampa Bay Rowdies profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickens, Matt 1982 births Living people American soccer players Chicago Fire FC players Chicago Fire U-23 players Colorado Rapids players Major League Soccer players People from Washington, Missouri A-League (1995–2004) players USL League Two players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Virginia Beach Mariners players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Soccer players from Missouri Chicago Fire FC draft picks New England Revolution players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Nashville SC (2018–19) players USL Championship players Men's association football goalkeepers Association football goalkeeping coaches Missouri State Bears soccer players Nashville SC non-playing staff