Matt Knowles (born October 7, 1970) is a former 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 spent most of his career playing indoor soccer. However, he also spent time in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

in the early 1990s and

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 ...

APSL

Knowles grew up in Philadelphia and attended

Archbishop Ryan High School Archbishop Ryan High School (often called Archbishop Ryan or simply Ryan) is a Roman Catholic high school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US. The school is named after Patrick John Ryan, Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1894 to 1911. Establ ...

from 1985 to 1988. Most sources state that Knowles turned professional immediately after high school. Knowles went on to play at Wake Forest University but left after 2 seasons and turned pro. he signed with the

Penn-Jersey Spirit Penn-Jersey Spirit played in the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 and 1991. The team's home stadium was Lions Stadium in Ewing, New Jersey, on the campus of Trenton State College (today known as the College of New Jersey). The team ...

of the

(APSL). In 1991, Knowles played nineteen games with the Spirit, scoring one goal. The Spirit folded at the end of the 1991 season and Knowles moved to the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

for the 1992 APSL season. While he was an integral part of the Spirit, Knowles saw time in only three games with the Strikers. In 1993, he moved to the

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 ...

where his playing time increased to nine games. In 1997 Knowles signed with Philadelphia Kixx and making it the highest contracted in the indoor game at 130,000 per season. He played both indoor and outdoor for the next 8 seasons.

NPSL

In 1990, Knowles signed with the expansion

Illinois Thunder The Illinois Thunder were an indoor soccer club (based in Rockford, Illinois) that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. After the 1991/92 season, the team became the Denver Thunder. References Year-by-year Defunct indoo ...

of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) He spent two seasons with Illinois, earning NPSL Defender of the Year honors for the 1991–1992 season. That season, he scored forty-five goals in forty games as a defender. In addition to his Defender of the Year Award, Knowles was selected to the first team All NPSL team. The Thunder moved to Denver at the end of the 1991–1992 season, and Knowles played three games there before being traded to the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...

. In the fall of 1993, he tore the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

in his right knee. The injury put him out of all but five games of the 1993–1994 season. He bounced back the next season, gaining ninety-four points, making him the second highest scorer on the Wave. He continued his excellent play in the 1995–1996 season, earning his second Defender of the Year title and first team All NPSL recognition while racking up 123 points on 47 goals and 36 assists. His indoor success brought him to the attention of

(MLS) as that league was beginning operations in 1996. In February 1996, the MetroStars selected Knowles in the first round (ninth overall) in the league's Inaugural Player Draft. While Knowles signed with the MetroStars, he continued to play indoor soccer during the MLS off-season. While Knowles experienced considerable success with the Wave, he had frequent disagreements with the Wave's ownership. This led to his expressing a desire to be traded. On December 26, 1996, the Wave acquiesced to Knowles desires and traded him to the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 in ...

for Glenn Carbonara,

Todd Dusosky Todd Dusosky (born May 12, 1976 in Anoka, Minnesota) is a retired American soccer forward who spent most of his career with indoor teams. He also played a handful of seasons in the USL A-League. Soccer Dusosky graduated from Anoka High School in ...

, Obi Moneme and cash. He was injured while in Cleveland and saw little playing time. On July 29, 1997, Knowles bought out the remaining three years of his contract with the Crunch and signed as a free agent with the

Philadelphia KiXX The Philadelphia KiXX was a professional indoor soccer team based in Philadelphia, USA. The team competed as an NPSL expansion franchise and then played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. History The team's original owner was Ed Tepper, also pr ...

. In the 1997–1998 season, his first in Philadelphia, Knowles experienced a resurgence which led to his third Defender of the Year award. After one more season with the KiXX, Knowles moved to the

Detroit Rockers The Detroit Rockers were an indoor soccer team in the National Professional Soccer League from 1990 to 2001. They played in Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit, Michigan as well as The Palace of Auburn Hills and Compuware Sports A ...

. Knowles played two seasons in Detroit before the Rockers folded at the end of the 2000–2001 season. In 2001, the Harrisburg Heat picked up Knowles in the dispersal draft. That year, the NPSL disbanded and the surviving NPSL franchises created a new league, the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). At some time in 2002, Knowles moved from the Heat to the Kansas City Comets. On October 2, 2002, the Comets traded Knowles to the

in exchange for Matt Caution. However, Knowles again experienced a considerable number of injuries and spent most of the season on the injured-reserved list.

MLS

Following his being drafted by the MetroStars in February 1996, Knowles spent two and a half seasons with the team. While he played nearly every game of the 1996 season, he was injured during the 1996-1997 NPSL season. This led to his sporadic playing time with the MetroStars during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. On July 1, 1998 traded to the expansion

Miami Fusion The Miami Fusion was a professional soccer team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They played in Major League Soccer (MLS) for four seasons, from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one of the league's first two expansion teams, their best seas ...

for a third round College Draft pick. He played out the remainder of the 1998 seasons with the Fusion, but played in only three games. The Fusion also sent him on loan to the

Staten Island Vipers The Staten Island Vipers were a soccer club that competed in the USL A-League in 1998 and 1999. The club was based on Staten Island, New York City. The team played its games at Tottenville High School and Wagner College. The team dissolved follow ...

for one game. At the end of the 1998 season, Knowles left outdoor soccer to concentrate on his more successful indoor career.

External links

MetroStars profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Matt 1970 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American Professional Soccer League players North Carolina Fusion U23 players Cleveland Crunch players Denver Thunder players Detroit Rockers players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Harrisburg Heat players Illinois Thunder players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Major League Soccer players New York Red Bulls players Miami Fusion players Milwaukee Wave players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Penn-Jersey Spirit players Philadelphia KiXX players Staten Island Vipers players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players USL First Division players Men's association football defenders