For Immeditate Release
February 25, 2011
Courtesy of the Saint Rose Sports Information Deparment
Albany, N.Y. – The College of Saint Rose announced today that Matt Jones has been named the head men's soccer coach. The ninth mentor in program history, Jones will immediately take over a team that just completed its inaugural year of competition at the College's new Sullivan Field within the Christian Plumeri Sports Complex.
"I am extremely excited at the opportunity to attract top class players and create a competitive culture in which our student-athletes will be successful both in the classroom and on the pitch at Saint Rose," said Jones. "Our staff and players look forward to playing an attractive brand of soccer that will excite our supporters and create a positive environment."
An outstanding former student-athlete at Saint Rose, Jones was a three-year captain and four-year starter as a central midfielder for the Golden Knights from 1999-02. He closed out his playing career as the school's third all-time leading point producer (48) and goal scorer (17) and tied for second in assists (14).
"We are very excited to have Matt join our staff at Saint Rose. He is the right person to move our men's soccer program in a new direction. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the program, along with high goals and expectations. Matt knows what it takes to build a successful program at Saint Rose and is ready to get started," said Saint Rose Athletics Director Cathy Haker.
Jones has outstanding soccer acumen and is someone who has been a mainstay in local soccer circles. He spent both the 2008 and 2009 seasons as an assistant coach for the Golden Knights women's soccer program that advanced to the NCAA Tournament national semifinals and won consecutive Northeast-10 Conference championships. He was involved with all phases of the Golden Knights renown program including developing tactical and technical training, recruiting, scouting, and monitoring the student-athletes' academic progress.
Jones also served an assistant coach for the men's program at nearby Siena College where he helped recruit a class that eventually produced three MAAC All-Conference performers in their rookie year as well as one professional player. Prior to his tenure in Loudonville, he spent a year as the head coach of the men's soccer program at HVCC where he guided the Vikings to the 2005 NJCAA Regional Tournament.
Jones has furthermore worked with the some of the Capital Region's finest young male and female players throughout the past seven years with both the Black Watch Premier and Albany Alleycats club teams. He additionally developed a youth academy within the Black Watch Premier program that grew to 45 members throughout its initial 45 days of existence.
Jones, an ongoing student of the game, has earned an Advanced National Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. He has also received four additional diplomas from the NSCAA.
