Matt Hedges

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is about the American soccer player. For the British academic, see Arrest of Matthew Hedges.

Matt Hedges
Error creating thumbnail:
Hedges with FC Dallas in 2021
Personal information
Full name Matthew James Hedges
Date of birth (1990-04-01) April 1, 1990 (age 36)
Place of birth Rochester, New York, U.S.
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1]
Position Center-back
Team information
Current team
 FC Dallas
Number 4
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Butler Bulldogs 59 (12)
2011 North Carolina Tar Heels 26 (6)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009 Fort Wayne Fever 9 (0)
2010–2011 Reading United 24 (4)
2012–2022 FC Dallas 310 (18)
2023 Toronto FC 14 (0)
2023–2024 Austin FC 21 (2)
2025 Des Moines Menace 2 (0)
2025 FC Dallas 0 (0)
International career‡
2015–2017 United States 5 (0)
Medal record
Representing File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States
Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 2017
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:19, September 15, 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of July 19, 2017

Matthew James Hedges (born April 1, 1990) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a center-back in Major League Soccer.

He most notably played for FC Dallas, Toronto FC, and Austin FC.

Hedges was considered one of the best defenders in the MLS since 2014, landing on the MLS Best XI in 2015 and 2016, and winning the MLS Defender of the Year Award in 2016.

Club career

[edit | edit source]

College and amateur

[edit | edit source]

Hedges was born in New York but grew up in Carmel, Indiana.[2] He attended Carmel High School (Carmel, Indiana), where he was a member of the 2006 Greyhounds soccer team that went undefeated, and won both the IHSAA Boys' Soccer State Championship[3] and the NSCAA National Championship. He played college soccer at Butler University between 2008 and 2010, and at the University of North Carolina in 2011.

During his time at Butler, Hedges was named to the NSCAA All-America Second Team as a junior, and he was also named Horizon League Defender of the Year in both his junior and sophomore years. After transferring to North Carolina, he was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and to the NSCAA All-America First Team. He scored 6 times on the season and helped lead the Tar Heels defense to a 0.69 goals-against average en route to the 2011 NCAA National Championship.

Hedges spent time with USL Premier Development League club Fort Wayne Fever in 2009, making 9 appearances. He also spent time with USL PDL club Reading United in 2010 and 2011, scoring 4 goals in 24 appearances.[4]

Professional

[edit | edit source]

FC Dallas selected Hedges in the first round (No. 11 overall) of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft.[5] He made his professional debut on April 5, 2012, in a 1–0 victory against the New England Revolution. Due to injuries and his excellent play for a rookie, he became a regular starter for the club. His first goal in the 2014 season was a header in the 90th minute against Sporting Kansas City off a free kick taken by Michel. The goal tied the game, 1–1.[6]

Hedges captained the team for the first time in 2014,[7] a move that eventually became permanent.[8] Since becoming captain, he has led the club into the MLS playoffs in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Also in 2015, the club was the Western Conference regular season champions and Supporters' Shield runner-up. For the 2015 MLS season, he was named to the Best XI[9] and as a finalist for Defender of the Year.[10] Dallas was even more successful in 2016, winning the Supporters' Shield and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Hedges was once again named to the Best XI[11] and, this time, was the winner of the Defender of the Year award.[12]

In 2020, he became the all-time leader in MLS appearances for FC Dallas, passing Jason Kreis.[13]

In December 2022, he signed a two-year contract with Toronto FC beginning in the 2023 season.[14]

In July 2023, he was traded to Austin FC in exchange for General Allocation Money.[15] He signed a new contract with the club through the 2024 season, with options for 2025 and 2026.[16]

In October 2025, he signed a one-day deal with FC Dallas to retire as a member of the squad.[17]

International career

[edit | edit source]

Hedges made his United States men's national soccer team debut on February 8, 2015, when he came on as a substitute in the 72nd minute against Panama in a friendly.[18] He was selected to the U.S. squad for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which the U.S. ended up winning. Hedges started and played 90 minutes in victories over Martinique in group stage play and El Salvador in the quarterfinals.

Career statistics

[edit | edit source]
As of match played September 14, 2024[19][4]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Playoffs U.S. Open Cup CONCACAF Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Fort Wayne Fever 2009 Premier Development League 9 0 — — — — 9 0
Reading United 2010 ? ? — 1 0 — — ? ?
2011 ? ? — 1 0 — — ? ?
Total 26 6 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 28 6
FC Dallas 2012 Major League Soccer 28 3 — 1 0 — — 29 3
2013 33 3 — 2 1 — — 35 4
2014 32 3 3 0 2 0 — — 37 3
2015 31 1 4 0 1 0 — — 36 1
2016 26 1 2 0 4 2 3 1 — 35 4
2017 27 2 — 1 0 4 0 — 32 2
2018 33 2 1 1 2 0 2 0 — 38 3
2019 33 1 1 1 2 1 — — 36 3
2020 19 0 2 0 — — — 21 0
2021 20 1 — — — — 20 1
2022 28 1 2 0 — — — 30 1
Total 310 18 15 2 15 4 9 1 0 0 349 25
Toronto FC 2023 Major League Soccer 14 0 — 0 0 — — 14 0
Austin FC 2023 6 1 — — — 1[a] 0 7 1
2024 15 1 0 0 — — 3[a] 0 18 1
Total 21 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 25 2
Career total 381 17 2 24 17 4 9 1 4 0 426 33
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup

Honors

[edit | edit source]

University of North Carolina

FC Dallas

United States

Individual

See also

[edit | edit source]

Lua error in mw.title.lua at line 392: bad argument #2 to 'title.new' (unrecognized namespace name 'Portal').

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ Matt Hedges at SoccerwayLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  22. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  25. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  26. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
[edit | edit source]
Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Matt_Hedges&oldid=6366829"