Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Joseph Mattacchione | ||
Date of birth | August 15, 1975 | ||
Place of birth | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Youth career | |||
1994–1997 | UAB Blazers | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1999–2006 | Toronto Lynx | 165 | (8) |
2000–2001 | Toronto ThunderHawks (indoor) | 13 | (1) |
2002–2003 | Cleveland Force (indoor) | 31 | (2) |
International career | |||
1994 | Canada U-20 | 1 | (0) |
2005 | Canada beach soccer team | 3 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
2006 | Toronto Lynx (assistant coach) | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of July 01, 2015 |
Joseph Mattacchione (born August 15, 1975) is a Canadian former soccer player who played as a defender.
Mattacchione began playing at the youth level with Dixie Soccer Club.[1] He also played at the amateur level in the Toronto and District Soccer League with Mississauga United.[2] He continued playing soccer with his local high school Father Michael Goetz Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario where he served as the team captain and was named the team MVP.[2][3] In 1994, he received a scholarship to play college soccer for the University of Alabama at Birmingham.[3]
Throughout his tenure at Alabama, he was named to the First Team Rookie All-Conference in 1994 and was a 2-Time UAB Team MVP in 1996 and 1997. In 1997, he was also selected to the All-Conference team.[4] In the winter of 1997, he was drafted by Montreal Impact's indoor team in the National Professional Soccer League amateur draft but wasn't offered a contract.[5]
After the completion of his college career, he was drafted by the Toronto Lynx of the USL A-League in 1998.[6] He officially began his professional career when he signed a contract with Toronto for the 1999 season.[7] He recorded his first professional goal on May 30, 1999, against the Jacksonville Cyclones in a 3-2 defeat.[8] The following season, he helped Toronto qualify for the postseason for the second time in the club's history.[9] He featured in the Conference finals against Rochester Rhinos where Toronto was eliminated from the playoffs by a score of 2-1 on goals on aggregate.[10]
Mattacchione re-signed with the Lynx for the 2001 and 2002 seasons.[11][12] In his fourth season with the club, he received the Best Defensive Player award for his leadership.[13] In 2005, he returned to Toronto for his sixth consecutive season and was chosen the team captain under head coach Hubert Busby, Jr.[1] The following season he began to transition to the managerial side as he served as an assistant coach under Duncan Wilde.[14] Throughout the 2006 campaign, he assisted Toronto in reaching the finals of the Open Canada Cup where they were defeated by Ottawa St. Anthony Italia.[15] The 2006 season marked his final year with the Toronto Lynx where he finished second in the rankings in the club's all-time match appearances.[16][17]
After the conclusion of the 2000 A-League season, he signed with the Toronto ThunderHawks in the National Professional Soccer League.[18] In his debut season in the NPSL, he assisted Toronto in securing a postseason berth.[19] He returned to the indoor level in the 2002-03 season when he signed with Cleveland Force.[20] He appeared in 31 matches and recorded two goals for Cleveland.[21]
In 1994, he made his debut for the Canada men's national under-20 soccer team on August 24, 1994, against Costa Rica.[22] He also appeared in three matches for the Canada national beach soccer team for the 2005 CONCACAF and CONMEBOL Beach Soccer Championship.[22]
In 2006, Mattacchione along with Theo Zagar was the assistant coach for Toronto Lynx under Duncan Wilde.[14] In 2011, he was appointed the head coach for the U-11 girls' team for the Oakville Soccer Club.[23]
After he retired from professional soccer, he became a teacher in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.[24]