Matt Hedges

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This article is about the American soccer player. For the British academic, see Arrest of Matthew Hedges.

Matt Hedges
Hedges with FC Dallas in 2021
Personal information
Full name Matthew James Hedges
Date of birth (1990-04-01) April 1, 1990 (age 35)
Place of birth Rochester, New York, United States
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1]
Position(s) Center-back
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 0 (0)
International career‡
2015–2017 United States 5 (0)
Medal record
Representing  United States
Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 2017
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:19, September 15, 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 19, 2017

Matthew James Hedges (born April 1, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center-back.

Hedges has been considered one of the better defenders in 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

College and amateur

Hedges was born in New York but grew up in

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

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

Michel. The goal tied the game, 1–1.[6]

Hedges captained the team for the first time in 2014,

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]

International career

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.[17] 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

As of match played September 14, 2024[18][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

University of North Carolina

  • 2011

FC Dallas

United States

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ "Matt Hedges". FC Dallas. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  2. ^ "Matt Hedges, a Schellas Hyndman kind of player". January 14, 2012.
  3. ^ IHSAA. "IHSAA Boys Soccer State Champions". www.ihsaa.org. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  5. ^ SportsDayDFW.com. "FC Dallas drafts defender Matt Hedges in SuperDraft | Dallas Morning News". Dallasnews.com. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  6. ^ "By The Numbers: Sporting KC at FC Dallas - March 14, 2015".
  7. ^ "Why FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja made Matt Hedges youngest captain in team history". March 27, 2015.
  8. ^ "8 New Faces Klinsmann Should Consider for the U.S."
  9. ^ "2015 MLS Best XI revealed: 10 first-time selections get the nod".
  10. ^ "MLS Announces 2015 Awards Finalists".
  11. ^ a b "MLS Best XI revealed: Who was the best at each position in 2016?".
  12. ^ a b Stejskal, Sam (November 11, 2016). "FC Dallas' Matt Hedges named 2016 MLS Defender of the Year". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  13. ^ "Matt Hedges Breaks FC Dallas' All-Time MLS Appearance Record". FC Dallas. August 21, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  14. ^ "Toronto FC sign defender Matt Hedges". Toronto FC. December 19, 2022.
  15. ^ "Toronto FC send Matt Hedges to Austin FC in exchange for GAM". Toronto FC. July 26, 2023.
  16. ^ "Austin FC Acquires Defender Matt Hedges In Trade with Toronto FC". Austin FC. July 26, 2023.
  17. ^ "MNT Earns First Win of 2015, Shuts Out Panama 2-0 at StubHub Center".
  18. ^ Matt Hedges at Soccerway
  19. ^ "U.S. men's national team defeats Jamaica to win CONCACAF Gold Cup". USA Today. July 26, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  20. ^ "Butler Lands Eight On All-League Men's Soccer Team". butlersports.com. Butler University Athletics. November 10, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  21. ^ "Horizon League Announces Men's Soccer Award Winners". horizonleague.org. Horizon League. November 8, 2010. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  22. ^ "2015 MLS Best XI revealed: 10 first-time selections get the nod".
  23. ^ "2017 MLS All-Star Roster".
  24. ^ "2018 MLS All-Star Roster".
  25. ^ "2019 MLS All-Star Roster". Major League Soccer. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
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