Matt Knowles 1993

Matt Knowles was born October 7th, 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Philadelphia and attended Archbishop Ryan High School from 1985 to 1988.

In the summer of 1990, he signed with the Penn-Jersey Spirit of the American Professional Soccer League. He also played indoor soccer with the expansion Illinois Thunder of the National Professional Soccer League. In 1991, he played nineteen games with the Spirit, scoring one goal. The Spirit folded at the end of the 1991 season and Matt moved to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers for the 1992 APSL season. He spent two seasons with the Illinois Thunder, earning him 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, he was selected to the first team All NPSL team. The Thunder moved to Denver at the end of the 1991-1992 season, and Matt played three games there before being traded to the Milwaukee Wave.

While he had been an integral part of the Spirit, he saw time in only three games with the Strikers.

In 1993, he moved to the Rowdies where his playing time increased to nine games.

In the fall of 1993, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament 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 the Major League Soccer as that league was beginning operations in 1996. In February 1996, the MetroStars selected him in the first round (ninth overall) in the league’s Inaugural Player Draft. While Matt signed with the MetroStars, he continued to play indoor soccer during the MLS off-season. Following his being drafted by the MetroStars in February 1996, he 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.

While he 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 26th, 1996, the Wave acquiesced to his desires and traded him to the Cleveland Crunch for Glenn Carbonara, Todd Dusosky, Obi Moneme and cash. He was injured while in Cleveland and saw little playing time. This led to his sporadic playing time with the MetroStars during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. On July 1st, 1998 he was traded to the expansion Miami Fusion 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.

On July 29th, 1997, he bought out the remaining three years of his contract with the Crunch and signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia KiXX. In the 1997-1998 season, his first in Philadelphia, he experienced a resurgence which led to his third Defender of the Year award. At the end of the 1998 season, Matt left outdoor soccer to concentrate on his more successful indoor career.

After one more season with the KiXX, he then moved to the Detroit Rockers. He played two seasons in Detroit before the Rockers folded at the end of the 2000-2001 season.
In 2001, the Harrisburg Heat picked up Matt in the dispersal draft. That year, the NPSL disbanded and the surviving NPSL franchises created a new league, the Major Indoor Soccer League. At some time in 2002, he moved from the Heat to the Kansas City Comets. On October 2nd, 2002, the Comets traded him to the Philadelphia KiXX in exchange for Matt Caution. However, he again experienced a considerable number of injuries and spent most of the season on the injured-reserved list.
Today, Matt Knowles is currently coaching in the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida.

Can anyone help me with a photo of Matt in a Rowdies jersey? - If so please email me.