Yesterday Matt Reis confirmed that many of us had thought. That after a 16-year career, the veteran goalkeeper was hanging up his gloves.
It is hard to imagine Matt Reis not being a member of the Revolution next year. Reis made 24 or more starts in eight of his 10 years in New England, and appeared in 288 games, recording 110 wins, 1,114 saves and 75 shutouts, leaving him in the top six in MLS history in each category.
Reis was at his best between 2005-09 when the Revolution were amongst the MLS elite. He earned double-figure wins in each of those seasons while racking up 44 shutouts. His 10 shutouts in each season from 2005, 2006 and 2007 set a MLS record.
“For me, the best teammates make the players around them better and Matt Reis certainly did that during his amazing career. As Matt’s teammate for eight seasons, he made me a much better player because he always made the incredible seem attainable. Whether it was a timely save or his uplifting attitude in the locker room, Matt will retire as one of the greatest goalkeepers this league has ever seen.”
– Jay Heaps, teammate, New England Revolution (2003-09), head coach, New England Revolution (2012-present)
Reis’s next step is to move back to the west coast where he is from as the LA Galaxy have announced that Reis has been named as the club’s new goalkeeper coach. Reis replaces Ian Feuer, who has been the Galaxy’s goalkeeper coach for the last six plus seasons.
“We are pleased to have Matt join our staff and coach the club’s goalkeepers,” LA Galaxy general manager and head coach Bruce Arena said in a statement. “Matt’s experience as a player and knowledge of MLS will serve him well in his new role.”
It is a pity that New England could not find a similar role for Reis in the organization.
As for who replaces Reis it was clear last season that back-up Bobby Shuttleworth is not the answer. It appears that Revs GM Mike Burns and head coach Jay Heaps agree, as yesterday New England traded for Vancouver goalkeeper Brad Knighton. The 28-year-old Knighton went 6-3-2 with a 1.36 GAA in 11 starts for Vancouver last season. he is expected to be the New England starting goalkeeper next season.
