Matt Van Oekel
Matt Van Oekel on the pitch with Birmingham Legion in July 2023
Personal information
Full name James Matthew Van Oekel
Date of birth (1986-09-20) September 20, 1986
Place of birth Chesapeake, Virginia, United States
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Birmingham Legion
Number 1
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004 Longwood Lancers 17 (0)
2005–2007 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 47 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 Minnesota Thunder 1 (0)
2010–2014 Minnesota United 71 (0)
2015–2016 FC Edmonton 54 (0)
2017 Real Salt Lake 7 (0)
2017 → Real Monarchs (loan) 1 (0)
2018 Oklahoma City Energy 18 (0)
2019– Birmingham Legion 109 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 16, 2023

James Matthew "Matt" Van Oekel (born September 20, 1986) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for USL Championship club Birmingham Legion FC.

Career

Youth and college

Van Oekel played one year of college soccer at Longwood University before transferring to Rutgers in his sophomore year. With Rutgers, he played in 47 games and earned 20 wins.

Professional

Van Oekel signed with Minnesota out of college in 2008, after impressing staff at the Thunder combine in February 2008.[1]

He made his professional debut on September 13, 2009, in 1–1 draw with Montreal Impact,[2] and was released at the end of the season when the Thunder failed, before being picked up by their successor NSC Minnesota Stars, in April 2010.[3]

Minnesota United FC, now playing in the North American Soccer League, re-signed Van Oekel for the 2011 season on March 11, 2011.[4] Minnesota announced in December 2011 that Van Oekel would return for the 2012 season.[5]

Van Oekel signed with Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake on December 22, 2016. On March 25, 2017, Van Oekel made his first MLS start with RSL, tallying three saves against New York Red Bulls.[6]

Van Oekel signed with USL side Oklahoma City Energy FC on January 5, 2018.[7]

Van Oekel was acquired by Birmingham Legion FC on December 12, 2018.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Thunder Signs Goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel Archived 2008-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Minnesota, Montreal tie 1–1". Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  3. ↑ "NSC Stars Go Up Against Carolina RailHawks – IMS Soccer News". Insidemnsoccer.com.
  4. ↑ "NSC Minnesota Stars Add Two Players and a Coach – OurSports Central". Oursportscentral.com. 11 March 2011.
  5. ↑ "- NASL". Nasl.com.
  6. ↑ "Real Salt Lake sign GK Matt Van Oekel, midfielder Jose Hernandez". MLSSoccer.com. December 22, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel added to Energy FC roster". EnergyFC.com. January 5, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  8. ↑ Hicks, Doug (12 December 2018). "Legion FC acquires goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel". Birmingham Legion FC. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
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