Matthew Ryan Fondy (born July 28, 1989) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who currently plays for Inter San Francisco in the

San Francisco Soccer Football League The San Francisco Soccer Football League or SFSFL, established in 1902, is "the oldest American soccer league in continuous existence." The SFSFL is a men's semi-professional and amateur soccer league consisting of teams from San Francisco, Cali ...

Career

College and amateur

Fondy attended Burlingame High School and played four years of

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

at the

University of California Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located in Monterey Bay ...

, where he was a 2009 NSCAA Division III All-American - Third Team

Professional

Though undrafted out of college, Fondy turned professional in 2011 when he signed with the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

of the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

league, and made his professional debut on April 9, 2011, in a game against

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

. He scored his first professional goal on May 21, 2011, in a 2–0 win against

F.C. New York F.C. New York was an American professional soccer team based first in Queens, New York City, and then Long Island, New York. The team played two seasons, starting in 2011 in the National Division of the USL Professional Division, the third tier ...

. Fondy signed with

Los Angeles Blues Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier ...

of USL Pro on January 13, 2012. On August 30, 2013, he transferred to

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. After a stint with Chicago Fire in 2014, Fondy signed with Louisville City of the

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

in January 2015. He scored his first goal for Louisville City against the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

at Slugger Field on April 25. On September 2, 2015, Fondy set a new USL single season goal scoring record with a hat trick against Harrisburg in a 4–0 win, giving him 21 goals on the season. Fondy transferred to

Jacksonville Armada Jacksonville Armada FC is an American professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were founded in 2013 as an expansion franchise in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of American soccer, and played until ...

in February 2016. On June 27, 2016, the Carolina RailHawks, later

North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional association football, soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Caro ...

, announced that Fondy had been acquired from Jacksonville Armada. Fondy joined

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Oakland, California. The club competes in the USL Championship (USLC) as a member of the Western Conference (USL Championship), Western Conference. F ...

in January 2020. He had previously featured for the Roots' amateur affiliate, the Oakland Leopards.

Honors

Individual *USL Most Valuable Player:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

*USL Golden Boot:

*USL Scoring Champion:

*USL All League First Team:

Retirement

Although no longer in his playing career, Fondy has stayed heavily involved in the sport. Together with Cody Pillon, Fondy co-founded Oakland Genesis, a cost-free youth club in Oakland, CA who view soccer as a tool to empower, educate, and inspire Oakland's leaders of tomorrow. The club provide competitive coaching, academic support, and transportation for all of their players, free of cost. In addition to co-founding the club, Fondy is a coach for some of the program's boys' teams. Fondy has remained actively playing for various San Francisco Bay Area amateur clubs. Including Oakland SC of the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

, San Francisco Metro, and Inter San Francisco. Fondy also represented the United States in futsal at the

2022 Maccabiah Games The 2022 Maccabiah Games () took place in Israel from July 14–25, 2022, and are also referred to as the 21st Maccabiah Games (). The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world, and to all Israeli citizens regardless of ...

, alongside former Louisville City teammate Guy Abend.

References

External links

* *
UC Santa Cruz bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fondy, Matthew 1989 births Living people 20th-century American Jews People from Foster City, California Soccer players from San Mateo County, California UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs men's soccer players American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards USL Championship players Major League Soccer players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Orange County SC players Chivas USA players Chicago Fire FC players Louisville City FC players North Carolina FC players Jacksonville Armada FC players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players National Premier Soccer League players Oakland Roots SC players 21st-century American Jews American men's futsal players