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

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

club

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

. Hedges has been one of the better defenders in MLS since 2014, landing on the

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award The Landon Donovan MVP Award is an annual award for MLS players. It is voted on by ...

in 2015 and 2016, and winning the MLS Defender of the Year award in 2016.

Career

College and amateur

Hedges was born in New York but grew up in

Carmel, Indiana Carmel is a suburban city in Indiana immediately north of Indianapolis. With a population of 100,777, the city spans across Clay Township in Hamilton County, Indiana, and is bordered by the White River to the east; the Hamilton-Boone county ...

. He attended Carmel High School (

), where he was a member of the 2006 Greyhounds soccer team that went undefeated, and won both the IHSAA Boys' Soccer State Championship and the NSCAA National Championship. He played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communi ...

between 2008 and 2010, and at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sys ...

in 2011. During his time at Butler, Hedges was named to the

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of United States, American soccer Coach (sport), coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization i ...

All-America Second Team as a junior, and he was also named

Horizon League The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...

Defender of the Year in both his junior and sophomore years. After transferring to North Carolina, he was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and to the NSCAA All-America First Team. He scored 6 times on the season and helped lead the Tar Heels defense to a 0.69 goals-against average en route to the 2011 NCAA National Championship. Hedges spent time with

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sy ...

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.

Professional

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the leag ...

selected Hedges in the first round (No. 11 overall) of the

2012 MLS SuperDraft The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting ...

. He made his professional debut on April 5, 2012, in a 1–0 victory against the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

. Due to injuries and his excellent play for a rookie, he became a regular starter for the club. His first goal in the 2014 season was a header in the 90th minute against

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse an ...

off a free kick taken by Michel. The goal tied the game, 1–1. Hedges captained the team for the first time in 2014, a move that eventually became permanent. Since becoming

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, he has led the club into the MLS playoffs in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, and 2016. Also in 2015, the club was the Western Conference regular season champions and

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 19 ...

runner-up. For the 2015 MLS season, he was named to the Best XI and as a finalist for Defender of the Year. Dallas was even more successful in 2016, winning the Supporters' Shield and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Hedges was once again named to the Best XI and, this time, was the winner of the Defender of the Year award. In 2020, he became the all-time leader in MLS appearances for FC Dallas, passing

Jason Kreis Jason Clarence Kreis (born December 29, 1972) is an American soccer coach and former player who currently serves as an assistant coach for MLS club Inter Miami CF and as head coach of the United States under-23 team. He coached Orlando City SC ...

. In December 2022, he signed a two-year contract with

beginning in the 2023 season.

International

Hedges made his

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ...

debut on February 8, 2015, when he came on as a substitute in the 72nd minute against Panama in a friendly. He was selected to the U.S. squad for the

2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF, and 24th CONCACAF regional championship ov ...

, which the U.S. ended up winning. Hedges started and played 90 minutes in victories over

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island and an Overseas department and region, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of ...

in group stage play and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

in the quarterfinals.

Career statistics

Club

Honors

University of North Carolina * NCAA National Champions: 2011 FC Dallas *

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

: 2016 *

: 2016 United States *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Amer ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Individual *

Defender of the Year: 2009, 2010 * ACC Defender of the Year: 2011 * NCAA 1st Team All America: 2011 *

: 2015, 2016 *

MLS Defender of the Year Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the ...

: 2016 * MLS All-Star:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

External links

* *
University of North Carolina bio

Soccerstats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedges, Matt 1990 births Living people American soccer players Butler Bulldogs men's soccer players Carmel High School (Indiana) alumni North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players Reading United A.C. players FC Dallas players Association football defenders Soccer players from New York (state) USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars People from Carmel, Indiana FC Dallas draft picks United States men's international soccer players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players All-American men's college soccer players Toronto FC players