Matthew W. Kmosko (born January 8, 1972, in

Ship Bottom, New Jersey Ship Bottom is a borough situated on the Jersey Shore, within Ocean County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,098, a decrease of 58 (−5.0%) from the 2010 census count of 1,156 ...

) is a former U.S.

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 ...

defender who played three and a half seasons in

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 ...

. He also earned three

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the U.S. national team in 1992. In January 2023, he was criminally convicted of aggravated menacing in the

Athens County Athens County is a county in southeastern Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 62,431. Its county seat and largest city is Athens. The county was formed in 1805 from Washington County. Because Ohio's first state university, Ohio ...

Municipal Court for threatening a special needs student-worker at

Hocking College Hocking College is a public community college in Nelsonville, Ohio. The college offers more than 60 associate and vocational programs and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The college was chartered in 1969 by the Ohio Board of Reg ...

Nelsonville, Ohio Nelsonville is a city in northwestern Athens County, Ohio, United States, located about southeast of Columbus. The population was 5,373 at the 2020 census. It is home to Hocking College as well as Rocky Brands. Nelsonville is surrounded by ...

High school and college

Kmosko attended

Southern Regional High School Southern Regional High School is a regional comprehensive public high school located in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in the ninth through twelfth grades and ope ...

Ocean County, New Jersey Ocean County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the southernmost county in the New York metropolitan area. The county borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and in terms of total area is the ...

. He graduated in 1990 and entered

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the seminary became a four-year coll ...

. Kmosko played on the Hartwick soccer team from 1990 to 1994. He was a team captain his senior year and finished his four-year career with a 41-27-8 record. He was inducted into the Hartwick Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.

Minor leagues

The

Buffalo Blizzard The Buffalo Blizzard was a soccer club that existed from 1992 to 2001 in Buffalo, New York. History The team was originally owned by the Knox brothers who owned the Buffalo Sabres at the time, and additionally by the Riches who owned the minor l ...

of National Professional Soccer League drafted Kmosko in 1994, but he did not sign with them. In 1995, he began his professional career with the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

New York Fever where he earned Northeast Division Rookie of the Year. That winter, he joined an NPSL team, the Cincinnati Silverbacks instead of signing with the Blizzard.

MLS

Colorado Rapids

In February 1996, the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

selected Kmosko in the 7th round (62nd overall) of the league's Inaugural Player Draft. He spent the next two seasons with the Rapids. However, at the end of the 1996 season, the Rapids loaned out Kmosko for two exhibition games. On November 7, 1996, the team sent him to the Rapids farm team, the Raleigh Flyers (USISL), for an exhibition match with

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. Later that month, the Rapids loaned him to fellow MLS team

Dallas Burn Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

for an exhibition match with the El Salvador national team. In 1997, Kmosko was an integral part of the Rapids team which went to the MLS championship game where it lost 2–1 to

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. Kmosko started and played the entire game.

Miami Fusion

In 1997, MLS prepared to expand the number of teams in the league for the 1998 season. As part of this process, the league ran an

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

. The

Miami Fusion Miami Fusion F.C. was an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team played from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one ...

selected Kmosko with the eighteenth pick draft and he played twenty-nine games in 1998 with the Fusion.

Columbus Crew

The Mutiny traded Kmosko to the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

for a first round 2000 MLS College Draft pick. While Kmosko began the season well, playing in fourteen games, he suddenly and unexpectedly left the team. The Crew waived Kmosko at the end of the season. On February 24, 2000, the Mutiny selected Kmosko off waivers, but waived him on March 16, 2000. There has been no official or public explanation for the end of Kmosko's playing career.

National team

Kmosko earned three

with the U.S. national team while still in college. His first game came in a scoreless tie with

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

on February 12, 1992. Six days later, he played in a 2–0 loss to

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of 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 the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. His last cap came on September 3, 1992, when he came on for

Fernando Clavijo Fernando Caetano Clavijo Cedrés (January 23, 1956 – February 8, 2019) was a Uruguayan-American soccer defender and former head coach of the New England Revolution and Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. He played three seasons in the ...

in a 2–0 win over

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In 1993, he was a member of the U.S. team at the

World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

Legal issues

Following complaints of harassment by multiple student-workers under his supervision, Kmosko resigned from his position as the soccer coach and coordinator of the college's Student Center and Campus Recreation Office at

. In May 2022, Kmosko threatened a special needs student-worker, Caden Cox, with a knife in the bathroom of the Student Center. As a result of this incident, Kmosko was subsequently convicted of menacing in the

Municipal Court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kmosko, Matt 1972 births Living people Hartwick Hawks men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players USISL players New York Fever players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Cincinnati Silverbacks players Colorado Rapids players Miami Fusion players Columbus Crew players People from Ship Bottom, New Jersey Southern Regional High School alumni Soccer players from Ocean County, New Jersey Major League Soccer players American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders 20th-century American sportsmen