Matteo Mario Polisi (born April 15, 1998) is a Canadian professional

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 plays for

TSS FC Rovers TSS FC Rovers, commonly referred to as TSS Rovers, are a Canadian soccer team based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada that play in League1 British Columbia, the third tier of soccer in Canada. Established for the 2017 PDL season by general m ...

League1 British Columbia League1 British Columbia (L1BC) is a Semi-professional sports, semi-professional men's and women's association football, soccer league in British Columbia, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the British Colu ...

Early life

Polisi began playing soccer at age four with

Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club (CMFSC) is a Canadian soccer club based in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Its youth teams play in the BC Coastal Soccer League and the BC Soccer Premier League. Its senior teams play in the Vancouver Metro Soccer Leag ...

, where he played from 2002 until 2011. In 2008 and 2009, he had training stints with the youth teams of Belgian club

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

. He also played for the BC provincial team at U13 level, serving as team captain. In September 2011, he joined the

Vancouver Whitecaps Academy Whitecaps FC Academy ( sponsor name Whitecaps FC BMO Academy) is the youth system of the professional soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It fields a men's and women's team in the semi-professional League1 ...

. In 2013, after being released by the Whitecaps, he returned to

, where he was named a ‘Player of Distinction’ by the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (; branded as Canada Soccer) is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, a ...

in 2014, and with whom he won the 2015 BC Provincial U-15 Cup, after scoring a hat-trick in the final. In the spring of 2016, he joined the youth system of the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

. In late 2016 and early 2017, he had trials in Europe with English clubs

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

and

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

, and German club FC Nürnberg.

University career

In 2017, he began attending

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

, where he played for the men's soccer team. He made his debut on August 31, 2017, scoring two goals against the University of Mary Marauders. In his freshman season, he was named the GNAC Freshman of the Year and was named a GNAC First-Team All-Star. On October 6, 2018, he scored a hat trick against the

Seattle Pacific Falcons The Seattle Pacific Falcons (also SPU Falcons) are the 12 varsity athletic teams that represent Seattle Pacific University, located in Seattle, Washington, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Falcons compete as members of the Great N ...

. After his sophomore season, he was named a GNAC First Team All-Star again, as well as an All-West Region First Team All-Star, and was named the Div. II West Region Player of the Year. On October 3, 2019, he scored another hat trick against the

Saint Martin's Saints The Saint Martin's Saints (also SMU Saints) are the 13 varsity athletic teams that represent Saint Martin's University, located in Lacey, Washington, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Saints compete as members of the Great Northwest ...

. After his third season, he was named a GNAC First Team All-Star for the third time and was named to the United Soccer Coaches’ NCAA Div. II All-American second team. Over his time at Simon Fraser, he scored 36 goals and added 18 assists in 52 matches. He declared for the

2021 MLS SuperDraft The 2021 MLS SuperDraft was the 22nd edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held every January prior to the start of the MLS season. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first held exclusively via conference call a ...

, but was ultimately not selected.

Club career

In 2017, Polisi joined the

in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

. In 2017, he scored three goals in 12 appearances. In 2018, he scored two goals in 14 appearances and led the team with five assists. In 2019, he led the team in scoring with six goals in 13 appearances. He also played at the amateur level with Rino's Tigers in the

Vancouver Metro Soccer League The Vancouver Metro Soccer League (VMSL) is a men's Association football, soccer league operating in British Columbia, Canada primarily in the Lower Mainland area. History The league is an amateur league, and does not compete against or promote ...

. In February 2021, Polisi signed his first professional contract with

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

side

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 20 ...

. He scored his first professional goal on July 7 against

York United York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. History ...

. With Pacific, he won the 2021 CPL title. He re-signed with the club for the 2022 season. At the conclusion of the season, Polisi departed the club. He then briefly joined senior amateur side BB5 United in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League for the remainder of their season where he won a League Title, League Cup and Provincial Cup with them. In April 2023, he returned to the

, now in

. On April 19, 2023, he scored two goals in a 3-1 upset victory over Canadian Premier League club

Valour FC Valour FC is a Canadian professional soccer club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays their home matches at Princess Auto Stadium. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned throu ...

(with whom he had trialed with during the 2023 pre-season, including scoring for them in a pre-season match against

Vancouver FC Vancouver Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of the Canadian soccer league system. The club is based in Langley, British Columbia (district muni ...

) in the first round of the

2023 Canadian Championship The 2023 Canadian Championship () was the sixteenth edition of the Canadian Championship, the premier men's domestic cup competition in Canadian soccer, and the 22nd competition staged to determine the winner of the Voyageurs Cup. It was a ...

. Later in 2023, he signed with Greek

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki (, C National Division) is the Greek football league system, third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 1983 it was changed to professional. Although no ...

side Anagennisi Epanomi on a season-long deal, which includes a clause that allows him to transfer to a new club in the winter transfer window, if a club in a higher division presents an offer. In January 2024, he departed the club, after having made ten total appearances. In April 2024, he returned to the

Personal

He is the younger brother of Marcello Polisi, who is also a professional soccer player.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Pacific FC *

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Polisi, Matteo 1998 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Canadian men's soccer players Soccer players from Coquitlam Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Portland Timbers players Simon Fraser Red Leafs men's soccer players TSS FC Rovers players Pacific FC players USL League Two players Canadian Premier League players League1 British Columbia players Anagennisi Epanomi F.C. players Gamma Ethniki players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen University and college men's soccer players in Canada