Matt Polster
American soccer player (born 1993)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Matthew Ryan Polster (born June 8, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution.
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Polster with the New England Revolution in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Ryan Polster[1] | ||
| Date of birth | June 8, 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | New England Revolution | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2010 | Downtown Las Vegas SC | ||
| 2010–2011 | Colorado Rapids | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2014 | SIU Edwardsville Cougars | 79 | (6) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013 | Victoria Highlanders | 4 | (0) |
| 2014 | Chicago Fire U-23 | 3 | (0) |
| 2015–2018 | Chicago Fire | 82 | (3) |
| 2019–2020 | Rangers | 7 | (0) |
| 2020– | New England Revolution | 155 | (7) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015–2016 | United States U23 | 11 | (0) |
| 2018 | United States | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of July 27, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of January 28, 2018 | |||
Club career
Early career
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Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Polster played his youth soccer at Downtown Las Vegas Soccer Club. He attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where he played for the SIU Edwardsville Cougars.[3] While with the university, Polster earned many honors including 2014 NSCAA All-West Region First Team selection and 2014 NSCAA Scholar All-America First Team selection.[3]
Chicago Fire
On January 15, 2015, Polster was selected as the 7th overall pick by the Chicago Fire during the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and was signed to a contract on February 4.[3] During his rookie season for the Fire, Polster has played an important role as a holding midfielder, drawing praise from league commentators for his precise passing and defensive capabilities, he earned recognition as Soccer by Ives 'Rookie of the Week' on three occasions during the 2015 season.[4] On July 31, 2016, Polster scored his first career MLS goal in a 2–2 draw against the New York Red Bulls.[5] The goal would later be voted as the Chicago Fire goal of the season in at the end of the year.[6] Polster missed the majority of the 2018 Major League Soccer season due to an MCL injury, causing him to only appear in three matches.[7]
Rangers
In December 2018, Polster had a trial with Scottish Premiership team Rangers.[8] On January 30, 2019, Polster signed a 2+1⁄2-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Rangers.[9] Polster made his first appearance in a continental tournament against Gibraltarian club, St Joseph's F.C. in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League qualifying round.[10]
New England Revolution
On July 8, 2020, Polster returned to the United States and signed with the New England Revolution.[11] In order to sign Polster, the Revolution had to trade $100,000 in General Allocation Money to his former club Chicago Fire for his rights.[11] On October 21, 2023, Polster recorded his 100th start for the Revolution across all competitions.[12]
International career
In January 2016, Polster received his first call up to the senior United States squad for friendlies against Iceland and Canada.[13] Polster did not appear in any of the two matches. Two years later, he was called into January camp again for a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina, making his debut in the 0–0 draw.[14]
Career statistics
- As of November 17, 2021[15]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Playoffs | League cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chicago Fire | 2015 | MLS | 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2016 | 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 2 | ||||
| 2017 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | — | — | 25 | 1 | ||||
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 82 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 3 | ||
| Rangers | 2018–19 | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 9 | 0 | |||
| Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| New England Revolution | 2020 | MLS | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 134 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 151 | 5 | ||
- Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
