Mattheisen leads Captains to undefeated start

Rosa Lee Harkrader/ The Captain's Log

The Men’s Soccer team is a perennial National Champion, currently ranked No. 3 in the country, and their All-American senior forward Winston Mattheisen has led them to a 4-0 start to the season. So far he has been the emotional leader for a team with big expectations for this year.

Mattheisen’s soccer career began early in his youth when he played for the Williamsburg Soccer Club during elementary school. He eventually graduated to all-star travel and high school teams. He took part in a number of sports but concentrated on basketball and soccer as he got older.

“Basketball helped me keep my fitness through the winter season,” Mattheisen said of balancing the two intensely physical sports. After being voted All-State in high school, he knew he wanted to play soccer on the next level. One of the first schools he looked at was CNU, where his older sister attended. “Other schools were recruiting me,” he said. “But CNU was the best school academically and had the best soccer team.”

After coming to CNU, Mattheisen was voted USA-South rookie of the year and started showing some of the dynamic flair that he plays with today. “I just became more confident with myself and I felt like I could do anything within the game,” said Mattheisen. “When anyone develops that kind of confidence they can do anything they put their mind to.”

His confidence has evolved into a commanding on-field swagger during the last two seasons; he has been named USA-South player of the year and is one of only three players in CNU history to be named an All-American. “It was nice but I would rather be more successful as a team,” he insisted.

Part of that team includes another All-American, senior midfielder Brian Lybert, who has a connection with Mattheisen on and off the field. The two All-Americans play off the ball together extremely well, Lybert being one of the quickest on the team and Mattheisen one of the most physical. Their bond on the field is strengthened by their friendship off of it. Mattheisen and Lybert have lived together for the last two years. “Winston and I, along with our other roommate Steven Farmer, basically do everything together,” Lybert said. “I think it really helps with our chemistry on the field.” Head coach Steve Shaw adds that the duo have matured together in many ways, as both soccer players and people.

While the game of soccer may come naturally to Mattheisen, one thing he says he needs to work on harder than anyone else is his conditioning. “I am usually below everyone when we start the preseason, so I have to work harder to get to the fitness level I want,” he said. This summer he worked extra hours to make sure he would be in shape in time for the season opener.

“Usually it takes me four to five games into the season to get into game shape, but I felt really good these first few games and it has helped my confidence a lot.” This is evident through the first four games, as the usual slow starter has already tallied three goals and an assist.

One convenient talent Mattheisen seems to have is scoring important goals at the end of games for the Captains. Through his first three seasons he has notched 12 game-winning goals – double that of the next highest Captain in the same time period. “No matter what the situation is you can always count on him to put the team on his back,” commented Lybert.

While he has a knack for finding the back of the goal in crunch time, Mattheisen is also famous for letting his emotions get the best of him at times. He admits that he gets in trouble with coach Shaw because his passion for the game can cause him to lose his head in the heat of the moment. “I have been working with him on that for a long time,” said Shaw. “And he has gotten a lot better over the course of his career.” The growth of his leadership skills is apparent, illustrated by the Captain’s undefeated start. “Winston is an emotional player, but he’s also a smart player,” Shaw said. “When he get emotional, you have to appeal to his reason.”

After CNU Mattheisen said he’s focused on what every other senior is thinking: “He just wants to get a job.” As far as soccer, he has no devoted plans to play after college on any higher level. “If the opportunity arises I would definitely look into it,” he said. “I guess I’ll just see where it goes from there.”

Posted by Darryl Fetz on Sep 14 2011. Filed under Soccer, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.