Podcast: New Haven head coach Tom Mattera on building program success

University of New Haven men's soccer head coach Tom Mattera joined 'The Goal.' (Photo by Mike Orazzi)

The latest guest on New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast is University of New Haven men’s soccer head coach, Tom Mattera. 

The second-year coach guided New Haven to the Division 2 NCAA Tournament, its first tourney appearance in 40 years. The Chargers earned an at-large berth out of the Northeast-10 Conference and lost to Concord in the first round in a penalty kick shootout to close the season at 12-4-4. New Haven had also played in the Northeast-10 tourney championship and lost to Southern New Hampshire.

Mattera played collegiately at Southern Connecticut State from 2005-07, helping lead the Owls to the 2007 Northeast-10 Conference championship, advancing to the national quarterfinals that same season.

Mattera joined hosts Matt Langone and Matt Doherty to discuss his team’s success in 2024, the Division 2 landscape, and the future of the program.

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Here are some highlights from our discussion:

On what keyed this season’s success:

Mattera: “I was fortunate to work with very good players. And I think the biggest key for us is we did a lot of recruitment last year, and what I mean by that was we brought in eight mid-year transfers last year. So, we had eight new guys come in (last) January and they were able to kind of acclimate throughout the spring season, and that really helped us this fall.”

On how playing in the Northeast-10 makes the team better:

Mattera: “By the time (we) got to the tournament, (we) were hardened. I mean, we played (Franklin) Pierce twice this year, we played SNHU twice this year, so it just helps. And, I think it also helps recruiting when you can say you’re playing in one of the two best D2 conferences in the country.”

On New Haven’s playing style:

Mattera: “We’ve made it very clear on how we want to defend. We either defend high up the field and counter press, or we defend in a low block. We try not to defend in the mid-block and that’s just me. I think in college soccer when you defend in a mid-block, it’s kind of like pulling the blanket at both ends — somebody’s going to either go over the top of you or go around you. So, what we try to do is we try to just send people out wide and either, like I said, try to break them down at a low block or counter press high-up the field.”

On the future of the program:

Mattera: “When you talk about the teams we’ve talked about before, like Pierce and SNHU, I think the winning tradition that they have, it has to become second nature. And I think we’re now taking those baby steps where it has to become this is an expectation now. It’s not just a fluke. We have to expect to be in conference championships and NCAA Tournaments. I think that’s our next step.”

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