Willamette Hires Corti-Young as Head Coach of Men's Soccer

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University has hired Matt Corti-Young as its next head coach of men's soccer, Director of Athletics Rob Passage announced today. Corti-Young has been the assistant men's soccer coach at the University of California, San Diego since 2020. He also has eight years of experience as an NCAA Division III head coach in men's soccer. He will begin his duties with the Willamette men's soccer team immediately.

"Willamette Athletics is excited to welcome Matt to our Bearcat family," Associate Athletics Director/SWA Leslie Shevlin said. "He brings extensive soccer coaching experience, as well as a history of developing programs to the highest levels of success. Most importantly, Matt believes that soccer can be a tool to help our young student-athletes be successful in life."

Over the past seven years, the Bearcats have accumulated a 74-33-15 (.668) record with a 62-22-10 (.713) conference record, including an NWC co-championship in 2017 and an outright NWC title in 2022. Willamette qualified for the NCAA Division III National Tournament in 2017 and 2022.

Corti-Young has been involved in all aspects of the UC San Diego men's soccer team's move from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I and the BigWest Conference. He was particularly successful in helping recruit six student-athletes, including three high school Gatorade Player of the Year selections, in 2021.

Prior to joining the coaching staff at UCSD, Corti-Young was the head men's soccer coach at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Claremont, California, for five years. His teams experienced significant success at CMS, including the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) regular season championship in 2018 and the SCIAC regular season and tournament championships in 2019. The Staggs were 15-2-1 in 2018 and finished 16-4-2 in 2019. CSM won statistical championships in NCAA Division III for shutouts (15) and goals against average (0.216) in 2018, allowing a total of just four goals. Corti-Young was chosen Division III West Region Coach of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches in 2019.

"Willamette is unique, as it combines a small liberal arts academic environment in a city setting with postgraduate educational opportunities," Corti-Young commented. "Students, faculty, and coaches spoke in detail and with pride about the connected community, which is something my family and I are eager to join and serve. I look forward to being on campus to run the rest of the non-traditional practices and lead the team in their spring date of competition."

Before taking over the CMS men's soccer program, Corti-Young was the head men's soccer coach at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, from 2012 through 2014. He built the program after Knox was 1-16 the year before he was hired. The 2014 team won Knox's first Midwest Conference Championship since 1988, ending the season with a 15-4 record. Also in 2014, Corti-Young was named MWC Coach of the Year. In 2013, Knox received the Team Academic Award from the NSCAA (now the United Soccer Coaches).

"I am very grateful for my time at UCSD. I got the opportunity to learn from two great coaches and we got to compete against some of the nation's best D1 programs. I've grown as a coach from that experience and am excited to lead a very strong Bearcat program," Corti-Young said. "I hope that my experiences, both high and low, in college soccer will help me coach, mentor, and lead the student-athletes individually and collectively in a successful way. My time with the team during the interview process helped me understand their perspective in detail and I look forward to continuing that collaboration very soon!

"I'm inheriting a good team with a bunch of really good players," Corti-Young added. "My job is to support them in coming back together, working for each other, and aligning our way of playing."
Corti-Young began his collegiate coaching experience at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he served as an assistant men's soccer coach during the 2011-12 academic year. The team earned a 16-2-2 record, won the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championship, and reached the Round of 16 in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

In college, Corti-Young received a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports and Coaching Science from University College Chichester in England in 2005. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Advanced Level Coaching from Springfield College (Massachusetts) in 2009. He holds the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) B License in coaching, has a United State Soccer Federation (USSF) C License, and has received the NSCAA (United Soccer Coaches) Premier Diploma, Advanced National Diploma, and State Goalkeeping Diploma.

Matt, a native of Southampton England, and his partner Shayla from Melbourne, Australia, have two children Harrison and Billie.