Matt Paton - Soccer Coach - University of Colorado Athletics

Matt Paton

Title:
Assistant Coach

Matt Paton was hired as CU's assistant coach in January, 2000.

"We are excited about having Matt as an addition to the Colorado soccer family," said Daniels. "He will help us out with his work ethic and his experience. He has worked with some of our players in the past at camps and such, and is certain to be an excellent addition to our program."

Paton, 30, comes to Colorado after six years as the head coach at Division III Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Conn., where he guided the Warrior women to a 53-46-10 record from 1993-99. As the third-ever head coach of ECSU women's soccer, Paton won more matches than any other women's soccer coach in ECSU history. Paton was hired to replace former assistant Dang Pibulvech, who resigned to accept the women's soccer head coaching position at Nevada-Reno.

This past season, the Warriors finished with a 10-7 record and were ranked in the NSCAA New England Region poll for six-straight weeks, as well as qualifying for the first-ever Little East Conference tournament with their fourth place regular season finish. The ECSU season ended with a 2-1 loss to Western Connecticut State in the first round of the LEC tournament.

In Paton's six years as head coach, three ECSU players were named NSCM all-New England Region, two were selected to the NEWISA Senior Classic, 20 earned all-conference.honors, two were named conference player of the year and one was selected confere nce rookie of the year. Paton was named Little East coach of the year in 1996 after guiding the Warriors to an overall record of 11-4-2 and a share of second place in the conference.

Paton's credits as a player include four years as a member of the Keene State College program under Ron Butcher and four years at Coventry High School, where he gained Class "S" all-state honors as a senior sweeper in 1986. At Keene, the Owls compiled a record of 55-25-8 and qualified for four ECAC Division II tournament berths, two of which resulted in championships during Paton's tenure as a player.

In each of the past two years, Paton has served on both the NCAA Division III Metro Region Advisory Committee and on the weekly NSCAA/Umbro Metro Region soccer rating committee. He earned his NSCM Advanced National Diploma in the summer of 1998. Paton received his A.S. Degree in Chemical Dependency and a B.S. Degree in Physical Education/Sport Management from Keene in 1991, and his M.S. in Education/Sport Management from the University of Connecticut in August of 1993.