Acquired by Los Angeles: From Real Salt Lake along with the club’s first round pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, in exchange for the Galaxy’s first round pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft and a Third Round Pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft on January 14, 2010.
MLS Highlights
2009: Played in his most games in a single MLS season since 1998, scoring two goals and adding seven assists in 28 games with Real Salt Lake. Tallied his first two assists of the season in a 4-1 win vs. Columbus on 4/2, his first multi-assist game since 6/29/02. He had a goal and an assist on 4/25 vs. New England and 6/27 vs. Toronto FC, with RSL winning both contests. The club was 5-0-1 when Mathis had either a goal or an assist. He came off the bench in all four of RSL’s postseason games and converted his penalty kick attempt in the penalty shootout that gave RSL their first MLS Cup title.
2008: Returned to MLS from Greek Super League side Ergotelis FC, with the Galaxy trading his rights to Real Salt Lake on 8/14. He made 11 appearances for the club, making six starts, while also starting all three of RSL’s postseason games. RSL was 2-0-4 in the regular season with Mathis in the starting lineup.
2007: Returned to Giants Stadium after being acquired by the Red Bulls from Colorado on 3/29 and had six goals and two assists in 26 games. Four of the six goals came in the first two months of the season, including a pair of goals on 5/5 at Real Salt Lake. That was his first multi-goal game since 9/6/03. He scored late in the first half of his team’s 5-4 win over the Galaxy in front of more than 66,000 fans at Giants Stadium, also recording an assist in that game. He was traded to the Galaxy in November and accompanied the team on their tour of Australia and New Zealand, scoring once in two games but did not re-sign with the club.
2006: Was traded to the Colorado Rapids prior to the start of the season and tallied two goals and an assist in his only season in Colorado. Scored his first goal for the club on 7/8, scoring the game-winning goal in second half stoppage time of a 1-0 win vs. Kansas City. He added his second goal two weeks later, scoring in a 3-3 draw vs. Chivas USA on 7/20. His lone assist also came against Chivas USA on 6/3 in a 4-1 Colorado loss. He played in all three of the Rapids postseason games, scoring the series tying goal late in extra time of their Western Conference Semifinal with FC Dallas for his first postseason goal since 2000.
2005: Returned to MLS with the expansion Real Salt Lake, signing with the club in January. He had three goals and four assists in 27 games during his first season in Utah. His first assist came on 4/16 vs. Colorado and was the first assist in RSL history, setting up Brian Dunseth for the game-winning goal in the club’s first-ever home game. That win was the first win in club history. He added assists in three other home games, while scoring on 7/9 at Chivas USA, on 7/23 vs. Dallas and at Colorado on 10/1.
2003: Tallied nine goals and an assist in 22 games, with five of his goals coming in the month of May. Helped the MetroStars reach the U.S. Open Cup Final for the first time in club history, scoring once in three Open Cup games.
2002: Missed much of the first half of the season through injury and international duty, scoring four goals and adding two assists in 14 games.
2001: Scored seven goals to go along with five assists in just 10 games with the MetroStars before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He had a goal or an assist in six consecutive games from 4/14-5/12, including a hat trick against the defending champion Wizards on 5/2. He was named the MLS Player of the Month in May after scoring five goals and two assists. An MLS All-Star for the second straight season, he won the MLS Goal of the Year award for his slashing, 70-yard run through the Dallas defense, which was the game-winning goal in a 3-2 MetroStars win on 4/28.
2000: Had three goals and an assist in eight games with the Galaxy before being traded to the MetroStars on 5/11 as part of the Galaxy signing Luis Hernandez. He was an instant success in New York, scoring 13 goals and adding 13 assists in 21 games. He was named to the MLS Best XI, and was tied for third in MLS with 16 goals, adding 14 assists. He set an MLS record that stills stands today with five goals in an 8-1 win vs. Dallas on 8/26. A finalist for the MLS MVP award and an MLS All-Star for the first time, Mathis added three goals and two assists in five playoff games for the MetroStars as they narrowly missed out on an MLS Cup berth.
1999: Helped the Galaxy reach MLS Cup 1999 in his second season as a pro, scoring seven goals and six assists in 27 games. His seven goals were the third most on the team, one less than team leaders Carlos Hermosillo and Cobi Jones. He started all six of the Galaxy’s postseason contests, notching one assist.
1998: Was selected by the Galaxy in the first round (sixth overall) of the 1998 MLS College Draft out of the University of South Carolina. He set a Galaxy rookie record for games played, appearing in 30 games and making 15 starts. He had five goals and 10 assists that season, adding a goal in three postseason games. He scored the first goal of his MLS career at the MetroStars on 4/11, scoring the game-winning goal in the 86th minute. He recorded his first assist of the season 16 minutes earlier, setting up Ezra Hendrickson to tie the game at 2-2. He had his first muli-goal game, scoring twice in a 4-1 win vs. Dallas on 5/23, while adding goals at Dallas on 6/4 and vs. Kansas City on 7/4. He scored the series clinching goal at Dallas on 10/4 in Game Two of the Western Conference Semifinals.
Career Highlights
2008: Spent six months in Greece with Ergotelis of the Greek Super League. He signed with the club in January and appeared in eight games, scoring once. That goal came in his debut for the club, a 2-2 against Apollon Kalamarias. That point proved crucial, as Ergotelis would go on to finish the season one point clear of the league’s relegation zone.
2004-05: First moved to Europe in January 2004 when he signed with Hanover 96 of the German Bundesliga. He scored five goals in 20 games for the club before signing with Real Salt Lake in January 2005. He scored on his debut on 2/2/04 in a 3-2 win vs. Hamburg SV. That goal was his first of four that season, all of which came in his first five games with the club. He scored once in four appearances for Hanover during the 2004/05 season, scoring the game-winner vs. FC Schalke on 9/25/04.
National Team
Scored 12 goals in 46 appearances during a seven year career with the U.S. National Team. He made his U.S. debut on 11/6/98 in a 0-0 draw with Australia, a game in which he was selected as the Man of the Match. He scored his first goal for the U.S. on 11/15/00 in a 4-0 win at Barbados, adding an assist in that game. He tallied his first assist a month earlier, setting up Landon Donovan’s firstever international goal in a 2-0 win over Mexico on 10/25/00. He had two goals and three assists in six games for the U.S. in 2001, helping them to reach the World Cup. He was part of the World Cup team in 2002, scoring in the 1-1 draw with Korea on 6/10/02. He appeared in three of the five games that the U.S. played in at the competition, making two starts. He finished that year with seven goals and three assists in 15 games while also helping the U.S. win the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Mathis had two multi-goal games that year, scoring twice in a 4-0 win over Honduras on 3/2/02 and then twice more in a 4-2 loss at Germany on 3/27/02. He also played for the U.S. Under-20 National Team and represented his country at the 1997 World University games.
College
A four-year star at the University of South Carolina, Mathis had 53 goals and 15 assists in 58 career games with the Gamecocks, leading his team to the NCAA Tournament four times. As a sophomore in 1995, he set a school record with 25 goals, which tied him for the NCAA lead that season. He was twice named as an All-American, claiming First Team honors in 1995 and Third Team honors in 1997.
