Poland made a name for himself on the national stage with Chicago House AC before getting the head coach and sporting director gig at professional side FC Naples, who he took to the postseason in their inaugural USL League One season.
All good things are connected to Chicago and soccer is no different.
FC Naples head coach and sporting director Matt Poland successfully navigated his first USL League One regular season, setting the Florida side up for their opening playoff match against Union Omaha.
Poland made a name for himself in Chicago with Chicago House AC, where he helped the side navigate their transition to amateur soccer while making noise on the national stage as well. The former professional center back first came to Chicago in 2021 as an assistant coach for Chicago House under head coach CJ Brown when they were competing as a professional side in NISA. Poland got the head gig and was also named technical director in 2022 when Chicago House transitioned to the amateur ranks.
The national soccer landscape learned Poland’s name in 2023 when he successfully guided Chicago House to two wins in the U.S. Open Cup, including one in the second round against USL League One’s Forward Madison, before being eliminated by the Chicago Fire in the third round in a matchup at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. Poland’s houses side personified resilience throughout that run, most notably when they maneuvered through multiple penalty kicks scenarios in qualifiers at the end of 2022 including the match that sent them into the main draw of the Open Cup, which saw the lights go out at the stadium in Brockton, Massachusetts as penalties were being taken in a match that was dubbed the “Brockton Blackout.”
Now a professional head coach who is approaching his first postseason match, one that will be at home after his FC Naples side finished fourth in USL League One, Poland knows that his previous experience in crucial win-or-go-home scenarios
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“Having had lower level teams that had success against higher level teams, tactically, things always change at every level you go up,” Poland told On Tap Sports Net ahead of Naples’ playoff opener, “but the belief and mindset aspect that we were able to create there is one that has given me confidence that that is a recipe for success when building a team. That gave me a lot of confidence in what I’m doing and what I’m trying to create as a head coach.”
FC Naples jumped to the top of the table immediately, unexpected for an expansion side, and Poland was named USL League One Coach of the Month for March as his side went unbeaten in their first eight in all competitions. The highs have been high for FC Naples but there were low moments, namely a 4-1 road loss to fellow expansion side AV Alta in Lancaster, California on June 28 amidst a six match winless run.
Poland points to that loss across the country at AV Alta as a turning point for his side, who followed that disappointing performance up with a ten-match unbeaten run in the league.
“There’s going to be downs and the middle of the season was definitely a challenging time. Some of it had to do with performance, some with injuries, a new club figuring out travel, red cards, you name it. We had it during that and yet we had our probably our lowest point was that four-one loss on the road to AV Alta and and I think unfortunately, what grows teams the most are adversity. We wish it was just success, but that was a really come together moment in that locker room.
“At that point, we went on another ten-game unbeaten streak and showed similar things that we had showed in the beginning of the year. We’re at our best when we just fight and run. I don’t think it’s a secret of the blueprint of how we’re a successful team.”
The blueprint included bringing in a whole roster in the offseason, which included former Chicago Fire II midfielder Luka Prpa alongside Jayden Onen, who happened to play for Forward Madison when Poland’s Chicago House side upset them in 2023.
One familiar face that Poland brought with him from Chicago House to FC Naples is Tony Halterman to serve as goalkeeper coach and as the club’s emergency goalkeeper. Halterman was in net for most of Poland’s matches at Chicago House before joining his coaching staff in 2024 and moving with him to Florida in 2025. Now in their fifth season together going back to 2021, Halterman has been a massive resource for Poland in their first season in USL League One.
“What was important is that on game days he’s more of a coach and in training with the group, he’s more of a player. Obviously, with the goalies he’s more coach all the time but he knows exactly what I want.
“The first thing for him was building that trust between him and [FC Naples captain] Lalo [Delgado], being his coach and making sure that he was hitting what Lalo needed to be that his best as a player. Then that became a really good relationship with Tony also being able to speak to Lalo and help manage our locker room.”
Poland acknowledged the playoffs, which starts with their third match against the Union Omaha side who won their last match after some weather-related chaos, are a massive test in front of his squad as the defending USL League One Champions but allowed for a moment of pride upon reflecting on his first season in Naples.
“To be able to go over nine months of these guys coming together from not even knowing each other’s names and having no identity as a group to building a culture, building an identity, and having success on the field and connecting with the community while doing it.
“To be able to start the season with the record and end the season with a different record of being the first team in its inaugural season to get a home playoff game is just such an accumulation of all that hard work and belief and fight throughout the whole year. It’s such an amazing accomplishment as a group.”
The Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples is a big change from Stuart Field at IIT and Hales Franciscan High School’s field at 49th and Cottage Grove where he honed his skills as a head coach with Chicago House in knockout contests. Ahead of his first playoff game with FC Naples, reflecting on those moments has helped Poland appreciate the opportunity that he has in front of him with his new club.
“It’s really helped me. I don’t think any coach is great at it but I, at least for a short moment here and there, try to enjoy the moment. Because you don’t always do that in the moment. You’re always thinking about the next thing and you don’t realize the impact and the specialness and uniqueness of whatever that moment is and the value it brings.
“For me as a coach, where it’s helped the most is belief in what a team can do and accomplish.”