Matt Pereira begins his first season with the Academy of Art University women’s soccer program in 2014-15 as the team’s Operations Manager and Goalkeepers Coach. Pereira was most recently the goalkeepers coach at NCAA Division III member UC Santa Cruz in 2013. He also trained a number of youth goalkeepers for the Revolution club soccer team in the summer of ’13 while also working as the junior varsity head coach and varsity goalkeepers coach at Harbor High School in Santa Cruz. Pereira’s collegiate playing experience spanned five years at UC Santa Cruz from 2008-09 to 2012-13. He played in 37 matches and totaled 477 minutes minding the net for the Banana Slugs. Pereira collected 85 career saves and posted six career shutouts at UCSC, helping the team post winning records in four of his five seasons there. Pereira started his club coaching experience before becoming an NCAA student-athlete. He worked with the Diablo Valley and Delta youth soccer clubs, assisting in training sessions and coordinating equipment efforts. The summer before his senior year at UC Santa Cruz he also assisted in all-around technical skills at the Catalysts youth soccer camps.
