MLS Cup 2014 A Bittersweet Moment For Matt Reis

Feb 6, 2014; Carson, CA, USA; LA Galaxy goalkeeper coach Matt Reis poses for a portrait at StubHub Center. Mandatory Credit: Mora/LA Galaxy via USA TODAY Sports

Matt Reis is the goalkeepers coach for Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy and spent 15 seasons minding the nets before taking on a coaching position. He started his career with Los Angeles for four seasons and was a part of the first-ever MLS Cup-winning Galaxy team. However, he also spent 11 seasons with the New England Revolution, then managed by Steve Nicol, and was on the losing end of things on three different occasions in the MLS Cup Final, including 2005, when the Revs fell in extra time to Los Angeles.

When asked of his thoughts of the matchup, Reis was bittersweet and was a mixed bag of emotions.

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“There’s a ton of history there for me, on both sides,” said Reis to MLSSoccer.com’s Scott French. “Having spent 11 years there and working hard with the players there, the staff and the organization, trying to get the franchise back to the top of the league, where we had been before, it was a very large undertaking, and we put a lot of hard work in it.

“To see the Revs back in the MLS Cup final, that’s something I’m proud to be a small part of that. The work that the front office and the coaching staff and the owners did to get the back [to the postseason], within three years, turn it around, is really remarkable, and they should be applauded for it.”

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Reis, a backup for Kevin “El Gato” Hartman when he was with the Galaxy, remembers the 2002 MLS Cup like it was yesterday. Of course, he also remembers the 2005 MLS Cup as well. Bittersweet indeed.

“What I remember [about 2002] is kicking the ball up in the air at Gillette Stadium and looking up and seeing people in the upper decks and saying, ‘Gosh, look at how many people are here,’ ” Reis said. “I remember it as a great game, back and forth, with grass still on the [Gillette] field. I remember chances going back and forth.

“[In MLS Cup 2005] I remember getting fouled by Chris Albright on a corner kick, and the ball dropping to Pando [Ramirez], who buried it while I was on the ground. remember [Ugo] Ihemelu clearing a ball off the line that Pepe Cancela hit that was going in the upper corner, and [Ihemelu] had a diving header to clear the ball, and losing that way. Obviously, I’ve lost far more than I’ve won, but they’re all special in their own regard.”

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For Reis, there is no need to be sentimental. He has his job to do, and he will do all he can to ensure that Jaime Penedo plays the game of his life against Jay Heaps’s Revolution. Literally.

“It’s been fantastic here,” Reis said, “and to be a part of this ride, too, now and to see how much work we’ve put in to get to an MLS Cup … whether you’re a player, whether you’re a coach, to get to the final game is what everybody in this league wants to do. To be fortunate enough to be there again is really remarkable. The fact that it’s against the Revs is just really, really ironic.”

Kickoff at StubHub Center on Dec. 7 is scheduled for 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN, UniMas, UDN, TSN1 and RDS2.

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