Change In Scenery Reinvigorates Carolina’s Matt Fondy
Photo credit: Rob Kinnan/Carolina RailHawks
Last Friday night’s exciting and riveting game between Carolina and Miami that introduced Omar Bravo to NASL fans and a nationwide audience on the CBS Sports Network seemed to go by in the blink of an eye for RailHawks striker Matt Fondy.
“I was having so much fun,” Fondy told NASL.com about the wide-open 3-3 draw. “It was one of those games where it starts and before you know it the first half is over, and then the game’s over. It was definitely a players’ game. I had the feeling any time that we were going forward there was a chance for us to score. We just felt dangerous.”
Before Friday’s game, Carolina had only scored three or more goals three times in 14 league games. But after the addition of Fondy and Bravo, the RailHawks are on a three-game unbeaten run heading into a two-game Canadian road trip that begins Wednesday night at Ottawa Fury FC and continues with a match at FC Edmonton on Sunday afternoon.
For Fondy, a California native who played in college for the colorfully named UC-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, a Fall Season move to the RailHawks from Jacksonville Armada FC has helped re-energize the 26-year-old striker. After beginning his professional career in the USL with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds then playing for the Los Angeles Blues, he appeared in 16 games across two years in MLS, first for Chivas USA and then Chicago.
“Out of college I didn’t think I was ready for MLS because I needed some time to develop and I think it was the right thing for me,” he said. “Then when I got to MLS I didn’t get much of a chance.”
He landed back in the USL, signing a two-year contract with Louisville City where he had a breakout, record-setting season when he scored a league-record 22 goals in 28 games. Fondy looks back on his season in Kentucky as being in the right place at the right time.
“I had a great relationship with the coach, James O’Connor, and the owner, Wayne Estopinal, and for a first-year club we all came in on the same page,” Fondy said. “There were no cliques on the team, everyone was on the same page. We played a 4-3-2-1, which for a striker was a huge benefit.”
After setting the single-season USL record with a hat trick against Harrisburg City on Sept. 2, winning the Golden Boot, and being named the league’s most valuable player, Fondy landed with Jacksonville Armada FC ahead of the 2016 NASL Spring Season. He made the move along with his Louisville teammate Bryan Burke.
The best laid plans, however, can go awry. A new coach, a slew of new players, and a raft of close calls led to a dent in confidence for Fondy, one that can derail any striker.
“As a striker you’re in a position that takes confidence,” he said. “Whether you’re on a good streak or a bad one, it snowballs and once the ball doesn’t go in it’s difficult to buy that first goal. I hit the post a couple of times. No one’s blaming you, but you start to get frustrated and start to force things. After a certain amount of games, the decision makers start thinking about making changes. Of course, everyone is rooting for you, but things just happen that way.”
After landing in Florida with a reputation for scoring goals, Fondy left without scoring for the Armada FC after being acquired by Carolina.
“Matt became available and we jumped at the chance to try to make it happen,” RailHawks coach Colin Clarke said in late June. “We’re happy that he’s here, he scored a lot of goals last year in USL and I can see from watching him in training why that is.”
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Fondy scored in his first game, a 4-1 win at Tampa Bay, assisted on Brian Shriver’s goal in a 1-0 win at Fort Lauderdale, and then scored again last week against Miami FC.
“I definitely have gotten to a place where I feel comfortable and know the role I have,” Fondy said. “Naz (RailHawks captain Nazmi Albadawi) is finding the pockets to get the ball, turn, go forward, and connect with me. Shriver has a nose for goal, I know even without taking a look where he’s going to be. And Omar, I had one practice with him before the game, and with him up top it was a joy seeing the movement he was doing, spaces he was getting into. It all felt great.
“I feel like I have a clean slate. The timing couldn’t have been better for me.”
For Fondy and the RailHawks.
