COACHING ACCOLADES

• GSAC Coach of the Year (2020)
• NCCAA West Region Coach of the Year (2018, 2019, 2020)

Matt Gow enters his fifth season as the only head coach in the history of the OUAZ men’s soccer in 2021. Under his leadership, OUAZ has compiled a 43-26-3 (.618) overall record, won a GSAC Division Championship, made two appearances in the GSAC Championship Game, and twice reached the semifinals of the NCCAA National Championship.

Gow has quickly put OUAZ at the top of the pack among the NAIA schools in the state of Arizona. Since the program started in 2017, the Spirit has a 9-4-1 record against the in-state competition and is 8-0-1 with six straight wins since the start the of 2018 season.

With the team’s success has come individual accolades. Gow was named the 2020 GSAC Coach of the Year and he is a three-time NCCAA West Region Coach of the Year. In addition to his awards, OUAZ has had one NAIA Honorable Mention All-American and 10 NCCAA All-American recipients.
 

OUAZ (2017 – Present)

The 2020 season – played in the spring of 2021 – saw the Spirit compile an 8-4 overall record and win the GSAC East Division with a 6-2 record in conference play. OUAZ hosted the GSAC Championship Game and were among the other teams receiving votes in the final regular season NAIA Coaches’ Poll of the year.

OUAZ put together a 15-6-2 season in 2019 and advanced to the semifinals of the NCCAA National Championship. After finishing 3-4-1 in GSAC play to earn the No. 5 seed for the conference tournament, the Spirit made a run to the title game that included upsetting the top seed and fourth-ranked Westmont on the Warriors field in the semifinals.

In the program’s first season in the NAIA and GSAC, OUAZ finished with a 12-7-1 overall record and placed sixth in the conference standings with a 3-4-1 conference record. The Spirit then advanced to the semifinals of the NCCAA National Championship in the program’s first-ever postseason action.

The inaugural season of the program saw the Spirit post an 8-9 overall record with only two of those games being played at Spirit Field.
 

Assistant Coaching Career

University of the Pacific (2015-16): Gow helped the Tigers put together one of the best seasons in program history in 2016, as Pacific went 13-4-2 on the year including an NCAA Tournament second-round appearance, before losing to the eventual champions; Stanford. The Tiger’s coaching staff was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division I Far West Region Staff of the Year. Five of Gow’s defensive players received all-conference honors in 2016.

Virginia Tech (2014): Gow was an assistant coach for the Hokies where he worked with the backline and goalkeepers. The Hokies posted their best season in seven years and capped off the season by making it to the 2014 ACC tournament. Virginia Tech goalkeepers posted seven clean sheets on the season and led the ACC in saves.

MidAmerica Nazarene (2012-13): Gow spent two seasons as an assistant coach at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Kansas, where he became acquainted with OUAZ Director of Athletics Kevin Steele. Gow helped train the NAIA perennial power's goalkeepers, while also focusing on international and domestic recruiting, and opponent scouting. Over two years, MidAmerica Nazarene advanced to the NAIA semifinals and quarterfinals with goalkeeper Chris Eriksson earning All-America honors in both seasons.
 

Playing Career (College & Pro)

In college, Gow was a standout player for MidAmerica Nazarene as a four-year starter and two-year team captain. Gow helped lead the Pioneers to an appearance in the NAIA National Championship and a Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship.

After college, Gow played for the Southern California Seahorses of the Premier Developmental League.
 

Personal

A native of Lebanon, Missouri, Gow earned a bachelor’s degree in business marketing and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from MidAmerica Nazarene University.
 
Gow has been married to his wife, Heather Gow, since 2016 and they have a son, William, and a daughter, Olivia.