Oct 25, 2024
ABOVE: Fairmont Girls Soccer Coach Matt Nielsen at a recognition event on Thursday evening when it was announced that Field 5 at Jeffrey Kot Fields will bear his name.
FAIRMONT– Fairmont Cardinals girls soccer head coach Matt Nielsen was surprised by the announcement that Field 5 off Kot Fields will bear his name from now on at the team’s end-of-season banquet Thursday.
With 152 plus wins under his belt and ending the season with a silver medal in the section finals, Nielsen has been a humble and dedicated coach since the program began. The decision for the field was kept secret until the moment the designs for the new scoreboard were unveiled.
A shocked Nielsen said, “Well, I’m absolutely stunned and so much more than humbled, I can’t even say, because I’m just a really small part of Fairmont Soccer, it’s a big production and I’m really proud to be part of it. On the scoreboard, at the bottom, it says Driano family, who’s a close family to Fairmont Soccer, and then Grandma Soccer. Grandma Soccer is my mom, who went to every game and treated all these kids like she was their grandma. So it’s a thrill to be with her as well.”
Despite the honor, Nielsen doesn’t take credit for the success, instead passing it on to his players.
“I didn’t win one game for Fairmont Soccer,” said Nielsen. “The kids won them, and it’s just been a thrill to coach them.”
Activity Director for Fairmont High School Mat Mahoney insisted that he deserves the recognition.
“He’s a first class, first class guy all the way,” said Mahoney. “He 100% deserves this recognition.”
The next time the team takes the pitch it will no longer be Field 5 but Matthew Nielsen Field.
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