A mainstay on the Sacramento State sidelines as both a student-athlete and coach for more than two decades, Matt McDougall enters his 20th season overall on the Hornet staff and his ninth as the program’s Associate Head Coach in 2025. Before being elevated to his current position McDougall served as the Assistant Head Coach for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
McDougall is involved with all facets of the program, including on-field instruction, and is the team's recruiting coordinator. Additionally he is the director of the program's summer soccer camps and 6-v-6 tournament.
During his time as a coach, McDougall has helped guide his alma mater to a pair of conference titles in 2001 and 2009 as well as back-to-back NCAA Tournament second round appearances in 2009 and 2010, posting victories over Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara. All told, Sacramento State has won 126 matches overall and 59 conference contests in his tenure.
A former three-time Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honoree as a goalkeeper during his playing days with the Hornets from 2002-05, McDougall was promoted to the team's top assistant coach in 2009 after serving as the goalkeeper's coach in his first three seasons.
Under his tutelage, Hornet goalkeepers have gone on to earn a total of five all-conference awards, an all-freshman team honoree, and eight player of the week citations.
In 2010, McDougall's coaching helped rookie keeper Cesar Castillo earn Goal.com Freshman All-America honors after tallying 94 saves — the seventh-highest single-season total in school history. Castillo also tallied a single-season record eight shutouts and posted a 0.90 goals against average as a freshman, and was an All-Big West second team selection as a senior before signing with a professional team in Puerto Rico.
In addition, he helped mentor keeper James Del Curto, a two-time All-Big West second team choice who finished his four-year career with 241 saves (fourth on the all-time list) and 24 victories (second on the career chart), while posting the most starts and most minutes played between the pipes in the Hornet annals.
A stellar goalkeeper for the Hornets himself, McDougall holds Sacramento State program records with 306 career saves and 5.10 saves per game, while ranking third all-time with 18 career wins and tied for fifth with 10 career shutouts.
His 1.47 career goals against average ranks fourth in the school's Division I history (minimum 1,000 minutes played), and in 2004, he spent every minute in goal for the Hornets (1,760 minutes). In 2005, he earned all-MPSF first team honors after posting a career-best 1.15 goals against average and leading the Hornets to a 9-7-2 record. In his final two seasons in net for the Hornets, McDougall led the MPSF in saves.
In May of 2015, McDougall served as the fill-in goalkeepers coach for the Republic of Ireland women's national team in its friendly against the United States in San Jose, Calif., training with the team for two days before the game.
McDougall lives in Sacramento with his wife Missy, who is also a former Sacramento State women's soccer player, and their daughters Myla and Ava.
