Matt Polster is not your typical rookie. The quiet native of Las Vegas, who was selected 7th overall in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, unforgettably was near tears when his name was called and he hit the stage in Philadelphia back in January. What he experienced was a dream come true, and what followed in his first few months with the Chicago Fire has been a continuation of that dream. “Initially I just wanted to make the traveling roster. That was my first goal coming in. Now that I’m starting and playing more, I’ve achieved some of my goals already.”
Polster, a 21 year old product of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, is no stranger to getting called upon early and often. In his collegiate career, he started all 79 games he appeared in for SIU, earning NSCAA All-American and Regional accolades in the process. Still, for the first year guy under head coach Frank Yallop, early confidence in his abilities, and being given the faith to not only appear in all three matches thusfar, but get two consecutive starts for the Chicago Fire, has been huge for him. This coming despite a sizable roster turnover in the off-season, including the addition of DP’s David Accam, Kennedy Igboananike, and Scottish International Shaun Maloney. “He’s (Yallop) given me a lot of confidence. Giving a rookie that kind of exposure in the early stages means a lot to me obviously. I’m going to do whatever I can to help and work hard for him.”
That hard work has come with some discipline as well, however. Chicago supporters know well the likes of CJ Brown, Gonzalo Segares, and others who have been unafraid to put in hard tackles and draw fouls when necessary, even to the degree of earning a card in the process. While it seemed Polster was dealing with some early season jitters by accumulating consecutive yellow cards in his first two starts against Vancouver and San Jose, respectively, it appears to be less the case of a rookie getting his feet under him, and more what Section 8 Chicago supporters long ago dubbed, “The Chicago Way.” “I think for that kind of position…..I’m not saying you should get cards all the time,
but I think if you’re not putting in the kind of tackles that are needed, you’re not doing it right. As a defensive mid you need to break plays up. On the one against San Jose, it looked like they were going to counter, so I just stopped the play there.”
That ability to break plays up has served him well thusfar. In those two starts, Polster was able to track back defensively in each game and halt breakaways by the opposition cleanly, in both cases stopping what could have easily turned into goals. Yallop has deployed him mainly as a lone defensive mid in a 4-1-4-1 formation, although the freedom
to move and have a central mid in front of him has allowed him more confidence on both sides of the ball. “I felt comfortable with it. I knew Mikey (Stephens) was going to help me defensively by picking up runners coming through….but in the attack it allowed me to sit in the gap and try to connect the play and get more guys in the attacking
half for us.
Regardless of where he is on the pitch, though, Polster seems to be coming along nicely. This morning on Fire Weekly, Harry Shipp discussed the rookie DM, saying that while it took him as long as 10 games to adjust to the speed of play at a higher level, it seems that Polster is coming along even more quickly in his first three games. Polster feels that comfort as well. “I think I’m adjusting well. The jump is probably the consistency, you have to play really well each game to play at this level. I think I’m slowly adapting to the league.”
With the club announcement Friday of Spanish midfielder Victor Perez coming to the club on loan, it will be interesting to see what becomes of Matt Polster has he continues through his rookie season. If he is replaced in the lineup, it certainly won’t be for lack of desire of effort, but only time will tell where he might fit in Frank Yallop’s long-term plans.
Main Photo: LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 06: Matt Polster #2 of the Chicago Fire controls the ball in front of Baggio Husidic #6 of the Los Angeles Galaxy at StubHub Center on March 6, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The Galaxy won 2-0. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
