Sport: Lacrosse
Born: January 13, 1984
Town: Clark, New Jersey
Matthew Poskay was born January 13, 1984 in Clark, NJ. A gifted all-around athlete as a boy, he played youth baseball, football and lacrosse. He enrolled at A.L. Johnson High School in 1999 and became the starting point guard on the basketball team as a sophomore. In 2001, Matt was named second-team All-State as the quarterback of the Crusaders. In 2002, he was named first-team All-State. That year, he led the varsity to the sectional championship.
It was in lacrosse, however, where Matt’s speed, toughness and athleticism elevated him above everyone else on the field. He was an unstoppable attackman, often scoring 5 or more goals a game.
Matt graduated in 2003 with the state and national records for goals (362) and the state record for career points (468). He accepted a scholarship to the University of Virginia.
Matt made Dom Starsia’s varsity as a freshman midfielder and helped the Cavaliers roll to the national championship. Another New Jersey freshman, Mike Culver of Ridgewood, played defense for the Cavs. In 2006, UVA reached the NCAA final again, this time with a 16–0 record. The Cavaliers defeated UMass 15–7 to become just the 12th championship team in history to achieve an undefeated season. Matt, who scored 5 of UVA’s 15 goals in the title game, was named an All-American that year for the second year in a row.
In the summer of 2006, Matt was selected with the 12th overall pick in the Major League Lacrosse draft by the Boston Cannons. He played midfield and attackman and led the 8–4 Cannons in scoring as a rookie. Matt and midfielder Paul Rabil gave the team a potent one-two punch. In 2007, Matt was named All-Star Game MVP.
In 2009, Matt was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He underwent successful radiation treatment and missed only 4 games. In 2010, Boston finished tied for first and Matt was named MLL Offensive Player of the Year and league MVP. In 2010, Upper Deck released Matt’s rookie card. 2011, Topps included a card of Matt in its Goodwin Champions series. In 2012, he became the youngest person ever inducted into the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Matt played pro lacrosse for 11 seasons, also suiting up for the New York Lizards. He scored 244 goals and had 31 assists in 96 games. During that time he also got into coaching, starting at A.L. Johnson as an assistant, where he reconnected with his former English teacher, Katrina Anderson. They married, he adopted her children, and they have since added to the family.
Matt was an assistant at Drew University and then, in 2011, was named head coach at Wagner College in Staten Island. He had moderate success rebuilding the Seahawks program and then accepted the head coaching job at Montclair State in 2018. Matt’s New Jersey career goals record eventually fell to Canyon Birch, who scored his 363rd goal in 2019.