Matt BeslerCaptain and defender Matt Besler has played nine seasons at his hometown club, Sporting Kansas City. He recently lead the team to the 2017 Lamar Hunt Open Cup Championship. He has twice earned MLS Best XI and has been named to the MLS All-Starteam five times. He received both MLS Defender of the Year and MLS Breakout Player of the Year honors in 2012 and was named the 2014 KC Sportsman of the Year by the Kansas City Sports Commission. He is a prominent presence on the team's backline and has landed Sporting KC Defender of the Year honors four times.

Internationally, Besler has earned over forty caps for the U.S. Men's National Team since debuting in January 2013. Matt helped the United States win the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup title and has been called up for the qualifying rounds for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He started all four games for the United States at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, becoming the first Kansan to play in the World Cup. He was joined on the roster by Sporting KC teammate Graham Zusi. He scored his first international goal in a World Cup qualifying win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines in September 2016. Besler helped lead the United States to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup title and was named to the U.S. Men's National Team for the 2016 Copa América Centenario.

Besler is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, receiving All-American and Academic All-American honors as a senior. He currently lives in Leawood, Kansas, with his wife, Amanda, and his daughter, Parker (who was born the day Matt scored his first international goal).

Patrick Regan is the third all-time leading goal scorer in his backyard--behind his two sons but ahead of his dog.
He is the author of many nonfiction books. Learn more at patrickreganbooks.com.

Foreword read by Graham Zusi.

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