Jamaica: Darren Mattocks

Jamaica’s forward Darren Mattocks will undoubtedly be one of the key players to watch in the 2016 Copa America.  Born and raised in Jamaica, Mattocks has spent his entire professional and collegiate careers playing in the United States.  In his two seasons at the University of Akron, Mattocks managed to help his team win the NCAA College Cup in the same year that he was second in scoring in the league.  Mattocks spent the first four years of his professional career playing for the Vancouver Whitecaps, for whom he made 93 appearances with 19 goals.  Earlier this year, he was traded to the Portland Timbers where he has already made 5 appearances and one goal.[3]

Mattocks made his international debut on the Jamaican men’s national team right out of college in 2012.  Since then, he has contributed significantly to Jamaica’s success with 12 goals in just 31 appearances.  He was part of the team that won Jamaica its 6th Caribbean Cup in 2014, and he was instrumental in Jamaica’s run all the way to the finals of the 2015 Gold Cup.[3]  He scored the first goal in the semifinal to beat the United States national team[1] and scored Jamaica’s only goal in the final against Mexico.[2]

Mattocks is not only a veteran of the Jamaican national team, but also the leading scorer of the current national team line up after only 4 years.  He speed as an attacker as well as his ability to capitalize on opportunities on goal makes him one of Jamaica’s most deadly weapons on the attack, and certainly a player to watch throughout the tournament.

References:

  1. “Jamaica stuns USA 2-1 in Gold Cup semifinals, reaches first final,” Sports Illustrated, last modified July 22, 2015. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/07/22/usa-jamaica-gold-cup-semifinals-live-blog-analysis-recap-usmnt
  2. “Mexico defeats Jamaica in Gold Cup final,” Yahoo Sports, last modified July 27, 2015. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mexico-defeats-jamaica-3-1-gold-cup-final-020545512–sow.html
  3. “Darren Mattocks,” MLS Soccer. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/darren-mattocks

How to cite this page:

Smith, George, “Jamaica, Darren Mattocks” last modified April 30, 2016. Accessed Month Day, Year. http://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/tournament-guides/copa-america-centenario-2016-guide/more-players-to-watch-in-the-copa-america-centenario/jamaica-darren-mattocks/