Darren Mattocks
Name: Darren Mattocks
Date of Birth: September 2, 1990
Age: 25
Height: 5’10
Club: Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS, Canada)
Position: Forward
International Caps: 31
Goals: 12
DARREN Mattocks is a player who is showing the potential that he can be among Jamaica’s all-time leading goals-scorers. The Vancouver Whitecaps striker has 12 goals for Jamaica, trailing Luton Shelton who has the record at 35. Mattocks opened his account for Jamaica in 2014 as he scored six goals in eight games for his country. It paid off for him as three of those goals came in the 2014 Caribbean Cup, which Jamaica won. He was the joint top-scorer in the tournament played in Montego Bay on the north-western coast of Jamaica.
In 2015 so far, the St Catherine-born player scored another six more goals for Jamaica in 12 matches. Two of those goals came in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, two came in friendly internationals and two came in the World Cup Qualifiers against Nicaragua both home and away.
After scoring 39 goals in 47 games for University of Akron in the USA, the former Bridgeport High man was drafted by the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS as the number two overall pick in 2012.
He experienced success as he was Vancouver Whitecaps’ leading goal-scorer for the 2012 season with seven goals. In addition, he helped Vancouver qualify for the play-offs for the first time in their history. In the play-offs, Mattocks scored the club’s first-ever goal against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
At the end of the season in 2012, Major League Soccer voted Darren Mattocks as the Best Player in the League under 24 years old. This is the first time this award has gone to a Jamaican and a Caribbean player.
This year was another remarkable one for Mattocks at the club level as he scored a goal in the final to help his side win the Canadian Championship for the first time in its history.
To date, he holds a number of outstanding records at Vancouver and has become a crowd favourite. He is the second highest scorer in the club’s history with 19 goals. In addition, he is the third most capped player at the club with 110 appearances.
With clinical finishing, speed, strength and youth on his side, Mattocks can only blossom into a more dangerous player for both club and country.