| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew James Palleschi | ||
| Date of birth | January 11, 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Richmond Hill, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker (Retired) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002 | Humber Hawks | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003 | Frosinone Calcio | ? | (?) |
| 2003-2005 | Vaughan Shooters | 30 | (18) |
| 2006 | Toronto Lynx | 23 | (3) |
| 2007-2008 | Montreal Impact | 26 | (3) |
| 2008 | Italia Shooters | 20 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Matthew Palleschi (born January 11, 1983 in Richmond Hill, Ontario) is a retired Canadian soccer player. In his final year in 2008, he played for the Italia Shooters in the Canadian Soccer League.
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Before turning pro he played college soccer with the Humber College Hawks where he was named Team MVP and to CCAA All-Canadian Team in his rookie year in 2002.
After college soccer he trailed with Frosinone Calcio of Serie C1/B in Italy, but did not sign a contract making him sign for Vaughan Shooters (Now Italia Shooters) of the Canadian Soccer League in mid 2003.
In his first season in Vaughan he led the club to the championship final but lost 1-0 to the Brampton Stallions. In his second season he was Vaughan's leading goal scorer with 9 goals. In the first round of the playoffs he scored a hat trick against the Oakville Blue Devils in 5-3 win, in the semi-finals match against North York Astros he scored once in 4-1 victory. He reached the Championship finals for the second time with Vaughan, but this time losing 4-0 to Toronto Croatia. After trying out for the Montreal Impact he injured his shoulder forcing him to miss out most of the 2005 season. He recovered just in time for the playoffs where he scored another hat trick in a 4-0 victory over Toronto Croatia, for the third time he led Vaughan to the Championship final where again they lost 2-1 this time to Oakville Blue Devils.
After having three impressive seasons with Vaughan he was picked up by Toronto Lynx's Head Coach Duncan Wilde.[1] He made his Lynx debut on April 22, 2006 against Virginia Beach Mariners in 2-0 loss, and scored his first goal against the Puerto Rico Islanders on June 18, 2006 in a 2-1 loss. He scored the winning goal in the Quarter-Final match in the Open Canada Cup against the Hamilton Serbians in 1-0 victory. In total he scored 3 goals in 23 games where he was a third choice striker behind Kevin Jeffrey, and Damien Pottinger. As well he helped the Lynx to a team-record 10 game undefeated streak at home, and reached the final of the Open Canada Cup which they lost 2-0 against Ottawa St. Anthony Italia.
After the 2006 season the Toronto Lynx dropped two divisions down, making him a free agent to sign with the Montreal Impact. On April 21, 2007 he made his Impact debut coming on as a substitute for Mauro Biello, and as well scoring a goal. On August 26, 2007, Matthew Palleschi was suspended 1 game after receiving a straight red card for intentionally stepping on a Carolina RailHawks player. Impact and RailHawk fans knew that this would happen by a past altercation between the RailHawks and Palleschi on August 8, 2007. In total, Palleschi played a total of 26 games, and catching 3 goals in the 2007 season, but that would be it for him and Montreal. On May 22, 2008, the Montreal Impact told Palleschi to report to the reserve club, the Trois Rivieres Attak, due to Quebec native Rocco Placentino re-joining the Impact. Palleschi thought, "I'f i'm going to play in the Canadian Soccer League, I might as well play for a club in the Toronto area." Therefore, the Impact publicly announced that Matthew Palleschi had been released from the 2008 squad.[2]
In only 3 days after Palleschi had been released from the Montreal Impact, he signed with Italia Shooters on May 25, 2008. On the same day he made his debut against the Trois Rivieres Attak and led the Shooters to a 1-0 victory. Soon after head coach Carmine Isacco appointed Palleschi as the Shooter's team captain. He recorded his first goal of the season on May 30, 2008 against TFC Academy in 2-0 victory at home. He would concluded the season with three goals in total. Throughout the season Palleschi helped the Shooters win their second International Division title.[3] In the playoff run he contributed helping the Shooters advance to the semifinals, but unfortunately the Shooters were defeated by eventual champions Serbian White Eagles in the semi-final match.[4]
In June 2009, Palleschi announced his retirement from professional soccer. In total, Palleschi played 100 regular season games over his 6-year senior career, and scored 27 goals. In 2009 he decided to play in a local men's soccer league in York Region. After playing a few games Palleschi officially announced his retirement from soccer.
He was born on January 11, 1983, into a family of Italian parents, he is the second oldest child of 3 siblings, his eldest brother Adam, and youngest sister Julia. Before soccer Palleschi played hockey, when Palleschi took up soccer he met Andres Arango, he and Arango played for the Humber Hawks, Toronto Lynx and Montreal Impact together, before Palleschi was released to Italia Shooters, and Arango was traded to the Minnesota Thunder. Palleschi and Arango are the best of friends, in 2000, Palleschi began to date student teacher Cathy Graceffa, in 2005, Graceffa and Palleschi worked together as councelors at the Veneto Summer Camp, while Palleschi was nursing a wrist injury. He now works for his father in construction. In August 2009, Palleschi and Graceffa announced their engagement, and on August 7, 2010, Palleschi and Graceffa married.