Missouri State

MATT CAUTION
Men's Soccer, 1993-97
Inducted 2013

Matt Caution was a three-time Missouri Valley Conference all-league first team selection and National Soccer Coaches Association of America all-region selection in his four years for coach Jon Leamy’s soccer Bears. A forward who came to MSU from St. Peters, Mo., Caution ranks as the all-time MSU soccer career leader in points (125), goals (46), assists (33) and game-winners (12-tied), and owns MSU single season records in several scoring categories while leading the team in scoring three years. Caution also wound up as the second-leading career scorer in Valley history. He was selected the MVC Freshman of Year in 1993 when he was the leading freshman goal scorer in the country. After he missed the 1994 season with a broken leg, Caution came back in 1995 to lead the conference in points, goals and assists and was the second leading scorer in the region as the Bears tied the school's all-time team victory mark in a 14-5 campaign. The Bears were 12-6 and third in the league in 1996 and Caution helped the club to the MVC title with a 6-0-1 conference mark as a senior in 1997. Caution was an all-tourney pick in the MVC championship as the Bears lost in the finals to a No. 14 Creighton team MSU had beaten in the regular season. The Bears claimed an NCAA tourney berth and dropped a first round match to No. 14 Saint Louis University to finish the campaign at 13-5-3. MSU was ranked 23rd in the nation in the final NSCAA poll. The Bears had played Saint Louis to a 1-1 double overtime tie early in the season in the SLU tournament as Caution grabbed a spot on the all-tourney team. Caution shared team MVP honors in 1996. He was picked in the 1998 Major League Soccer draft by the Dallas Burn and played professionally for nine different teams from 1997 to 2008, competing in the USISL, MISL, NPSL and MLS.