Matias Fernandez joined the UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer coaching staff in the summer of 2024 as the program's goalkeeping coach. A man deeply rooted in Central California soccer, Fernandez comes to Santa Barbara after 11 years as a player and coach across a variety of clubs and institutions in Fresno, including seven years coaching goalies at Fresno Pacific.
In his first season with the Gauchos, Fernandez helped senior netminder David Mitzner enter the record books. Mitzner played every minute for Santa Barbara in 2024, making 59 saves, keeping seven shutouts and maintaining a 1.08 goals-against average. That last mark lowered his career GAA to 1.12, which is tied for eighth-best in program history. At the end of the season, Mitzner earned All-Big West Honorable Mention.
In 2025, Fernandez guided talented freshman Owen Beninga to a new program single-season record, as the rookie maintained a goals-against average of 0.52 across his 12 games, keeping seven clean sheets. Fellow goalkeeper Luke Skinner kept two more shutouts as the 2025 squad matched the seventh-best single-season mark in program history with a total of nine. Eight of those came during Santa Barbara's 13-match unbeaten run, the second longest in program history, and their run to The Big West Regular Season Championship. At the end of the year, Beninga was named to the All-Big West Second Team and The Big West All-Freshman Team.
A Fresno Pacific alumnus, Fernandez helped the Sunbirds win the PacWest Championship in 2019, posting a school record 1.2 goals-against average in the process. Along with Fresno Pacific, Fernandez also spent time coaching goalkeepers for Fresno State Women's Soccer and the youth academy of Central Valley Fuego FC, where he spent part of his playing career. After graduating from Fresno Pacific in 2017, Fernandez's professional career also included stints with Fresno Foxes and Valley FC.Â
Fernandez's coaching career began in 2013 with his MSF Goalkeeping Academy, where he coached throughout his time as a collegiate and professional athlete in Fresno.
