ERIE, Pa. — Matthew Epstein was recently appointed a graduate assistant coach on the staff of Mercyhurst University head women’s water polo coach Blair MacDougall.
Epstein previously attended the University of California-Santa Cruz where he met fellow Banana Slugs’ alumnus MacDougall.
A 2022 and 2023 competitor for UC-Santa Cruz, he led the team in both assists and steals during his time with the Banana Slugs. In 2023, Matt led the Banana Slugs to a Fifth Place finish in the Sierra Pacific Division
Epstein was chosen to represent the United States for the 2019 European Maccabi Games in Budapest, Hungary. Team USA advanced to the gold medal match where Epstein finished with a hat trick, including the opening goal for the Americans. After the United States team took home the silver medal, he finished the tournament second in assists and third in goals amongst team USA. In 2022, he was named as an alternate for the Maccabi Games.
In 2017 and 2018, Epstein played water polo and swam for Los Angeles Valley College under head coach Jim McMillan. Each season, they were crowned champions of the Western State Conference (WSC), marking the fourth and fifth consecutive championships for LAVC. At the beginning of the 2018 season, the LAVC Monarchs started off strong by breaking the 64 game win streak of the defending state champions, Golden West College. The team went undefeated in the WSC. A Second Place finish at the Southern California regional tournament granted the squad a bid to compete in the California State Championship tournament. The team claimed Second Place at the championship following a close game versus Golden West
For their performance, the 2018 team will be inducted later this year into the Los Angeles Valley College Hall of Fame.
A high school water polo athlete and swimmer for El Camino Real Charter (ECR) in Woodland Hills, Calif., Epstein made his mark prior to his intercollegiate exploits. During his senior year, he served as team captain and led the Los Angeles City Section in goals, assists and steals to earn the city’s Most Valuable Player award. After his time at LAVC, Epstein returned to ECR as an assistant coach for boys and girls water polo and swimming.
Information courtesy Mercyhurst University Athletics Communications
