TULSA – FC Tulsa added to its MLS experience on Thursday, acquiring forward Matthew Bell on loan from Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer, it was announced.
Bell, age 22, joins FC Tulsa and head coach Mario Sanchez after being selected 16th in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake. A former First Team All-American, Bell inked a four-year deal with the club in February and made his MLS debut on July 13, logging 20 minutes versus the Portland Timbers.
He will wear jersey No. 10 for the club.
“Matthew Bell is a great addition to the team,” Sanchez said. “He is a player that brings an attacking flair to the game. He’s very comfortable in tight spaces and he has the ability to score goals.”
A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Bell enters Green Country after appearing in 20 matches (15 starts) on loan with Real Monarchs of MLS NEXT Pro. In action, the forward generated four goals and one assist while producing nine shots on target. A foul magnet, Bell drew 24 fouls in play to just 12 committed.
The highest pick in Marshall Men’s Soccer history, Bell posted a historic sophomore campaign in which he swept the Sun Belt Conference’s Offensive and Player of the Year Awards while earning national honors as a First Team All-American and a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist – the soccer equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. The season saw him generate a program-record 12 assists and 10 goals for 32 points, becoming the school’s first player to generate 10+ goals and assists in a season.
Bell’s 2023 campaign was built off a star-studded freshman season in which he was named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and picked up an All-Sun Belt Conference First-Team selection. Ranking second in the SBC in goals (10) as a freshman, he is Marshall’s lone player to post two double-digit scoring seasons.
Prior to college, Bell garnered attention playing club soccer for Valeo FC in the National Premier Soccer League.
Climbing the youth ranks of Real Mona FC of the KSAFA Championship – the third tier of Jamaican football – Bell helped his club to the league’s under-17 titles and represented Kingston College in the Manning Cup. In 2020, he joined the Kingston Academy before traveling to Boston, where he began to play with Valeo FC.
The transaction is pending league and federation approval.
Bell and FC Tulsa return to the pitch on Friday, September 6, at 10 p.m. CT as the club faces Phoenix Rising FC on ESPN2.
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