Senior Quinn Matulis will transition from an Eagle to a Falcon.

Matulis committed to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado on Jan. 25 to play soccer at a Division I university.

Matulis has played soccer since he was 5-years-old. He started out playing for the American Youth Soccer Organization, then switched to Real So Cal Soccer Club when he was about 8-years-old. He then played for Oak Park High School boys’ varsity soccer during his freshman year and has been playing for Real So Cal Developmental Academy since.

Zach Feldman, head coach on Matulis’s Real So Cal Boys Development Academy team, wrote to the Talon that Matulis is a “special player.”

“He is so comfortable on the ball and he has great technique that allows his decision-making to flow very easily from his brain to his feet,” Feldman wrote. “This is what makes him a great playmaker and also what made him a highly recruited player across some of the top D1 schools in the country.”

When considering where to go to college, Matulis never thought about going to the U.S. Air Force. After making him an offer, the academy flew Matulis out to Colorado mid-January to look around the campus and consider going there for the next four years of his academic career.

“Soccer-wise, it’s a top 25 team. They went to the sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament last year, and won their conference the year before that. It’s a really good soccer program,” Matulis said.

Matulis said that there are benefits to attending a military academy, including his monthly stipend of $1,000 for attending, in addition to his tuition being covered by the school.

“You [have] a guaranteed job for five years after your graduation doing what you want. It doesn’t have to be combat related. About half of the graduates choose to become pilots, while a lot of the others just work a desk job,” Matulis said. “If you choose to leave the Air Force after five years – it’s a mandatory five-year service – then you [have] five years of good experience of working [to put on your résumé.]”

Oaks Christian High School senior Tate Dolan has known Matulis since they played for AYSO when he was 7-years-old. He wrote to the Talon that Matulis is “someone you want on your team.”

“Quinn has been driven, determined, and especially talented ever since our younger years playing together,” Dolan wrote. “I am fully confident that he will succeed exceptionally in college soccer, making an immediate impact to the team. His presence on the field has immense influence on the players around him. He’s there to hold you accountable, tell you to focus on the next play when you mess up, and be a true leader.”

Matulis has traveled internationally for soccer. During the summer before his freshman year, Matulis went to Ireland for an international tournament that his Real So Cal team was invited to.

“That was really cool,” Matulis said. “We played teams from all over the world. The last team we played was from Chile. The first [team we played] was from England.”

Regardless of his change in birds for school mascots, Matulis will continue to play soccer in blue, the color of his Real So Cal team.

He said that playing in blue for college “feels like home.”