Prior to Saturday, the last time Caleb Porter coached at Lower.com Field was in 2022, during his final season with the Crew. At that point, Alex Matan was in his second year with the organization but was missing for the end of Porter's tenure. Instead, the 5-foot-6 forward was playing in Romania via a loan from Columbus.

Once Porter was fired, the Crew hired Wilfried Nancy to take over at the start of 2023. Nancy brought Matan back to the team during preseason, giving Matan a fresh start.

"He was not like he is now," Nancy said. "Last year, also he did a really good season. He had highs and lows like everyone. My job is to improve players. I'm really, really happy."

For the first time since the New England Revolution hired Caleb Porter during the 2024 preseason, the Crew faced New England at Lower.com Field on Saturday. This was the second meeting between the teams since Porter's hire, with Columbus defeating New England 5-1 on the road earlier this year.

Replay: Alex Matan records hat trick, Columbus Crew defeat New England Revolution 4-0

The latest matchup produced another four-goal victory for the Crew, this one a 4-0 shut out in which Matan scored his first hat trick. Matan had just two regular season goals in his entire career entering the match – one this year and the other in 2023.

"I'm just so happy," Matan said. "I scored more goals in one game than I scored in like my past seasons. And no, it’s nothing to do against Caleb (Porter). It's in the past, and that's it."

Alex Matan has gone through a mental growth since Wilfried Nancy took over for Columbus Crew

Nancy admits that Matan was lacking confidence when the two met.

In Matan's debut season with the club at age 21, he recorded a solid 28 appearances and nine starts. Following 2021, Matan saw a significant drop in playing time.

By the time Columbus sent Matan to Romania's Rapid Bucuresti via loan in August 2022, Matan was riding the bench and had seen only six games of action, totaling in 28 minutes of playing time.

Starting 2023 with Nancy, Matan felt a shift in his career with the Crew.

"I think you guys could see, even last season, I was a changed player," Matan said. "When somebody trusts you, and especially when you're in your lowest, it gives you a lot of confidence and you can do things that before you thought you can never do.”

Teammate Darlington Nagbe was there for Matan's stint under Porter, but the growth from Matan isn't suprising to Nagbe.

"He's been consistent," Nagbe said. "When he's been in the lineup, he's done well. When he's been out of the lineup, he's trained and done well. He's waited for opportunites, he doesn't complain. He just got more confident and confident."

Alex Matan's thoughts on final goal to complete hat trick

Matan got on the board early against New England, capitalzing when Dylan Chambost forced the Revolution into a turnover. Chambost, right outside New England's box, found Matan inside the box when he took control of the ball.

Following a short pass from Chambost, Matan took two touches and launched his first goal of the night at the 14-minute mark. Matan's second came together in the second half off a long pass from Rudy Camacho.

It was Matan's first ever multigoal outing, and he turned it into a hat trick in the 72nd minute when Derrick Jones sent another long pass while Matan was on a run near New England's goal.

"To be honest, I thought he is not going to pass it to me, I'm going to enter offside," Matan said. "But it was just a good timing. I want to say thank you to him, and just amazing finish. It doesn't happen often.”

How Wilfried Nancy found a way to challenge, support Alex Matan

After watching Matan go from lacking confidence to scoring a hat trick, Nancy exhibitied a sense of pride how he's helped Matan in his nearly two season with the Crew.

Matan hit some challenges this season, from dealing with a quad injury to having to adjust to a new position at center midfield, but he found his way through.

"It's a good exercise for me because I need to challenge him, but I need also to support him," Nancy said. "He needs that as a person. Other players, I can challenge, challenge, challenge, but him, I need to play with this balance."

"Tonight (Saturday) was a good night for him, he deserves it because he's able to accept that sometimes he can do better. Tonight, he sees the rewards of his resilience. Good for him and in terms of maturity and in terms of the fact that he has grown a lot like every player. Sometimes players need a trigger, they need more time and sometimes this is more dynamic. Matty (Matan) is like that."

bmackay@dispatch.com

@brimackay15

Get more Columbus Crew content by listening to our podcast

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Alex Matan records hat trick for Columbus Crew vs Caleb Porter