Under The Helmet: Matheson Pich

11/20/2025 3:30:00 PM | By: Shawn Gillen, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Before every game and practice, Matheson Pich puts on his Cambodian Flag headband. For the Cornell wide receiver, it's more than just fabric. It's a reminder of where he comes from and the privilege he has to play a kid's game.

"Being able to play sports and represent your country and your family is something that has become so important to me," Pich said. "That's why I wear our Cambodian flag during games and practice - to remind myself of the privilege I have."

That privilege wasn't always a given. Pich's father, Oda, was born in Cambodia during one of the darkest periods in the country's history. The family fled during the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s, escaping to eventually build a new life in the United States.

A generation later, Pich and his family are creating a blueprint that seemed impossible decades ago. As the oldest among his four siblings and numerous cousins who all grew up together in the same house, he's leading the way. This spring, he'll graduate from Cornell. His cousin is a senior at Harvard. Another is a sophomore at Yale. The youngest is a freshman at Princeton.

"It was really big for us to have this blueprint - what we're going to do, how we're going to apply," Pich said. "A generation after my father's family came here from Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime, this is what's possible."

The summer after his freshman year, Pich's entire family traveled to Cambodia for two months. The trip back to his fathers homeland marked the one-year anniversary of his grandmother's passing. The experience fundamentally changed his perspective.

"You have these kids who are essentially stripped of their childhood," he said. "They're working, supporting family businesses, going up and down the street trying to sell things. I get to wake up every day and play a kid's game. You wish they had that."

That trip inspired action. Pich and his oldest cousin started a nonprofit organization, paying homage to their late grandmother who always supported them, the family, and the Cambodian community. They collected athletic equipment from friends and schools in northeast Ohio. They send everything to schools in Cambodia through the Cambodia Children's Foundation, giving kids there access to the sports opportunities he's been fortunate to have.

The weight of that responsibility, that privilege, is why he puts on that headband before every practice and game. It's why every snap, every route, every catch means more than just football.

But getting to this point required its own journey of perseverance.

Pich wasn't heavily recruited out of his small private high school in Ohio. He was a late bloomer physically, a multi-sport athlete who played football, basketball and baseball but didn't start growing until his junior and senior years. When COVID hit during his junior year and canceled his spring sports season, recruiting became even more uncertain.

"I was never heavily recruited," he said. "It was 'I'll do it myself. I'll send the emails, go to the camps."

Pich ended up at Kenyon College with plans to play both football and baseball. His uncle had attended Kenyon and the same high school, which helped open that door.

Pich spent eight weeks at Kenyon the summer before his freshman semester, building relationships that would shape him. He played both football and baseball, and the teammates he met there became crucial to his development.

"The teammates that I had at Kenyon instilled a lot of faith in me that I don't think I had in myself," Pich said. "They gave me a better sense of identity. It's the first time you're on your own, and they kind of give you that confidence."
On the baseball team, which won 14 games in a row that season, Pich looked up to captain and pitcher Alex Gow, who later transferred to play at Duke. On the football field, he was surrounded by players who believed in him before he fully believed in himself.

"They instilled confidence in me so that when I transferred to Cornell, I knew football is something I want to do," he said.

That foundation of confidence would prove essential, because once he decided to transfer, the academic opportunity at Cornell was too significant for his family to pass up.

On his first day on Cornell's campus, while his family was touring and moving him in, they stopped by Schoellkopf Field. Pich walked into the football offices where he met Alex Peffley, the Senior Director of Player Personnel.

"I just walked in there and I was like, 'hey, I just transferred here, I want to play football,'" Pich said.
There was uncertainty about whether the transfer would work, about eligibility, about everything. But the staff was receptive, with Peffley becoming one of his biggest supporters. For the next three years, Pich would grind as a backup and on the scout team, preparing as if he'd play every week while rarely seeing the field.

What made the difference was how his teammates treated him.

"Nobody on the team ever treated me like a walk-on," Pich said. "They're like 'you put in the work, you're a member of the team, just do it.'"

Older players like Paul Lewis '23, and Isaiah Gomes '24 along with other, made Pitch feel welcome from day one. During his first year, teammates who had far more experience kept telling him they saw something special.

"Guys who had so much more talent than me at the time were just like 'I think you can do this,'" he said. "That kind of became easier to put your head down and just work through it because you're with people that you love and people that have love for you."

Pich also switched majors, moving from nutritional science to biological engineering after his cousin at Harvard created a friendly academic rivalry. Balancing engineering coursework with football meant sacrifice, but his father Oda supported his decision to keep playing when others questioned the time commitment.

"Him and I battled through a lot to be here," Pich said. "When everybody else was questioning 'why are you playing football, you could be focusing on school,' he was always so supportive. 'If this is what you love to do, I'm not gonna advise you against that. I'm just gonna support it.'"

That support paid off this season when Pich earned his first career start against Brown. After three years of hard work, after countless hours of preparation, he finally got his chance.

There were no nerves. Just excitement.

"There was never really a moment of nervousness," he said. "I've always had faith in myself. I was just excited to play. It's been so long since I've contributed meaningfully to a football game."

Pich caught six passes for 78 yards in Cornell's overtime victory over Brown, helping extend the Big Red's winning streak. The meticulous preparation from offensive coordinator Mike Hatcher, who details every step of every play, made him feel ready.

"Practice is always harder than the game," Pich said. "Practice reps become game reality."

After the game, he felt relief. Not because he proved anything to himself, but because now everyone else could see it too.

"I've known I could do it the whole time, but now everybody else knows," he said. "There's proof. It wasn't all in my head."

This Saturday marks senior day and his final game in a Cornell uniform. He still has a year of eligibility remaining and plans to pursue a graduate degree while playing football elsewhere. He also hasn't given up on his other passion - baseball. Every winter break and summer, Pich goes home and plays, throwing live at-bats to his high school team or playing in alumni games.

"I don't think I could ever put anything down," he said. "I just love to play."

That love extends beyond football and baseball. As soon as the football season ends, he'll play pickup basketball. When he's home, his soccer-playing cousins make sure the family gets together for matches. Sports have always been the constant.

But football holds a special place because of what it represents - the team, the support system, the opportunity to represent something bigger than himself.

"I think that's why I chose to play football here instead of baseball," Pich said. "Football is the ultimate team sport. When I came to college, I needed that support system to gain confidence."

From a family that fled Cambodia to a wide receiver who wears their flag with pride. From a walk-on who believed when others doubted to a starter who proved there was nothing to doubt. From the oldest in his family creating a blueprint to the nonprofit sending equipment back to kids who need it most.

Matheson Pich's journey has always been about more than football. It's about honoring where you came from while opening doors for those behind you. It's about the Cambodian headband and everything it represents.

"My people, my family, my father have all battled through a lot worse things, a lot harder adversity," Pich said. "I'm thankful at the end of the day. I go to a great school and I love to play sports. So I'm just gonna do it to the best of my ability."