Photo: Westbrook Christian senior Nathan Starzl signed a soccer scholarship with Gordon (Mass.) College on March 10. Pictured, sitting, form left: dad Rob, brother Isaac, Nathan, mom Tamara, brother Samuel. Standing, from left: brother Benji, sister Clara. (Not pictured: brother Noah)
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
Nathan Starzl’s will continue his academic and athletic career in New England.
The Westbrook Christian senior signed a soccer scholarship on March 10 with Division III Gordon University in Wenham, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston.
Starzl, who is playing with Hoover-Vestavia Soccer Club this spring, was named Player of the Year for the 2021 Greater Gadsden Area soccer team after finishing with 29 goals and 14 assists and helping the Warriors go 11-4 and make the Class 4A-5A state playoffs. He participated in the Alabama High School Athletic Association North/South all-star soccer game last summer in Montgomery.
Starzl decided to sign with Gordon after meeting and speaking with men’s soccer coach Matt Horth at an ID camp.
“He flew me up there and we toured the [Gordon] campus,” said Starlz, who plans on studying finance and economics. “I really liked the school and the facilities, so I decided that was where I wanted to go.”
Gordon last season went 12-6-2 overall and 5-3-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Scots lost to Montclair (N.J.) State, 1-0, in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.
Starzl shard that while he began playing soccer when he was three years old, he considered quitting the sport at age 12. Thanks to his dad Rob, Starzl kept his cleats handy.
“He said that I’d eventually enjoy [soccer] again, and he was right. Eventually I started loving the sport again and knew that I wanted to play at the next level.”
“Some people are players and some people are ballers, and Nathan definitely is a baller,” said former Westbrook boys soccer coach Spencer Barnard. “Nathan didn’t just make himself better; he made everyone around him better. The other teams knew he was a great player, so they paid more attention to him, which allowed some of our other players to shine. When we needed Nathan to step it up, he stepped it up big-time.”
“Nathan’s not just going to [Gordon] to play soccer; he’s going to further his education,” said Westbrook athletic director/football coach Drew Noles. “Nathan is the type of person who doesn’t speak a whole lot, but when he does, people listen. He’s been a great representative of our school, our community and most importantly, our Savior.”