Anton Nistl is a retired U.S.

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He was the 1989 ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year and spent three seasons in the

Western Soccer Alliance Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

and one in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

College

Nistl attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

where he played on the men's soccer team from 1986-1989. He was one in a long line of outstanding collegiate goalkeepers at UCLA that began with Tim Harris and

David Vanole David Charles "Dino" Vanole (February 6, 1963 – January 15, 2007) was an American soccer goalkeeper and coach. He spent his professional career in the Western Soccer Alliance and its successor league, the American Professional Soccer League. ...

and continued with

Brad Friedel Bradley Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country at ...

Kevin Hartman Kevin Eugene Hartman (born May 25, 1974) is an American former soccer player who played 17 seasons in Major League Soccer, being on the field for a record 37,260 minutes. Nicknamed ''El Gato'' (Spanish for "the cat") because of his agility, re ...

Matt Reis Matt Reis ( ; born March 28, 1975) is an American former soccer player and coach who played as a goalkeeper. A long-time Major League Soccer mainstay, he has served as goalkeeper coach for LA Galaxy and the United States. Youth and college R ...

Nick Rimando Nicholas Paul Rimando (born June 17, 1979) is an American retired soccer player who last played as a goalkeeper for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer and the United States national team. He holds the Major League Soccer records for career ...

and

Zach Wells Zachary Joe Wells (born February 26, 1981, in Costa Mesa, California) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. College Wells played college soccer at UCLA from 1999 to 2003, where he helped the school to the ...

. Nistl's individual statistics put him at the top of this list. He holds school's records for career shutouts (41), victories (56) and single season GAA (.53 in both 1986 and 1989). Despite his outstanding individual efforts, Nistl did not win a

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

even though his career was bracketed by title teams (UCLA won in 1985 and 1990). He was honored as a second team All American in 1989 as well as recognition as the ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year.

Professional

Nistl spent his off seasons at UCLA playing in the

. In 1987, he joined the

San Diego Nomads Nomads Soccer Club (formerly San Diego Nomads) is an American soccer club based in San Diego, California. From 1986 to 1990, the club fielded a professional senior team, but has since operated as an amateur and youth club. History The Nomads wer ...

. He led the WSA that season with a .81 GAA as the Nomads took the WSA championship based on points. In 1988, he played for both the

California Kickers California Kickers were a soccer club based in Hollywood, California. They joined the Western Soccer Alliance in 1986. They initially played as Hollywood Kickers before changing their name for the following season. In 1990 the team name was changed ...

and Nomads. That year, he was the Nomad's goalkeeper in their semifinal loss to the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

. He continued to play for the Nomads in 1989 as the team won the championship yet again. However,

Jeff Duback Jeff Duback is a retired U.S. soccer goalkeeper who played in the Western Soccer Alliance, American Soccer League and American Professional Soccer League. He also earned four caps with the United States men's national soccer team. Youth Duback ...

was in goal for both the WSA championship win over the

San Francisco Bay Blackhawks San Francisco Bay Blackhawks were a professional soccer team which came into existence in 1989 as a team in the Western Soccer League (WSL). The Blackhawks spent time in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the United States Interr ...

and the subsequent loss to the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

in the "National" professional championship. He played his last season of outdoor professional soccer in 1990, again with the Nomads.WSL 1990 Season
/ref> He worked as a sales executive for Saucony Footwear and is currently the President of American Business for

DC Shoes DC Shoes is an American company that specializes in footwear for action sports, including skateboarding and snowboarding. The company also manufactures apparel, bags, accessories, hats, tshirts, and posters. History The company was founded in J ...

References

External links

UCLA Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nistl, Anton Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni UCLA Bruins men's soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers American men's soccer players Western Soccer Alliance players Nomads Soccer Club players California Kickers players Year of birth missing (living people)