Nathan Radford Sturgis (born July 6, 1987) is an American former

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 ...

player who last played for

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

Career

Youth and college

Sturgis attended Nease High School, played club soccer with the First Coast KYX, and played two years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

. In his freshman season in 2004, Sturgis scored three goals and was named to the

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

All-Freshman Team. As a sophomore, Sturgis scored two goals and added seven assists in leading the Tigers to the College Cup. Sturgis was named 3rd Team All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2005. Sturgis also played one year with the

Ajax Orlando Prospects Ajax Orlando Prospects was an American soccer team, founded in 2002. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2006, when the team left the league ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

Professional

Sturgis signed a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. ...

contract with MLS, and was taken 12th overall in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft by the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

. During Galaxy's pre-season tour of England in 2006 they competed against several high-profile clubs, including (then) English Premiership Champions

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, and Sturgis was picked out by the staff at Chelsea and other English teams as the outstanding player of the tour. On June 21, 2007, Sturgis was traded, along with forward

Robbie Findley Robert Findley (born August 4, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward. He was capped 11 times by the United States national team, having made his international debut in 2007. Findley played college soc ...

, to

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

in exchange for veteran midfielder Chris Klein. On November 26, 2008, he was selected by

in the second round of the 2008 MLS Expansion Draft. On September 18, 2010, Sturgis scored his first professional goal in a 4–0 win at Columbus against the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

. His goal came from the penalty spot. On November 24, 2010, Sturgis was selected by

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...

in the third round of the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft. The next day Nathan was traded by Vancouver to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

in exchange for a first-round pick in the

2011 MLS SuperDraft The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consiste ...

. Sturgis made his debut for Toronto on March 19, 2011, vs. Vancouver in the first-ever all-Canadian MLS match-up, it ended as a 4–2 away loss for Toronto. On December 28, 2011, Sturgis was traded to

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

in exchange for a conditional 2014 MLS SuperDraft pick. On December 22, 2012, Sturgis was once again on the move when he was traded to

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

as part of a deal involving

Omar Cummings Omar Cummings (born 13 July 1982) is a former Jamaican international footballer who played as a forward. He spent his entire professional career in the United States. Career Youth and amateur Cummings attended Jonathan Grant High School, Cinc ...

and allocation money. After 18 months with Colorado, Sturgis was traded to

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

on July 1, 2014, in exchange for Carlos Alvarez. At the conclusion of the 2014 season, MLS contracted the Chivas USA franchise. Sturgis was available to other clubs in the 2014 MLS Dispersal Draft but was not selected. He then entered the

2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 12, 2014 (Stage 1) and December 18, 2014 (Stage 2). All 20 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The priority order for the Re-Entry Draft was reverse order of finish ...

and was selected by

in stage two of the draft held on December 18, 2014. Sturgis returned to

on February 23, 2016, when it was announced that he had signed with them as a free agent. His option was declined on December 12, 2016, making him a free agent.

International

Sturgis has played for various youth United States national teams, and was part of the Under-20 team at the 2005 World Youth Championship and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. On July 17, 2008, he was named to the U.S. team that participated in the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

; however, he was ruled out shortly afterwards due to a hamstring injury.

Career statistics

Honors

Club

;

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

(2):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

;

* Canadian Championship (1):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Personal life

Sturgis' younger brother, Caleb, is a place kicker who is currently a free agent in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. His father, Smiley Sturgis, is a pastor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturgis, Nathan 1987 births Living people American soccer players American expatriate soccer players Clemson Tigers men's soccer players Ajax Orlando Prospects players LA Galaxy players Real Salt Lake players Seattle Sounders FC players Toronto FC players Houston Dynamo FC players Colorado Rapids players Chivas USA players Tacoma Defiance players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Soccer players from Florida People from St. Augustine, Florida Expatriate soccer players in Canada LA Galaxy draft picks United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players Association football midfielders Association football defenders