MIDDLETOWN — Natalie Diaz can”t wait to get back on the soccer field.
Diaz, who missed her entire senior season at Middletown High School with a knee injury, will get that chance in three weeks when she participates in a club tournament. Until then, the 17-year-old who sports a GPA in excess of 4.0 will continue to be, in her words, “anxious” as she prepares to resume her playing career, one that served the Mustangs well in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Despite a badly sprained ankle her junior year, which cost her several games, and a damaged medial collateral ligament sustained before the start of the 2010 season, Diaz is once again healthy — and in demand. She recently signed a letter of intent to play for Barry University located in Miami Shores, Florida. The private Catholic institution is a member of NCAA Division II and fields teams in several sports, including women”s soccer. The Buccaneers posted a 9-8-1 record a year ago with only three seniors on their roster and are looking forward to bigger and better things in the years to come.
Diaz said she will do everything in her power to help them out. In return, the university is helping out Diaz with a combined athletic/academic scholarship that amounts to a three-quarters ride.
How did a Florida university find out about a Middletown soccer player?
Simple. The Barry University staff discovered her while Diaz was playing for Santa Rosa United”s club team.
“They found me (during a scouting trip),” Diaz said.
It turns out that the Santa Rosa United coach is a friend of Fred Jungemann, the head coach at Barry University, and Diaz”s name came up. One thing led to another and before you knew it, Diaz was offered a scholarship and signing a letter of intent to play for the Buccaneers.
The scholarship amount Diaz receives will be re-evaluated every year, so she could receive what amounts to a full ride if things work out.
“It can increase but I won”t receive less,” Diaz said.
Diaz, the daughter of Paul Diaz of Sonoma and Stacey Nester of Hidden Valley Lake, was an All-League first-team player for the Mustangs, who became a small-school power during her four years at Middletown under coach Louise Owens.
“She makes everything fun,” Diaz said of Owens. “I liked playing for her.”
Diaz was especially looking forward to her senior season after missing most of the second half of her junior year with ankle problems.
“I was looking forward to playing with my sister (Hannah),” Diaz said.
Hannah Diaz, a freshman at Middletown, helped guide the Must-angs to a third straight NCL I North title this past season. A standout forward, she was voted the league”s most valuable player.
“It was tough,” Diaz said of watching her senior season in civilian clothes.
However, she remained on the Middle-town sidelines to assist co-coaches Owens and Lee Hoage.
If all of Barry University”s players return next season, Diaz will be one of six Californians on the team and the second from the Redwood Empire, joining Melissa Madrid, formerly of Casa Grande High School in Petaluma.
Diaz graduates from Middletown later this spring and will report to Florida in early August for camp and double-day practices. School begins later that month. She plans to pursue a degree in graphic design.
