Tuttle emerges as instant starter, scorer for Whatcom College
Zack Tuttle
It didn’t take long for Kenai’s Zack Tuttle to make an impact with the Whatcom Community College men’s soccer team.
The freshman forward is one of only four players to start each of the first three games.
And he just became the third to score a goal.
Tuttle, of Kenai High fame, tallied his first college goal just 5 minutes, 25 seconds into the game against Evergreen State College in Bellingham, Washington.
“It felt great to get a goal early because our team preaches about starting fast in these matches,” he told me.
“The goal was set up by one our center mids, Jacen Stein. I was able to make a run in behind the right back and center back and he slotted me through. I got one quick touch on it and put it in the back corner off the post.”
Tuttle logged 68 minutes of field time and scored the fastest goal by an Alaskan in the NWAC since Anchorage’s Bubacar Touray, who last year scored just 79 seconds into a game against Bellevue.
Last year, he helped Kenai win its second straight Alaska Division II state championship. Success doesn’t always translate to the next level, but in the case it did.
“My role on the team is to mainly to score goals but also to keep a high pressure on opposing teams back lines,” he said. “I’m adjusting well to my new team and I really enjoy the speed of play here.”