High school soccer: Time and again, Medina's Nate Werthmuller proves versatility

If the "V" in MVP stood for versatile, Nate Werthmuller would be the Medina boys soccer team's recipient of the award. A valuable center midfielder by trade, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior is capable of moving back and playing defense, up to help the offense or outside if the Bees want to alter their attack. If needed, he could do all of the above when Medina (14-3-3) takes on Hudson (19-1-1) in the Sandusky Division I Regional final today at 3 p.m. at Nordonia. "Nate plays everywhere," Bees coach Doug Coreno said. "He holds as a defensive midfielder at times, we put him out wide at times and we move him up front at times. "His primary position is right in the center of the park, but he's played everywhere over the course of the season — and sometimes in the same game." The younger brother of 2020 Gazette MVP Cole Werthmuller, who is now playing at Wright State after transferring from Coastal Carolina, and older brother of Bennett, a freshman keeper for Medina's junior varsity "A" team, the middle Werthmuller has stood out wherever he's been used. The 17-year-old leads the Bees and is second in Medina County with 16 assists while adding seven goals in his third season playing varsity. "It brings a ton," he said of his versatility. "If one person gets hurt and we don't have enough subs, I can always go play that position. If someone is not there for a game, I can fill in and it will be like nothing's changed." Though only 175 pounds, Werthmuller often looks like the biggest, thickest and strongest player on the field. There's a simple explanation for that: He often is. "Nate's a great player," Coreno said. "He's a physical presence on the field. He's big and he's strong, but he also brings great technical ability and tactical awareness. "A lot of times big bruisers are just big and get by on their size. Nate is a big bruiser with tactical awareness and skill. It's a hard combination to deal with." Werthmuller doesn't hesitate to use his size. If a subtle legal bump helps him gain possession, a subtle legal bump it will be. If applying his chest to the back of an offensive player can cause a loss of possession, he's willing to do that as well. "I can use my size," he said. "It's an advantage. It helps a lot when I'm going up for 50/50 headers." Werthmuller takes most of Medina's corner kicks and possesses a lethal 30-yard throw-in when the Bees are in the offensive third. He's also exceptional at distributing the ball to open teammates. "Being left-footed always helps because you don't see a lot of them," he said. "Teams always force me left, and that's my strong side. Having (forward) Cole Turchyn on the field helps, too. I can find him on the back post." Werthmuller credits playing basketball and baseball in his younger years for his throw-in ability, which Coreno views as basically having a corner kick when the Bees are close enough to the goal. "That is definitely an important weapon in our arsenal," the coach said. "The distance and accuracy he has, it plays like a corner kick. It is definitely a good weapon." Werthmuller will get a chance to display his strengths today against Hudson, which beat Medina 3-2 in the regular season. The Bees are undaunted by that, as they dominated Hoover 5-1 in the regional semifinal after losing 1-0 earlier in the year. "It will be a very competitive game," Werthmuller said of taking on the Explorers. "Playing them in the regular season, we were still trying to figure things out. I'm looking for our whole team to come together and come out right away and score. "Since we heard we were playing Hoover and maybe Hudson, Coach Coreno has been saying this is our revenge tour. Ever since then, we've been coming out and playing our hardest." A win over Hudson would likely bring a state semifinal game against powerful St. Ignatius. Werthmuller, who has drawn interest from Notre Dame College and Ashland, would like nothing more. "It's a good rivalry knowing they've won more state titles and always come out to play," he said. "It's always going to be a good game. There's a respect. We both know we're good teams and have worked hard to get where we are." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on Twitter.