Travis Nicklaw

Travis Nicklaw

Personal information
Date of birth	(1993-12-21) December 21, 1993
Place of birth	San Diego, California, United States
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Playing position	Defender, midfielder, forward
Club information
Current team	San Diego State Aztecs
Number	22
Youth career
–2008	San Diego Nomads
2008–2012	Notts Forest Club
2012–	San Diego State Aztecs
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2015–	FC Tucson	5	(2)
National team‡
2012–present	Guam	20	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:00, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

Travis Nicklaw (born December 21, 1993) is an American-born Guamanian international footballer who plays D1 soccer for San Diego State University in the Pac-12 Conference and for FC Tucson in the USL Premier Development League.

Travis is the younger brother to Shawn Nicklaw, who plays with the NASL club Jacksonville Armada.

Career

Amateur

Nicklaw is a three-star recruit by Top Drawer Soccer and was a member of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy between 2008 and 2010. Nicklaw starred for the Notts Forest Club team where he helped lead the club to its first National Cup Championship.^{[1] [2][3]} He also played at University City High School where he led the Centurions to a 15–1-2 (.889) record as a senior. As a junior, Nicklaw had 18 points on seven goals and 11 assists, and helped University City to the CIF Championship title. He was regarded as one of the top kickers in San Diego County and was a highly rated football prospect. He won the FG competition at the Western Showcase Camp in December 2011, as he made a 60-yard FG without any wind behind him. Nicklaw also lettered four years in track and field for the men's 4×100 relay. ^{[4] [5]}

College

San Diego State University

He ranked 26th in the nation in the Top 100 Freshmen by Top Drawer.^[6]

In his inaugural campaign on Montezuma Mesa, Nicklaw started on 10 occasions and saw action in 17 contests. He was the lone true freshman to start a game for the Aztecs in 2012. Nicklaw is registered with the Aztecs as a midfielder and forward; however, his size has proven valuable for the Aztecs’ back-line. he continued to finish off the season seeing time in the center midfield as well as playing forward. The midfielder tallied six shot attempts on the season, with two on goal. He is one of just five players from the Pac-12 in the top 50 and is the only player in the top 100 from San Diego. In 2014 Nicklaw scored a goal and playing in 18 games.^[7][8][9]

During the 2015 preseason Nicklaw signed with FC Tucson in the USL Premier Development League playing both defense and forward.^[10] During the regular Pac-12 season, he commanded the San Diego State defense which posted the league’s third-most clean sheets (seven) and the fourth-lowest goals against average (1.29). Nicklaw also saw playing time as a forward earning two goals and posting six points; finishing fourth on the Aztecs. Despite missing five matches due to international commitments, Nicklaw finished the season collecting Pac-12 honorable mention and also Pac-12’s "#12best" moments week October 19–25.^[11][12]

International

In November 2012, Nicklaw confirmed he would be representing Guam at international level under head coach Gary White. Nicklaw played with the Matao, including the East Asian Cup semifinal round, in Hong Kong (2012) and AFC Challenge qualifier in Yangon, Myanmar (2013).^[13] During the AFC Challenge Nicklaw helped the Matao achieve their first win in its history against the Chinese Taipei.^[14] Nicklaw contribution has helped Guam to reach their highest FIFA raking to date.^[15]

In July 2014 while playing alongside his older brother Shawn Nicklaw, Nicklaw helped Guam finish first within the Preliminary round 1 EAFF East Asian cup tournament advancing to the semifinal round for the third-straight time. Earlier in the year he played international friendlies against Aruba.^[16]

2018 World Cup qualification

On June 11, 2015, Nicklaw helped Guam achieve a historic first FIFA World Cup qualifying match win against Turkmenistan, 1–0. A few days later he scored his first international goal, while assisted by his brother Shawn Nicklaw, against India during their second match in the FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifier Group D round. The win was notable considering India's FIFA rankings sits 33 spots ahead at No. 141, their population is over one billion and was dubbed the sleeping giants of football by FIFA.^[17][18][19]

International goals

Score and result list Guam's goals first

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Reference
1	16 June 2015	Guam National Football Stadium, Hagatna, Guam	India	2–0	2–1	FIFA World Cup Qualification	[20]

References