Marshall’s Gordon commits to Luther College for soccer

MARSHALL -- Hannah Gordon signed her letter of intent on Monday morning in Marshall High School to play collegiate soccer at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa next year.

"It's just a different environment... I've been on this team for six years so just building this team and now going to a new team, building with that team, it's just a whole different competitive collegiate experience," Gordon said.

Gordon spent six years as a midfielder for the Marshall girls soccer team, setting the program record for goals and assists. She started with the team as a seventh grader in its inaugural 2018 season.

"Just having that growth mindset, we started from the bottom and we built up together," Gordon said when asked what she wants to carry with her from her high school athletics experience. "I think the girls that surrounded me were a big part of it and we pushed each other each day, so just bringing that with me knowing that it's not always about winning, it's about growing. Just building those relationships with those girls in college so we can build together as teammates on the field."

The Luther College Norse finished this past season with an 8-7-4 overall record and a 4-3-1 record in American Rivers Conference play, good for third place out of nine teams. They defeated Wartburg College in the first round of the conference tournament before falling 2-0 to Simposon College in the second round. They are coached by Hollie Gray III, who just completed his fourth season as the program's head coach.

In addition to the welcoming and competitive environment, Gordon said that the team's philosophy was a big part of why she chose Luther College.

"They have a lot of goals already set for the next two years, five years. Just always striving for more but understanding that it's not always about the winning aspect, it's more about being together and doing everything together," Gordon said.

In Gordon's first year with Marshall, the Tigers finished the season 1-10-1. From there, they grew each year. Marshall went 4-8 in 2019, 3-6 in 2020, 5-7-2 in 2021, 5-6-2 in 2022 and captured the first winning record for the program at 6-4-3 in Gordon's senior season.

Gordon said she will be studying biology on a premed track at Luther College.