Archie Gold is a standout attack & midfielder from the ADVNC NDP & Team Oregon 2027 committed to play at Rutgers University, starting next Fall.
Archie (left) with Charlie Gold.
Archie was introduced to lacrosse by his older brother, Charlie. Charlie is six years older than Archie. Archie said he was just 3 years old when Charlie put a stick in his hand and started teaching him the game. “Watching him play from a super young age inspired me to start playing as soon as I could,” Archie said. “We spent countless hours in the backyard playing lacrosse. That helped develop my passion for the game. Looking back on those early years, I’m incredibly grateful for my brother introducing me to lacrosse. Lacrosse has become such a meaningful part of my life.”
Charlie and Archie’s dad, Jack Gold grew up in England before moving with his kids to Portland, Oregon. “Charlie started playing at a pretty young age, and my daughter, Daisy played too. Then Archie came along and fell in love with the sport. We have grown into a huge lacrosse family.”
Charlie Gold grew up playing with Ajax Zappitello in Portland. Ajax became one of the best defensemen in the country at Sunset High School. He went on to star at the University of Maryland and is now an All-Star in the PLL with the Maryland Whipsnakes. Charlie Gold also played growing up and in high school with Chop Gallagher, who went on to become an All-American at Towson University. Both Ajax and Chop made a lasting impact on Archie.
“From my childhood, up till now, I’ve been surrounded by amazing lacrosse players who have helped mentor and mold me into the player and person I am now,” Archie said. “Portland has had a lot of great players who have excelled at the college and pro level, throughout my life. We fondly call it the ‘Oregon Trail.” Players like Ross Scott (All-American at Rutgers and PLL All-Star, who is now one of my coaches with Team Oregon. Colin Squires (South Sound Director & NDP Coach) who went to Denver and plays in the PLL is from here. Alex Slusher, who went to Princeton and Duke. There are others. Tucker Dordevic (Syracuse & Georgetown). Sam Handley, who went to Penn and played in the PLL too. I have grown up around all these guys and have gotten to know all of them. I’m probably the closest with Ross Scott. We shoot together several times a week. He’s been great to me. All of these guys have been super influential on me. And they are all super helpful with all the kids coming out of Portland.”
“For such a small market, and it being in the Pacific Northwest, it really is amazing to see all the great players that have come from the Portland area” said Jack Gold. “It’s pretty unusual, and like Archie said, all of those players have really helped him a lot, and still do now.”
Archie played for a variety of club teams as a kid. Eventually, Team Oregon took over the market and Archie started playing for them. ADVNC partnered with Team Oregon, and Archie was super excited to try out for the ADVNC NDP 2027 team. “Going into that first tryout, I was pretty nervous,” Archie said. “That was already a big time team, with lots of great players. They had already been winning tournaments all over and were one of the top 2027 teams in the country. I can’t be more thankful to BJ Grill (NDP 2027 Head Coach) for helping me from that very first tryout. He has been such a big role model for me. He made it easy for me coming into that great team with super high expectations. He’s just one of the greatest coaches I’ve ever been around.”
Archie made the NDP 2027 team, and along with several other players from Team Oregon and ADVNC Seattle Starz, helped take that team to even greater heights. “We are very thankful for the NDP,” said Jack Gold. “Archie getting that national exposure was really important. He wanted to play in college and playing for NDP was a huge part in reaching that goal. I was more nervous watching Archie’s first NDP game in Baltimore than I’ve ever been in my life! It really was pretty intimidating at first being around so many great players. But he kept playing on that team, and kept getting better, and I was really proud with the way he handled all of that.”
The ADVNC NDP 2027 team became the best team in the country at the 2027 division, and won countless tournaments against elite competition. Archie spent four years as a member of that team, but one thing sticks out most for him. “Winning at Sandstorm. I think we won there four years in a row. Sandstorm is a really high caliber tournament and it was great going there every January, playing in perfect weather in Palm Springs, and just dominating every year. BJ Grill always said it’s his favorite place on earth and winning like we did, I think, was a big reason why.”
Archie and his team had a ton of success in other big tournaments too. “That played a huge role in my success, overall,” Archie said. “Playing well on the East Coast and beyond, and then coming home to Oregon, boosted my confidence a lot. Knowing I could play at such a high level was really big for me.”
Archie is a standout player on the Sunset High School team.
Archie became a standout on his Sunset High School team as well. This past spring, Archie and Sunset won the state championship in Oregon for the first time in program history.
But before that, Archie leaned on BJ Grill and ADVNC to help prepare him for his recruiting summer of 2025. “BJ and Coach Rotelli (Chris Rotelli, ADVNC Founder & CEO) were awesome at helping me prepare, and they were the same for everyone on my NDP team. They both helped us all get to the next level. Just the way they would speak to me in the months leading up to the big summer was really uplifting. It really made me think I just wanted to focus on having fun playing lacrosse that summer. Having fun was the most important part. Because if I was in my own head, it would mess things up for me. It was stressful looking at the sideline and seeing every college coach I could ever imagine. But Coach Grill and Rotelli really put me at ease.”
Archie with his NDP coaches, BJ Grill (left) & Matt Delduca (right)
“Months before the summer, BJ and Chris had many private conversations with Archie, helping him prepare,” said Jack Gold. “But Chris Rotelli told me something ahead of that summer that seems so simple and obvious now, but looking back, he was right on point. He said ‘Archie should go where they really want him.’ That’s such good advice. Every kid’s journey is different. But as we went through the process, that piece of advice really stuck with me.”
In the summers leading up to 2025, Archie and his dad visited lots of schools informally to see what kind of school and program Archie was most interested in. He said he knew he wanted to go to a large school with outstanding athletics and academics.
He got lots of calls from DI coaches on September 1st. Much to his pleasure, he got immediate interest from his top school, Rutgers University. “It’s a great academic school with big time lacrosse and big time athletics,” Archie said. “It also has a great social life and they play in the Big Ten. It’s everything I ever wanted in a school and program. I like all the coaches. The offensive coordinator, Coach Scott Bieda is awesome. He was the main coach recruiting me. He’s always so happy and energetic. He took me around campus. Their facilities are unbelievable. They have lots of people to make sure their players are doing well academically too. I just loved it. They offered me a spot early on in the process, and I committed to Rutgers.”
“There was a one month period last fall where I had two of the proudest moments I could have as a parent,” Jack Gold said. “Archie committed to his top school. But around the same time, he also played for the U20 England lacrosse team at the World Championships in South Korea. So both were just unbelievable experiences.”
“I have dual citizenship in both the United Kingdom and the United States,” Archie said. “I was only 16 years old, playing on the U20 team. I was quite nervous because I had to go to England by myself two weeks before the World Championships and train with the team. I stayed with a lovely family whose son played on the team with me. I still talk to them every day. And then we went to South Korea for the tournament and my dad met me there. Words can’t explain the whole experience. I was looking up at my dad in the stands singing the British National Anthem. I knew I made him proud. And I had a pretty successful tournament on the English team. It was just awesome.”
With this part of the journey behind him, Jack Gold has this advice for parents navigating the journey with their own children. “Every player and every family’s journey is different. But it’s helpful to talk to as many parents and coaches as possible all along the way. Coming from England and not knowing anything about lacrosse, I tried to get as many insights as possible. But generally speaking, don’t put too much pressure on your kid. Especially during the recruiting process. That’s really important.”
Archie has this advice for young players who aspire to follow in his footsteps. “Set goals for yourself. You really have to dedicate yourself to the sport. I shoot three or four times a week before school. If I’m not shooting, I either lift weights or play wall ball. Wall ball is underrated. It’s important, no matter which position you play. Having good stick skills, with both hands is huge. But having a vision for what you want to accomplish gives you direction and motivation. It also builds discipline. That’s what gave me the drive to try and play at the next level. You also want to have passion throughout all of that. Passion is a very important piece.”