Roman Martin, a senior midfielder from La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla, California), and Lauren Starkey, a junior defender/midfielder from Oaks Christian High School (Westlake Village, California), are the TopDrawerSoccer.com High School Players of the Week. 

Wake Forest-bound midfield talisman Roman Martin led La Jolla to a 7-1-1 start thanks to a torrid opening to the season. In one week, the senior midfielder managed a hat trick and an assist against Horizon Christian before leading the Torreys on a title-winning run in a Temecula tournament. He was named the tournament’s MVP and finished a remarkable five-day stretch with nine goals and four assists, which tallied up to 22 points. Martin spent time in Nomads’ academy at the Development Academy level before returning to high school soccer before Thanksgiving, and he’s also recently played with Dinamo Zagreb’s U19 side in Croatia.

Starkey’s talented Oaks Christian side is still navigating the beginning to its season in the SoCal soccer scene, but she’s already making waves. Oaks Christian recently met up with regional powerhouse Harvard-Westlake, a team that had beaten Oaks Christian a combined 20-5 in each of their previous six meetings. Oaks Christian managed to overcome the ultimate obstacle via Starkey’s 65th-minute strike in traffic off a corner kick to break down that barrier. That gave Oaks Christian a huge early season win and pushed it to No. 16 in last week’s FAB 50 rankings with a 5-0-0 record in the bag already. Is a push for an eventual title next on the list? 

Other boys finalists include Lucas Fagotti (Montverde Academy, Montverde, Florida) and Garrett Amador (Servite High School, Anaheim, California). Other girls finalists include Jane Jordan (Palm Desert High School, Palm Desert, California) and Chloe O’Neil (St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Fort Lauderdale, Florida).

The TopDrawerSoccer.com High School Player of the Week honor is designed to highlight a selection of the nation's rising stars populating the high school ranks. Coaches are free to nominate a boys or girls player each week through our submission form that can be found here. Be sure to include the school and any relevant stats from the previous week. The selection process will take into account a slew of factors from contribution to team results to individual accolades. Honorees are announced each Wednesday.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Men's NCAA Tournament First Round Recap

Women's NCAA Tournament Second Round Recap

Vanderbilt Shocks No. 1 Florida State