Douglas breaks school career goals record in shutout victory
SEWARD, Neb. – With his tie-breaking goal in the 26th minute on Saturday, senior Nathan Douglas etched his name into Concordia men’s soccer record books. The score gave him a school-record breaking 32nd career goal as the Bulldogs bounced back and shutout Sterling College, 3-0.
“It’s quite nice to have it,” Douglas said of the record. “A lot of people have been asking me about it. I’ve been trying not to think about it. At the same time, it’s kind of a little bit of weight off my shoulders. It’s nice, the monkey’s off the back now. It was always my goal to get a lot more than 32 anyways this season so I’m just going to keep pushing it forward.”
Douglas had entered play tied with Bernie Ochoa (2000-02) and Aaron Skipworth (2008-10, 2012) for the school career goals mark. Douglas leads Concordia with three goals this season after pacing the team the as a sophomore and junior with 11 goals both seasons.
His work on the attack has been a driving force behind Concordia’s 25 victories since the beginning of 2011. For head coach Jason Weides, Douglas’ importance to the program has gone beyond his prolific goal scoring.
“He’s been great to our program in so many ways, far beyond goal scoring,” Weides said. “He brings great leadership to our team. He’s the epitome of a student-athlete. He’s one of our top performers in the classroom, earning honors in the classroom. Nathan’s been great.”
Douglas got plenty of help from his teammates on Saturday as Concordia shook off Friday’s loss to Friends University. Sean Doran used his patented header to score another set piece goal, coming off the free-kick assist from Carlos Acosta in the 55th minute.
Concordia added the final tally when junior Chris DeFeyter notched an unassisted goal in the 67th minute to essentially put the game out of the Warriors’ reach.
The game marked a complete 180 from Friday’s 3-0 loss to Friends. Weides was happy with how his team put that match behind it.
“It was a great response by the guys to come back from a tough game, a game yesterday when we didn’t perform well,” Weides said. “To bounce back today and perform better – we definitely performed better today and saw much more of the ball. We were better in attacking transition, which was a focus for us.”
In goal, Brendan Buchanan earned his second shutout of the season. Thanks to the Bulldog defense, Buchanan did not see a single shot on goal from the Sterling attack. The defensive effort, led by Doran in the back, limited the Warriors to just four shots all afternoon.
Douglas, native of Winnipeg, Canada, is hoping Saturday’s effort carries Concordia the rest of the way.
“I’m just going to plan not to lose at home the rest of the season,” Douglas said. “We’ve got fans that come watch us play. The least we can do is win for them.”
The Bulldogs remain at home for their next two games. They will take on Bethany College on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 5 p.m. inside Bulldog Stadium.
