Laidlaw picks up win No. 200 with Central men’s soccer

PELLA—A 2-0 victory by the Central College men’s soccer team over the University of the Ozarks Sunday afternoon was a milestone victory for longtime head coach Garry Laidlaw.

The Dutch (2-0-0) scored both goals in the first half to down the Eagles (0-1-1).

“We controlled the ball for large parts of the first half and created two really nice goals,” coach Garry Laidlaw said. “In the second half they changed their formation and caught us off a little bit. It definitely changed the game and opened the game up, giving us more chances on counter attacks in the second half.”

It took less than seven minutes for midfielder Nathan Casas (sophomore, Cottage Grove, Minn., East Ridge HS) to light up the scoreboard with his first goal of the season.

“It was a really well taken goal,” Laidlaw said. “He pulled the goalie out and tucked it in nicely to the far post. You have to have skill and composure to do that, and Nathan has both of those things.”

Taking a cross from Tony Cervelli (sophomore, midfielder, Plainfield, Ill., South HS), Ben Turnley (senior, midfielder Manhattan, Kan.) buried a header to give Central a second tally in the 35th minute.

“Ben and Michael Anderson (senior, midfielder, Rosemount, Minn.) are my energizer bunnies,” Laidlaw said. “They always give great effort and are playing well this year. Ben made a great run to knock that ball in and I’m really happy for him.

In the 88 th minute, freshman Matthew West (midfielder, Pleasant Hill, Southeast Polk HS) ended the scoring with his first collegiate goal.

Senior goalie Andrew Mathys (Elburn, Ill., Kaneland HS) has not allowed goal yet this season, notching shutouts in both of Central’s wins.

“With about 10 minutes to go in the first half, he made an incredible save on a long shot by tipping it over the bar,” Laidlaw said. “I thought it really set the tone for the rest of the game. He was impeccable with his decisions and just had a really solid game all around.”

In his 22nd year with the Dutch, Laidlaw has been at the helm for 200 of the program’s 222 wins. He has a career record of 200-174-18 (.533) and been named the conference coach of the year three times.

Central will finish its three game home stand Wednesday, hosting the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.) (0-1-0) at 3 p.m.