Correy Nelson nets career with Findlay men’s soccer.
Correy Nelson stopped a lot of soccer balls from going into the net throughout his St. Marys career.
Then the senior netted his own goal on Wednesday.
The Roughriders goalkeeper made his intent to continue his academic and athletic career official by signing with the University of Findlay men’s soccer program.
“I really liked their school, the campus and the whole setup of their soccer program,” he said.
Nelson met the coaching staff at UF through the program’s individual day (ID) camp over the summer when the school needed a goalkeeper for its camp. After the school reached out to Roughriders coach Josh Hertenstein, Nelson was able to attend where he met Oilers coach Andy Smyth, which slowly built a connection for the senior.
Nelson, the son of Rachael and John Nelson, is a four-year varsity letterwinner for the Roughriders and a three-year starter as goalkeeper where he amassed 334 career saves. He finished his career as a 2019 First-Team All-Western Buckeye League selection and a Second-Team All-Northwest District honoree.
The senior keeper said he will start with the team’s reserves but as Nelson continues to progress throughout the program, he could earn time at the varsity level.
The Oilers, a Division II school, are members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
In 2019, the Oilers finished 9-7-2 overall record, which included wins against No. 7-nationally ranked Ohio Valley and No. 23 Mercyhurst, and finished 6-6-2 mark in conference play.
The Oilers will play their first game on March 13 after the school postponed all fall sports in the fall of 2020.
The men’s program is under the direction of Smyth, the British-
born coach who will be entering his 32nd year as coach of the program.
He also coached the Oilers women’s soccer team for 22 years, ending his tenure with the program in 2012, according to the school’s athletic website. Smyth’s record with the men’s team is 226-267-39 and 239-158-29 with the women.
Smyth also led the Oilers to a 13-6 record during their first year as a member of the G-MAC in 2017 where the team reached the semifinals of the league tournament that year.
Nelson said he will study nursing, a new-accredited program at UF, which began in 2018 to compete with other local schools such as Owens State Community College, Toledo University and Ohio Northern University.
Nelson was also considering fellow G-MAC rival Tiffin University but felt better going to the orange and black.