Though his collegiate soccer career had its beginnings at the University of Akron, the seeds of Doug Sawyer’s ’84 move to North Central College were sown well before he made his college choice.
One of Sawyer’s high school coaches, Leo Ley, wound up being the first coach in the history of the North Central men’s soccer program in 1980, and was still a source of counsel when Sawyer began to consider transferring.
“While I was at Akron, I reached out for his advice,” Sawyer said. “He invited me to campus to talk. I didn’t have any intention of going to North Central at that time, but I went to the campus, and played indoor soccer with the team. I ended up deciding that North Central would be a good fit for my soccer and academic intentions.”
By the time Sawyer joined the Cardinals’ program, Lay had moved on to another coaching position. Under the direction of coach Al Kleinaitis, who went on to become one of the nation’s premier soccer officials, North Central posted a 34-28-1 record with Sawyer as its leading scorer despite having only recently started its program.
“The level of competition we played seemed very high,” Sawyer recalled of a schedule that not only included current College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin rivals Carthage College, Augustana College and Wheaton College, but NCAA Division I representatives Northern Illinois University and Loyola University, among others. “We had some great competition and the team did well in terms of holding up against programs that were more developed and had been around much longer.”
Despite playing in a defensive position on the field, Sawyer tallied 56 goals in his three years, still a North Central record, along with 18 assists, which currently ranks second all-time. He established the current single-season school record of 23 goals in 1982, and the 60 goals scored by the Cardinals that season is tied for the highest total in the program’s history.
“I was the field player farthest from the goal,” Sawyer said. “My role on the team was to help out if someone gets past one of the other defenders. As it turned out, I was also free to go forward and take advantage of the fact that the man defending me was also the farthest from his goal. To think that I would lead the team in scoring is very uncommon.”
Sawyer credits his tenure at North Central not only for his athletic opportunities, but for the well-rounded experiences in other areas of collegiate life.
“What I liked most about North Central was that I didn’t have to wait to be a senior to be involved with the radio station or in student government, which I really enjoyed. Soccer was obviously a love of mine, but I definitely looked at myself as a student first. It’s great to get recognition for playing soccer, but I really enjoyed North Central for the total experience that it meant to me to develop as a person.”
