Oliveira Collects All-American Status
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (December 8, 2015) -- Adding to his already impressive list of awards, sophomore defender Douglas Oliveira has been named an NAIA All-American, the national offices announced this morning (Dec. 8).
Having already earned an All-Sooner Athletic first team nomination and the conference's Defender of the Year, Oliveira finishes the 2015 campaign by landing a spot on the national Honorable Mention listing.
"This is a great honor for Douglas and for our whole team," said head men's soccer coach Scott Marksberry. "After suffering an injury in the spring, we were not even sure that Douglas would be cleared by the doctors to play this season. He worked very hard to try find his form early in the year, and then suffered another injury that required him to miss five games in the middle of the season. I am very proud of the way he bounced back from these obstacles.
"He is a competitor and a leader, and he knows that he can still get better. I know that he would trade this award for a trip to the national tournament in a second, and he is hungry to see our team get there next fall. This All-American recognition is well-deserved, and I truly believe that his best is yet to come."
The Campinas, Brazil, native followed up a freshman campaign, where he landed All-SAC second team honors, with a two-goal, four-point performance in 2015. He netted goals against then-No. 6 Mobile (Ala.) and Bacone (Okla.) while starting 15 of the 16 games he appeared in. Oliveira anchored a JBU defense that allowed just .870 goals-against per game and a 1.10 goals-against mark in conference play, both of which led all SAC programs.
The Golden Eagles pieced together a 13-6-1 season that featured its best in-conference winning percentage in program history with an 8-1-0 mark in league play. John Brown made an appearance in the conference tournament semfinals before bowing out against Southwestern Christian (Okla.) by a 2-1 final in extra time.
