Local Soccer Players Receive Scholarships To Play At The University Level

REDDING – B.J. Romac and Nathan Bachand, both current Shasta College student-athletes and past students at local High Schools, have received soccer scholarships to play at the university level. B.J. Romac will be attending Concordia University and Nathan Bachand will be attending Menlo College next academic year.  B.J. is a 2012 graduate of Shasta High School and Nathan is a 2013 graduate of Enterprise High School.

There will be an unofficial Letter of Intent signing for both B.J. and Nathan on Saturday, April 19th during half-time of the Humboldt State University versus Oregon Tech men’s soccer game to be held at the Redding Soccer Park. The game starts at 2pm and the signing will take place at approximately 3pm this Saturday. All are welcome to attend. There is park entrance fee of $2.50 for all those 12 years of age and over.

Daniel Valdivia, men’s soccer coach for Shasta College, reflected on both his player’s contribution to the team’s success. “B.J. is a big reason why in the past two years we have equaled the number of wins we had over the 4-year period prior to his start here. Over the past two seasons, B.J. has been one of our main offensive weapons…. leading the Knights in both goals and assists. Opponents made it a point to try and stop him from scoring but were usually unsuccessful.“

“Although Nathan was only with us for one year,” Valdivia said, “he made a huge impact on the success of our soccer program. His goal keeping put us one win away from making playoffs this past season. He’s a great example of a player that can come to a community college, work hard, gain valuable collegiate soccer playing experience and college credit, and transfer on to a university in just one year.”

On learning of his acceptance to Concordia B.J. Romac had this to say about his experiences playing soccer locally and his aspirations for the future: “I never thought I would have the opportunity to play [soccer] at such a competitive level until I started playing for my club soccer team, Redding Surge, coached by Brian Crane and David Huscher. When I finished a perfect senior year of soccer at Shasta High School I could see the possibilities and was motivated to play at Shasta College under Daniel Valdivia. I learned a lot in my two years at Shasta College and am anxious to continue to improve and reach my peak as a student-athlete at Concordia University.”

Concordia Head Coach, Dan Birkey praised B.J. Romac, "B.J. caught the eye of CU assistant coach Andrew Duvall at a college showcase. B.J. followed up the conversations with Duvall and took the initiative to come up to Portland for a try-out at Concordia and did well. We like his work rate, his nose for goal and he seems to have a very coachable attitude.”

“It is always an adjustment when players come in to a top 20 nationally ranked program,” Birkey continued, “that has high standards towards lifestyle and academics, as well as soccer accomplishments. Our hope is that BJ will come in fit and tough minded in August to pre-season camp and take that forward into our pre-conference and conference games. I think that Concordia is a good fit for him as he grows as an athlete and works to complete his undergraduate college degree. This is a great opportunity for him."

Nathan Bachand was understandably excited. “It has been a dream of mine to play soccer at the university level since I was little,” said Bachand. “I had a great experience playing club soccer in and out of Redding with coaches John Stapp and Brian Crane. I had a great four years at Enterprise High School with coach Jim Henderson, and one successful season at Shasta College with Daniel Valdivia. All these coaches as well as my teammates have helped pave my way to a successful soccer career, and I couldn't be more excited to continue this career in the Bay Area at Menlo.”

Menlo College posted this article on their website when they signed Bachand: “Menlo added depth to the goal keeper position this week by signing Shasta College standout and 2013 Golden Valley Conference First Team All-Conference, and Golden Valley Conference Goalkeeper MVP, Nathan Bachand.  Prior to Shasta College, Bachand was a three-year captain at Enterprise High School, earning Sacramento River First Team All-League honors his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.”

"Nathan is an experienced keeper with the drive and work rate to really develop and improve here at Menlo," said head coach Eric Bucchere.

Menlo College is a private, four-year baccalaureate college specializing in business located in the Silicon Valley in the town of Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco. In 2010, The Princeton Review named Menlo College a 2011 "Best in the West" college. Menlo College teams participate as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Oaks are a member of the California Pacific Conference (CalPac).

Concordia University will compete in the NAIA for the 2014 season with the NAIA national tournament Final 16 held in Florida this coming December. Beginning Fall 2015 Concordia will be changing membership to the NCAA Div II conference called Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).

Concordia University is a private, Christian university located in Portland, Oregon.  They are members of the Cascade Collegiate Conference and compete at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level. Concordia has been noted for the consistent success of its men's and women's soccer programs over the last decades. The Cavaliers have dominated their conference with the men winning 10 of 13 conference titles since its inception in 1997, and are frequently ranked among the nation's top 25 for NAIA small colleges.