All he had to do
was go a few blocks down the road to sign Scottsbluff’s Jesus Duque, who has been the heralded game-winning scorer for the Bearcat football and soccer teams. Duque, who signed a letter-of-intent on Tuesday to continue his playing with the Cougars, is excited for the opportunity to play college soccer.“I choose WNCC because it is close and it is a good way to start my education and get my basics [classes] out of the way,” Duque said. “It is also a good club there to play on and get started.”
Duque played soccer for four years and football for three years. Duque hit clutch field goals for the Bearcat football team, including the game-winners against Gering this year. He also helped the Bearcats to the state soccer championships last spring, including a game-winning goal against Gering.
WNCC soccer coach Todd Rasnic said it is nice to get a player with the ability to finish the ball.
“The number one thing for me when I watch him in game situations is whenever they needed a goal, he gets them. That is a rare quality in a player, especially on a soccer field,” Rasnic said. “You have a lot of kids that come in and say they play forward but when it comes down to it, they can’t finish the ball. What Jesus will bring is someone that can back up the requirements of his position. College soccer is a little bit different pace, but from watching his speed on the field, we will be very happy with what he brings to WNCC.”
Duque said he just goes out and gives it his all on the competition field and gets the job done.
"It feels good to get those game-winning scores, and at the same time, there are no words to really explain how you feel,” he said. “You are just so excited that you did make that kick or that goal, you just feel inside of you that ‘I can’t believe I just did that.’”
Well, Duque will have plenty of opportunities to fine-tune his goal scoring during his senior season at Scottsbluff before he heads up the hill to play for WNCC. The Scottsbluff boys are currently going through conditioning for this season with the official first day of practice slated for Monday.
Scottsbluff first-year soccer coach Nate Rock said it is a pleasure to have someone of Duque’s demeanor on the team.
“Jesus is a fantastic player and I feel comfortable putting him at any position on the field,” he said. “He has a great work ethic and great leadership abilities. He is an all-around great player and has a great personality on the team. He brings a lot to the team.”
Duque said while he liked football, he was only thinking about playing soccer in college.
“Soccer was my main choice to play. I liked playing football, but at the same time I just didn’t feel it was the right place for me,” he said. “[This spring] I am looking forward to getting better as a player on the field, and I now Coach Rock will be helping the team with that.”
The one goal Duque has to help lead Scottsbluff to back-to-back state tournaments. The Bearcats have been to the state tournament two of the last three years, falling in last year’s first round to Lincoln Pius X 9-0. The Scottsbluff boys made their first appearance in 2005, falling to
Rasnic said Duque has a lot to offer the WNCC program. “Jesus has a lot to offer WNCC,” Rasnic said. “He is a player from watching him over the years that has continually gotten better. He works hard at what he does and I believe he takes a great amount of pride in the efforts he puts on the field.”
Rasnic is hoping to sign several more local players for next year’s Cougar men’s and women’s soccer teams.
“Ideally if I can build an entire team from Scottsbluff and Gering, that would be great,” the third-year head coach said. “It is a great thing from our community that we have from the youth level on up, that they have developed players that when they get to high school, they are able to compete well and compete at the state level. It is excellent for me that I can turn around in my own backyard and find one, two or three players a year that I can put on the WNCC squad and they can compete in our division, and they compete well.”
And Duque is excited to be a part of that soccer talent that comes from the Scottsbluff and Gering area.
“I am very excited to be going from Scottsbluff to WNCC,” he said. “I am sad that this is my last year of playing high school soccer, but at the same time I am looking forward to playing at WNCC.”
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