Corban Falls at Home to Concordia, 2-1
In a very physical game that saw a rematch of the 2013 Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament championship game, the Cavaliers took advantage of their opportunities better than the Warriors.
(SALEM, Ore. ) — In its first home match of the 2014 campaign, the Corban University men's soccer team fell to Concordia University, 2-1.
In a very physical game that saw a rematch of the 2013 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament championship game, the Cavaliers took advantage of their opportunities better than the Warriors on Tuesday, resulting in the CCC triumph.
In front of a strong contingent of Warrior fans on 'White Out' day at Warrior Field, Corban pressed forward early, but the Cavalier defense was up to the challenge. Concordia goalkeeper Arne Niermann made a number of good plays early on cutting out Corban crosses or long balls in behind the defense.
The opening goal came for Concordia when forward Tyler Hoiem put a long throw-in into the box and found Timur Zhividze who buried his shot into the top-right corner of the net at the 15:00 mark to put the Cavaliers up, 1-0.
The Warriors responded with some good chances right after the opening goal, however, and senior forward Arsinio Walker (Kingston, Jamaica) put a header on frame, but Niermann was there to make a nice one-handed save, keeping Corban off the board. Not long after, the Warriors would hit the right post with a shot, but the ball eventually was deflected out of bounds.
Later in the half, junior defender James Williamson (Coeur d' Alene, Idaho) registered a handful of throw-ins deep into the box, but the Warriors could not take advantage, leaving the one-goal deficit at the halftime break.
In the first stanza, Corban outshot Concordia, 7-3, and held a 5-0 corner-kicks advantage.
In the second half, the physicality picked up even more with five yellow cards handed out in total and one red card. The red card was issued to Concordia in the 75th minute.
To begin the second half, Corban knew it needed to push the tempo in order to find the equalizer, but big shot after big shot was saved by Niermann. Again, Walker had a diving header that looked to be going into the back of the net, but the save was made and tipped out for a corner kick, keeping the score at 1-0.
After a few more chances for the Warriors, Concordia received the red card, but just a few minutes after going down a man, the Cavaliers went down the field, and Hoiem ripped a shot from 25 yards out and it swerved into the back of the net, doubling the Cavaliers' advantage.
Corban threw everything forward at that point, knowing it needed to score two goals to tie the game and send it to overtime. Walker finally got what he was looking for in the 89th minute as he got behind the Cavalier defense and slotted one home pass Niermann, bringing the crowd to its feet and the Warriors to within one goal.
It was too little too late, however, as Concordia (2-2, 1-0 CCC) held on to preserve the one-goal victory.
On the afternoon, Corban outshot Concordia, 19-8, and held an 11-3 corner-kicks advantage. Walker led the way offensively with eight shots for Corban, while senior midfielder Josh Noonkester (Salem, Ore.) racked up four. For the Cavaliers, Zhividze notched a team-high three shots.
In goal for the Cavaliers, Niermann tallied six saves in the win.
"Credit Concordia today as they were well organized, and did a good job of creating the opportunities to get the win," commented Corban head men's soccer coach Aaron Lewis. "They are a solid group, and will be a team to reckon with all season. I look forward to seeing how our group responds in training over the next few days as we turn our focus on to NCU."
The Warriors (2-3, 0-1 CCC) return to action on Saturday when they take on Northwest Christian University in Eugene.
Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
Source: Corban Athletics
