Warriors Win Season Opener Behind 3 Second-Half Goals
SALEM, Ore. - Senior Caleb Louvier (SeaTac, Wash.) scored a pair of second half goals and freshman Brendan McCornack (Moses Lake, Ore.) netted the game-winner, as Corban's men's soccer team opened the 2007 season with a 3-1 victory over Frontier Conference member Great Falls on Tuesday.
Despite falling behind in the 19th minute when Great Falls' Michael David scored his second goal of the season, Corban fought back in the second half to earn the season-opening win in front of the home crowd.
Louvier got Corban on the board in the 46th minute when he took a ball at midfield, went by one defender, and then went one-on-one with Great Falls' keeper Robby Ekins. Fortunately for Louvier, he was able to poke the ball past a dive Ekins into the lower right corner of the net to knot the score at 1-all and record the Warriors' first goal of the season.
Less than three minutes later, McCornack scored his first career goal as a Warrior when he finished a low cross from junior Mark Schubert (Yakima, Wash.) in the penalty area. Schubert began the play by taking the ball down the left side line and then cutting back towards the goal along the end line. Once Schubert got the full attention of the Argos' net-minder, he slipped the ball to a wide-open McCornack, who put it into the back of the net for what turned out to be the game-winning goal.
Exactly three minutes later, Louvier netted his second goal of the game when he teamed with McCornack on a through pass that resulted in a Warrior goal in the upper right corner of the net. The Warriors' scoring duo teamed up for a majority of the play, as the pair passed the ball back and forth before having Louvier end up with the ball. The 5-foot-10 midfielder blasted a shot into the upper corner for his 31st career goal, which moved him into 5th all-time in Warrior men's soccer history ahead of former Warrior Danny Agee (2001-03).
Junior goalkeeper James DelCastillo (Fairbanks, Alaska) faced a mere six shots (1 on goal) and did not have to make a save at any point during the contest. Thanks to his first-ever season-opening victory, DelCastillo pushes his career record to 4-4-0 between the pipes for the Warriors.
With the win, Corban begins its 2007 campaign 1-0-0. Meanwhile, Great Falls drops its second straight contest to a Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) opponent and falls to 0-2-0 on the young season. The Warriors are next in action on Friday, August 31st, when they kick off their conference season against Northwest Christian beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the 2nd annual FAN-atic Soccer Under the Lights game on Warrior Field.