Freshman Emily Tsugawa remains tied for the team lead in goals with six thanks to her game-winning score Saturday against Evergreen.
Corban's Streak Continues Thanks to Late Goal
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – Freshman Emily Tsugawa (Gladstone, Ore.) scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season that turned out to be the game-winning score, as Corban's women's soccer team extended its winning streak to six games with a 2-1 win over The Evergreen State College Saturday afternoon at Guido Caldarazzo Stadium.
With heavy rains having hit the Willamette Valley over the past week, today's game was moved to the turf field at South Salem High School in order to help preserve Warrior Field for the final two games of the regular season next weekend.
Thanks to the second-longest winning streak in the conference, Corban improves to 8-5-2 overall and 6-1-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Evergreen falls to 1-9-4 overall and 0-8-0 in conference action.
Corban got the board quickly in the opening half when sophomore Amanda Mendenhall (Windsor, Calif.) rocketed a 30-yard shot from the right side of the field into the lower left corner of the goal at the 8:42 mark. Mendenhall's sixth goal of the season held up through the remainder of the opening half, as the host Warriors held a seven-shot advantage (12-5) over the first 45 minutes of play.
Just over 12 minutes into the second half, Evergreen's Zoe Ostrander-Durr collected a missed clearance by the Warriors' defense 35 yards for goal and went one-on-one with Corban's goalie looking to tie the game. On the wet field, Ostrander-Durr glided a shot underneath an oncoming Corban keeper and into the lower left corner of the net at the 56:22 mark that knotted the game at 1-1.
Twenty minutes later, Tsugawa teamed with seniors Jessica Matthews (Yelm, Wash.) and Kacie Emerick (Bellingham, Wash.) for the eventual game-winning goal at the 76:36 mark. Emerick began the play along the near sideline with a pass to the middle of the field where Matthews was waiting. The senior co-captain then used a back heal, one-touch pass that found Tsugawa, who performed a 180-degree turn around an on-coming defender before flicking a shot up and over Evergreen's back-pedelling keeper. The first-year Warriors' shot bounced twice before settling into the left side of the net for Corban's second and final goal of the afternoon.
Despite winning the battle both in shots (23-9) and corner kicks (4-2), Corban watched as Evergreen made one final push on its offensive side of the field over the waning seconds but could not capitalize with the game-tying score.
Senior goalkeeper Jennifer Bassett (Keizer, Ore.) registered four saves en route to picking up the win, while Evergreen's Sonia Daisley-Harrison recorded a game-high nine saves in the loss.
Corban will return to the field on Friday, October 23rd, in a crucial CCC match up against the Raiders of Southern Oregon beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Warrior Field.