Sophomore Emily Tsugawa scored the game-winner via her team-leading ninth goal of the season Friday against The College of Idaho.
Corban Moves Into Playoff Picture With Victory
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – Following Friday's 1-0 win over The College of Idaho on Warrior Field, Corban's women's soccer team lept back into the playoff picture and sits a mere one point away from hosting a Cascade Collegiate Conference semifinal game in two weeks.
With three regular season games remaining, Corban has tallied 12 points in conference play and trails only Southern Oregon with 13 points for second place. The Warriors are four points behind the conference-leading and top-ranked Cavaliers of Concordia, while Corban holds the tie-breaker against the Raiders via its 1-0 double overtime victory in Ashland at the beginning of the month.
Against The College of Idaho today, sophomore Emily Tsugawa (Gladstone, Ore.) scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season in the 20th minute off an assist by senior Katie Hanson (Salem, Ore.). The eventual game-winning scoring play would begin with Hanson taking a corner kick along the far sideline and lofting a perfectly placed pass onto the awaiting head of Tsugawa, who headed the ball into the back of the net past a diving C of I keeper and over the left shoulder of a 'Yote defender.
From that point on, Corban's defense would rise to the challenge holding the high-scoring C of I offense without a goal for the second straight game after the 'Yotes tallied 11 goals over a three-game stretch from October 8-15.
In a very evenly matched game that saw both teams register 13 shots, Corban had a few chances in the second half to add an insurance goal that included a header by freshman Audrey Sullivan (Puyallup, Wash.) that was cleared away from an open goal by a C of I defender in the game's final 10 minutes.
Freshman goalkeeper Alexis Beattie (Brea, Calif.) registered a game-high six saves for Corban, while The College of Idaho's Kelly Hardegree-Ullman snagged four saves for the visiting 'Yotes.
With the win, Corban secures its best 15-game start in program history improving to 12-3-0 overall and 4-2-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, The College of Idaho falls to 7-7-0 overall and 4-3-0 in league games. The Warriors will return to the field tomorrow – Saturday, October 23rd – for their final home game of the regular season against Eastern Oregon beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Warrior Field.
NOTE: Tomorrow is Senior Recognition Day, as five departing seniors will be honored at halftime for their service to the program over the past four years.