Junior Gus Bermudez was a thorn in the side of Oregon Tech's defense all day, as he scored three goals in helping lead Corban to its first conference victory of the season.
Corban's Bermudez Tricks Owls in 1st CCC Win
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – Junior Gus Bermudez (Culver City, Calif.) became the first Warrior since 2006 to score three goals in a single game, as Corban's men's soccer team picked up its first Cascade Collegiate Conference victory of the season over Oregon Tech, 4-2, Saturday afternoon on Warrior Field.
Bermudez joins a host of Warriors that have scored at least three goals in a game and is the first Corban player to accomplish the feat since former Warrior Scott Marshall netted three goals against Evergreen on October 5, 2006.
After falling to conference rival Northwest Christian twenty-four hours ago, Corban stepped onto the field looking to earn its first league win of the season. Bermudez helped that cause, as he wasted no time in getting the Warriors on the board 81 seconds into the game with an unassisted goal. The first-year Warrior would begin the scoring play by stealing the ball from an Owl defender before going one-on-one with OIT's keeper and beating him with a shot into the lower left corner.
In the 13th minute, Bermudez would net his second goal of the game on an assist from freshman Jake Arnston (Vancouver, Wash.) to put Corban up by two goals. Arnston would start the play with a pass along the far sideline to Bermudez, who calmly beat his defender with a single dribble before slipping a shot past a diving OIT keeper into the lower right corner.
Oregon Tech would strike back with a pair of goals by Dustin Hirata in the 15th and 28th minute, as the OIT midfielder took a pass from Ashton Betts and scored on a shot from 22 yards out that slipped under Corban's keeper to put the visiting Owls on the board. Just over 13 minutes later, Hirata would knot the game at 2-2 when he headed home a free kick from teammate Victor Corona into the upper right corner.
Neither team could crack its opponent's defense over the next 35 minutes until freshman Ibrahim Haruna (Gomby, Nigeria) put home a rebound off a deflection from Bermudez for the eventual game-winning goal in the 63rd minute. The scoring play would begin with the Warriors receiving an indirect kick from 20 yards out, as Bermudez unleashed a shot that ricocheted off an Owl defender before finding the foot of Haruna. The first-year Warrior would deposit the ball into the back of the net for his first collegiate goal and a 3-2 Corban lead.
Not wanting to sit on a one-goal lead, Bermudez capped the game's scoring with his third goal of the afternoon in the 70th minute when he took a through ball from fellow junior Thomas Brempong (Kumasi, Ghana) that eluded OIT's defense. After collecting the pass from Brempong, Bermudez dribbled the ball into a one-on-one battle with OIT's net-minder before flicking a shot into the lower right corner for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Despite being out shot by OIT, 29-19, Corban would post a strong defensive front that was led by freshman keeper James Myrvold (Sandy, Ore.), who registered a game-high 11 saves en route to capturing the victory. On the other hand, Oregon Tech used a goalkeeper tandem due to a mid-game injury that included Tanner Lee and Loren Jessen. Lee would play the opening 51-plus minutes and registered three saves before having to leave the game with an injury. Jessen would step between the pipes for the Owls over the remaining 38-plus minutes and snagged three saves despite allowing the final two goals en route to suffering the loss.
With the victory, Corban improves to 2-3-1 overall and 1-1-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Oregon Tech falls to 2-4-0 overall and 0-2-0 in league games. The Warriors will return to the field on Friday, September 24th, against The Evergreen State College beginning at 1:00 p.m. in Olympia, Washington.