Corban's Arsinio Walker notched his team-high tying second game-winning goal of the season, as the Warriors closed out the regular season with a victory over rival Northwest Christian Saturday at Sprague High School.
Corban Concludes Regular Season With Win Over Northwest Christian
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – On the final day of the regular season, Corban kept its playoff hopes alive with a 4-0 win over Cascade Collegiate Conference rival Northwest Christian Saturday at Olympic Stadium on the campus of Sprague High School.
With today's win, Corban improves to 8-7-3 overall and 7-6-1 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. On the other hand, Northwest Christian closes out its 2012 season with a win-loss record of 3-14-1 overall and 1-12-1 in league games.
Despite today's victory, Corban's season comes to an end thanks to a 2-1 victory for Warner Pacific over regular season champions Concordia. The Knights' win propelled them into the playoffs as the No. 3-seed with Northwest earning the fourth and final spot in next week's CCC Tournament.
"It was great to see the guys finish on a very positive note with a shutout and strong performance," said head coach Paul Meehan. "I'm proud of how we played this fall and hate to see the season come to an end."
In a game that was completely dominated in every facet by Corban, the Warriors got on the board in the 10th minute thanks to Arsinio Walker's team-leading sixth goal of the season off an assist by Josh Hamilton. The scoring play would begin with Hamilton sending a pass behind three Northwest Christian defenders to Walker, who was waiting at the left corner of the goal for his one-timer that found the back of the net in the lower right corner for a 1-0 Corban lead.
Less than 25 minutes later, Corban would add another goal when Juan Castillo rebounded his own blocked shot into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season. The first-year Warrior would begin the play by sending a shot toward the goal that was blocked by a NCU defender only to have the ball rebound directly to Castillo, who calmly placed his second shot past the Beacons' keeper for a two-goal Warrior lead at the 34:39 mark.
Corban would settle for a 2-0 lead at halftime, as the Warriors' offense generated numerous scoring chances thanks to a 14-to-2 advantage in total shots over the opening 45 minutes that included a 2-1 difference in shots on goal.
The second half would see Corban add two more goals when James Williamson partnered with Derik Chaney on a perfectly placed crossing pass in the 52nd minute for the Warriors' third goal of the afternoon. Chaney would begin the play by dribbling the ball along the far sideline before sending a crossing pass onto the awaiting head of Williamson, who headed home the first goal of his collegiate career at the 51:34 mark for a 3-0 Corban lead.
Corban would add a fourth and final goal in the 56th minute when sophomore Michael Leptich scored his first goal this season off an assist by Castillo. The scoring play would begin with Castillo redirecting a perfect executed possession play into a 1-on-1 opportunity for Leptich, who beating Northwest Christian's keeper into the lower right corner of the goal for a 4-0 Warrior lead at the 55:11 mark for the game's final goal.
Steven Mason would play the first 82-plus minutes and registered Corban's lone save before Nash Yamauchi stood between the pipes for the game's final seven-plus minutes en route to earning the shared shutout. Northwest Christian's Erik Carrazco would register a game-high two saves for the Beacons, as NCU concluded its season.
Offensively, Corban tallied 17 more shots (22-to-5) than Northwest Christian that included a 6-to-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Warriors also earned the game's only corner kicks (5-to-0), while both teams were whistled for 11 fouls in a physical game for the both sides.