SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University men’s soccer team scored six goals during a 20-minute span in the second half en route to trouncing the Oregon Tech Owls at Warrior Field on Saturday afternoon, 7-1. The win is Corban’s sixth straight, and also keeps the Warriors in first place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings with six CCC matches to play.
During its six-match winning streak, the Warriors have now outscored their opponents, 20-1. The goal allowed on Saturday broke the five-match scoreless streak that Corban’s defense had registered.
The Warriors began the game right where they left off on Friday, with senior forward Arsinio Walker (Kingston, Jamaica) providing the offense for Corban. Just 15 seconds into the match, Walker blasted a right-footed shot off of the crossbar and the ball pinged down off the ground and into the Oregon Tech goalkeeper’s hands.
That early attack was a sign of things to come for Corban, as the Warriors were relentless all afternoon long in the attacking third. Corban eventually scored in the 20th minute when junior defender James Williamson (Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho) heaved a long throw into the box and Walker flicked the ball to the back post, much like he did when he scored on Friday against The College of Idaho. This time, however, the ball went straight to senior forward Josh Hamilton (Portland, Ore.), and Hamilton buried a powerful right-footed shot into the back of the net to give Corban the 1-0 advantage. For Hamilton, it was his first goal of the season.
Just 10 minutes later, however, Oregon Tech took a page out of Corban’s playbook, heaving a long throw-in into the box, and after the ball was flicked by a Corban defender into the middle of the box, Casey Oltman scored for the Owls, leveling the contest at 1-1.
The remainder of the half was fairly back and forth, and the score remained tied at the halftime intermission. Corban held the shot advantage at the break, 14-7, and the corner-kick edge, 3-1.
In the second half, Corban began pressing the issue right away, forcing the Owls to really have to start playing defensively. Oregon Tech stayed in the contest though due to some fantastic saves from its goalkeeper, James Goheen. Goheen ended up with 13 saves on the afternoon, but he fouled a Corban player in the box midway through the second half, surrendering a penalty kick. Sophomore defender Tim Kagey (West Linn, Ore.) stepped up to the spot for the Warriors, but his penalty kick was saved, as Goheen sprawled to his left to make the diving stop.
Unfazed, Corban remained persistent, and the breakthrough finally came in the 70th minute when Walker ripped a shot that went past Goheen and straight into the path of sophomore midfielder Nathaniel Cheney (Clarkson, Wash.), and Chaney finished the play off simply by tapping the ball into an open goal. For Cheney, it was his first goal of the 2014 season and second of his Warrior career.
Eight minutes later, senior midfielder Kyle Hammond (Missoula, Mont.) combined on the left side of the 18-yard box with Cheney, and Chaney provided the perfect back-heel pass to Hammond who took a touch and then blasted his shot firmly into the goal, putting Corban up 3-1. For Hammond, it was his second score of the campaign.
Three minutes later in the 80th minute, Walker fed sophomore midfielder Quamie Dinnall (May Pen, Jamaica) with a perfectly-weighted through-ball, and then Dinnall one-timed his left-footed cross into sophomore forward Bobby Hutchin (Vancouver, Wash.). Hutchin did well and muscled off two defenders en route to finishing his shot into the back of the net to make it 4-1.
The floodgates then opened up for Corban, as it scored twice in the next three minutes. Walker received a pass from Dinnall and scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season to make it 5-1, and then sophomore midfielder Chico Guerra (Happy Valley, Ore.) scored his first-career goal in the 84th minute to make it a five-goal advantage.
Late in the contest, freshman forward Miguel Naves (Veradale, Wash.) also got on the score-sheet when he buried a right-footed shot after receiving a pass from Guerra. For Naves, it was his first-career goal while donning the Navy and Gold.
That is how the match would end, with the Warriors on top, 7-1. With seven goals finding the back of the net for the Warriors, it marks the most goals Corban has scored since October 21, 2006, when the Warriors defeated Walla Walla University, 7-0.
“The maturity of the group today was evident in their patient and persistent play,” stated head coach Aaron Lewis. “We felt the goals would come if they continued to share it and move. It was awesome to have great performances from Josh Hamilton and Kyle Hammond, and goals from Chico, Miguel, and Nathaniel.”
For the match, Corban outshot Oregon Tech, 34-9, and racked up six corners to just two for the Owls. With seven different goal scorers, Corban received fantastic efforts offensively from a number of players. Cheney and Walker both led the way for the Warriors offensively, totaling eight shots apiece. On the season, the Navy and Gold now have 13 different goal scorers.
After the victory, Cheney talked about his game-winner in a post-match interview.
The Warriors (8-3-1, 6-1-1 CCC) return to the pitch on Wednesday when they travel to Kirkland, Wash., for a showdown with the second-place Northwest University Eagles (10-2-0, 6-2-0 CCC). Kickoff against the Eagles is scheduled for 3 p.m.