Cavs overtake upset-minded Corban, 1-0
PORTLAND, Ore.—The No. 1-ranked Concordia University women's soccer team outshot Corban University 25-4, but needed to wait until the 71st minute for the lone goal of the game, defeating Corban 1-0 in a Cascade Collegiate Conference match at Tuominen Yard on Saturday night.
Concordia, the No. 1-ranked team in the NAIA, improved to 9-0-1 on the season and 2-0-0 in the CCC while Corban fell to 5-5-1 overall and 0-2-2 in league play.
Playing the ball off a corner kick by
Erin Huisingh (Pasco, Wash./Chiawana H.S.), centerback
Shannon McMahon (Lake Forest Park, Wash./Bishop Blanchet H.S.) scored the gamewinner on a header from five yards out at the 70:05 mark in the hard-fought contest.
The goal represented the second for McMahon this season, her first gamewinner, while the pass gave Huisingh her second assist of the year.
The Cavaliers missed out on several opportunities for an early lead in the first half, including a one-on-one between
Ariel Kanable (Beaverton, Ore./Southridge H.S.) and Corban goalkeeper Katlyn Mendenhall in the opening minutes where Mendenhall charged out for the save.
Moments later on a breakaway,
Annika Hayman (Redmond, Wash./Redmond H.S.) delivered a shot off the right post and 11 minutes in Huisingh created a 25-yard curling shot that went wide after a solo run on the left side that left the Concordia attack empty despite a 12-2 shot advantage through the first 45 minutes.
Concordia upped its total to 13 attempts in the second half, but found itself clinging to the one-goal lead and Corban producing a handful of chances for the equalizer.
The Warriors best chance occurred in the 55th minute with Katelyn Fekkes taking along run on the right side after a misclearance by the Concordia defense.
Catching up to the play, CU's
Becca Long (Meridian, Idaho/Bishop Kelly H.S.) erased the scoring chance with a tackle near the goal line.
"We started strong, but we shot ourselves in the foot to be honest. We had two 2-on-1's in the first five minutes and if we just score one of those goals we distance ourselves," CU head coach Grant Landy said. "I felt like we kept them in the game a little longer than we should have, Marty (Zeiesemer) does a great job. His team plays hard and they made it tough for us."
Concordia keeper
Nicole Franklin (Hillsboro, Ore./Century H.S.) improved to 5-0-1 on the season after collecting two saves. In the process, Franklin tallied her third shutout of the season and lowered her goals against average to a miniscule 0.32 goals per game.
In a solid performance, Mendenhall was credited with six saves in the loss.
Concordia will return to action on Oct. 2 when it travels to face Eastern Oregon University. Corban, meanwhile, is set to play at home against Oregon Tech on Thursday.