Bobby Hutchin and the Warriors played down a man for over 75 minutes on Saturday, and ultimately the Warriors fell against Rocky Mountain, 1-0. (Photo Credit: JD Smith)
SALEM, Ore. – The No. 20-ranked Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears registered an upset win over the No. 7-ranked Corban University Warriors on Saturday, winning by a final score of 1-0 in the NAIA Men's Soccer Match of the Week. For Corban, it is its first loss of the 2015 campaign, while for Rocky, the Battlin' Bears extend their advantage atop the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings to six points.
"The effort and commitment of the group today was evident in all situations," said Corban head coach Aaron Lewis. "The result stings at the moment, but this group has the right mentality to get it going again next week."
Corban (11-1, 6-1 CCC) began the game well, as junior midfielder Quamie Dinnall (May Pen, Jamaica) ripped a left-footed shot off the crossbar in the early moments, and then on the next two times down the field, the Warriors sent balls right across the top of the six-yard box, but Corban players were unable to convert on the golden opportunities as the balls scooted through and out of bounds.
Then in the 15th minute of play after a bit of a scuffle on the far side of the field, the referee issued a straight red card to a Warrior player, forcing Corban to play down a man for the remainder of the match.
For the rest of the first stanza, both sides continued to battle, but at halftime, the score remained tied at 0-0. In the second half with the wind swirling and going in both directions at different points through the period, both teams continued to press the issue in search of the game-winner.
Rocky Mountain found the goal it was looking for in the 73rd minute of play when after a ball was initially cleared by Corban, Nolan Sherwood received the ball on the top of the 18-yard box, beat one Corban defender and ripped a low-liner into the goal, putting Rocky Mountain in front.
Corban registered a few close opportunities late on, and came very close when Warrior junior midfielder Kemar Prince (Kingston, Jamaica) almost connected on a spectacular bicycle kick, but to no avail, as the opportunity was missed.
During the final few minutes of the contest, the Battlin' Bears did well to hold the ball in Corban's defensive third, killing off the clock and sealing their 12th win of the 2015 campaign.
On the afternoon, Rocky Mountain (12-1, 8-1 CCC) outshot Corban, 17-11, with Sherwood leading the way with four shots for the Battlin' Bears. For Corban, Dinnall totaled a team-high six shots, while Warrior freshman forward Nic Farr (Turner, Ore.) tallied five.
Corban is now even with The Evergreen State College on points in the CCC standings, at 18 apiece after Evergreen won today, while Rocky Mountain sits on top of the standings with 24 points having two more games played than either Corban or Evergreen. Each team has one loss on the year, and Rocky and Evergreen are set to face off in two weeks in Olympia, Wash., while Corban travels north to take on Evergreen on October 31st in the final game of the regular-season.
The Warriors return to action next weekend when they host Walla Walla University and Multnomah University in their final two home matches of the year. Kickoff both days is set for 3 p.m. Rocky Mountain returns home next week to take on Eastern Oregon University and Warner Pacific College in Billings, Mont.
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