By Chad Waller, Director of Communications & Sports Information
NAIA Match of the Week – No. 7
No. 20 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (10-1-0, 5-1-0 CCC) at No. 7 Corban (Ore.) (10-0-0, 5-0-0 CCC)
Saturday, Oct. 10 | Noon PDT | Salem, Ore. | Warrior Field
Live video – provided by Corban and Stretch Internet
• As the conference season is at the midway point, No. 7 Corban (Ore.) and No. 20 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) look to be in the driver’s seat for a Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) regular-season championship. Both clubs meet up with first-place on the line Saturday from Salem, Ore., at noon PDT.
• Prior to the NAIA Match of the Week, Corban hosts College of Idaho and Rocky Mountain travels to Northwest Christian (Ore.) on Friday.
• When looking at this year’s NAIA Match of the Week, the home team has gone 3-2-1 through six games. Additionally, the higher-ranked team has owned a 4-1-1 mark with the lone loss occurring when (RV) Roosevelt (Ill.) defeated then-No. 23 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), 3-2, in overtime on Oct. 3.
• The average margin of victory in the NAIA Game of the Week is 1.3 goals. Two of the matches have been decided in overtime.
• Corban holds a slim .5-game lead in the CCC standings over the Battlin’ Bears with a 5-0-0 mark. Both programs still have to face Evergreen State (Wash.), who is tied for third place with a current 4-1-0 league record.
• Corban, who boasts its highest national ranking in history, is yet to be scored upon through a 10-0-0 start. The feat of 10-straight scoreless matches is a Corban school record. The NAIA regular season record for fewest goals allowed in a season is four (in 15 matches), accomplished by former member Maine-Farmington in 1988.
• Rocky Mountain leads the all-time series, 1-0. The only time these two teams previously met was Sept. 4, 2010 when the Battlin’ Bears won in Salem by a 2-1 score.
• For Corban, goalkeeper Jordan Farr has racked up nine shutouts on the year, ranking him tied for first overall in the NAIA.
• Quamie Dinnall serves as the Warriors most dynamic attacking threat with six goals and eight assists thus far on the year. The eight helpers is good for eighth-most in the NAIA.
• Nathaniel Cheney ranks second on the team with five goals and two assists, while Armando Guevara has scored four and dished out two assists.
• Head Coach Aaron Lewis led Corban to its first four CCC regular-season championships as a player from 1995-1998, earning CCC Player of the Year honors twice during that time. He then returned to Corban as the head coach in 2013 and led Corban to its fifth-ever CCC regular-season championship that same year.
• Lewis was the first-ever NAIA player to be drafted in the MLS Draft when then Dallas Burn (FC Dallas) selected him with the 35th overall selection in the 1999 college draft. After his time in Dallas, Lewis played professionally indoors for the Portland Pythons of the World Indoor Soccer League.
• The Warriors have won each of the last two CCC Tournament titles en route to advancing to the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round.
• Rocky Mountain joined the CCC as affiliate members in soccer beginning this season.
• The Battlin’ Bears are the No. 1 scoring team in the NAIA with 52 goals, which ranks them third in goals scored per game (4.730). On the defensive side, they have held their opponents to 15 goals in 11 matches (1.4 gapg).
• Senior Jack Clancy, a midfielder from Westmeath, Ireland, leads the Battlin’ Bears with 11 goals in 11 matches and seven assists for a total of 29 points. The 2014 Honorable Mention All-America pick stands No. 8 in the NAIA in points and 10th in goals.
• Freshman forward Steven Forbes, from Balloch, Scotland, has played in all 11 matches and ranks No. 8 in the NAIA in total assists (8).
• Two more freshman who are making their mark are Nolan Sherwood with eight goals, and Donovan Luce, who has contributed seven goals.
• The Battlin’ Bears have been without their captain and two-time First Team All-Conference performer Eddie Cass, who has been injured for six games due to a lower leg injury he suffered against Oregon Tech.
• Sophomore netminder Cole Catlin has recorded 21 of the team’s 27 saves, while allowing 10 goals.
• Coach Richard Duffy is in his seventh season as the head men's soccer coach at Rocky Mountain, where he has compiled a 64-43-4 record.
• Duffy was a third team All-America selection for Mary (N.D.) in 1999. In 2001, Duffy moved to Billings and served as an assistant for the Rocky Mountain women's soccer program.
• In 2012, Duffy led the men's program to their first-ever national championship appearance in only its fourth year of existence. In 2014, the Battlin’ Bears compiled an 11-10 record, while losing in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round at Texas at Brownsville, 3-2.
Some information courtesy of Rocky Mountain and Corban Sports Information departments
Additional Notes from Around NAIA Men’s Soccer
(Through games played on Oct. 7, 2015)
• Cumberland (Tenn.) leads the NAIA with an 11-match win streak. The Bulldogs are 11-0-0 heading into a road match at Cumberlands (Ky.) on Saturday. Union (Ky.) holds the longest unbeaten streak (win or tie) in the NAIA with a 12-gamer. With a 10-0-2 mark, the Bulldogs match up with Truett-McConnell (Ga.) on Saturday before a showdown with No. 11 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) on Oct. 13.
• Rio Grande (Ohio), who had its 11-match win streak snapped on Oct. 3 against then-No. 25 Union, holds the most wins in the NAIA with 12.
• Twelve programs have at least 10 wins on the season.
• Overall, there are six teams who are undefeated on the year. This point last week, there were 10 undefeated programs.
• There are still 12 teams who are searching for their first victory of the season. At this point last week, there were 16 programs with zero wins.
• Judson (Ill.) is the all-time wins leader in NAIA men’s soccer history with 655 victories, as the Eagles stand 3-7-1 thus far. The Eagles first started playing men’s soccer in 1967. Following the Eagles is Westmont (Calif.) with 615 (6-4-1 this year).
• Oklahoma City has a shot at cracking the milestone win of 400 in program history – currently the Stars hold 393 wins (1-7-0 this year). The Stars would become the 19th men’s program in NAIA history to reach 400 victories.
• Coach Tom Maxon of Morningside (Iowa) celebrated his 200th win in the 2-1 victory against Buena Vista (Iowa) on Sept. 18. Currently, he stands 201-194-21 (6-3-1 this year) in his 21st year. He becomes the 18th active coach within the NAIA ranks to reach the 200 win milestone.
• Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) coach David Erskine joined the 200-win club after his Trojans defeated then-No. 19 Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.), 3-2, on Oct. 3. Currently, he holds a 200-122-25 mark (5-4-2 this year).
• In the third regular-season edition of the 2015 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, Rio Grande (Ohio) secured the No. 1 ranking for the for the third-straight week and 49th time in school history – which now is the highest amount in the NAIA. For the complete Top 25 release, click here.
• Isaac Huerta of Goshen (Ind.) and Logan Miller of Lyon (Ark.) earned the fifth NAIA National Player of the Week honors on Oct. 6. For more information, click here.
• Top 25 matchups this week:
o Saturday – (3) Vanguard (Calif.) @ (17) The Master's (Calif.)
o Saturday – (20) Rocky Mountain (Mont.) @ (7) Corban (Ore.)
• 2015 NAIA Men’s Soccer Game of the Week Results:
o Aug. 29 – No. 2 Northwestern Ohio (H) def. No. 9 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (A), 3-1
o Sept. 5 – No. 5 Rio Grande (Ohio) (H) def. No. 8 Vanguard (Calif.) (A), 3-1
o Sept. 12 – No. 17 Hastings (Neb.) (H) tied No. 12 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (A), 1-1 (2 OT)
o Sept. 18 – No. 6 Mobile (Ala.) (A) def. No. 11 Thomas (Ga.) (H), 3-2
o Sept. 26 – No. 1 Rio Grande (Ohio) (H) def. No. 6 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (A), 3-1
o Oct. 3 – (RV) Roosevelt (Ill.) def. No. 23 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), 3-2 (OT)
• For a complete list of the NAIA men’s soccer statistical leaders, click here.
• For the second-straight year, the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship will take place at Hilltopper Stadium in Delray Beach, Fla. The 16-team, single-elimination event occurs Nov. 30 – Dec. 5. The bracket will be announced on Monday, Nov. 16. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission in conjunction with Keiser University (Fla.) will serve as the host. For more information, click here.
NAIANetwork.com Men’s Soccer Game of the Week, presented by Stretch Internet
• This week’s featured contest matches up No. 17 The Master’s (Calif.) at No. 3 Vanguard (Calif.) Saturday at 3 p.m. PDT. Click HERE to watch the game live on the Stretch Internet portal.
• The 2015 season marks the first year for the NAIANetwork.com Men’s Soccer Game of the Week, presented by Stretch Internet. This contest is selected by the national office and highlights member schools that utilize live video-streaming with Stretch Internet.
• The NAIA Network – at www.NAIANetwork.com – is the official video-streaming portal of the NAIA.
• Stretch Internet is the official video-streaming provider of the NAIA. A leader in the college video-streaming industry, Stretch Internet currently has 55% of NAIA schools using their service.