Corban men's soccer defeated Eastern Oregon 4-2 on Friday afternoon. (Photo Credit: Doug Pfeiler)
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – In spite of rescheduling games to the Willamalane Sports Center in Springfield, Ore., the 15th-ranked Corban University men's soccer team continued its winning ways, defeating Eastern Oregon University 4-2 on Friday afternoon.
"The movement, pressure, and finishing were sharp during the first half," said Corban head coach Aaron Lewis. "That's a positive trend that has been building with our group now for several games. It's fair to say we lost a little bit of focus in the second half with our big lead and we need to learn from that heading into the post season."
The Warriors wasted no time from the opening buzzer, scoring the first goal in a matter of minutes. In the seventh minute, junior midfielder Rolando Velazquez took a pass from junior forward Timur Zhividze and slotted it in the bottom-left corner of the goal past the keeper. For Velazquez, it was his seventh goal of the 2016 campaign.
After the first strike, the scoring floodgates opened for the Warriors. In the 15th minute, after a great defensive effort, Zhividze placed the ball past the keeper for the second goal of the game.
The Warriors were not finished there. After an Eastern Oregon foul in the penalty box, Corban was awarded a penalty kick in the 26th minute. Zhividze lined up behind the ball and fired it into the bottom-right corner past the keeper's reach for his second goal of the night.
To close the first half scoring, Zhividze took a touch from senior midfielder Armando Guevara and buried his shot into the back of the net for the hat trick. Zhividze finished with three goals and one assist on the match.
Corban outshot EOU 8-3 in the first half.
As play started up in the second half, EOU made it its mission to get back in the game. Just 30 seconds into the half, sophomore Elvis Pavon took a cross from freshman Oscar Munoz and beat Corban junior goalkeeper Jordan Farr for the Mountaineer's first goal of the night.
As the night progressed, play got chippier and rough as fouls kept piling up. In the 55th minute, Corban was handed a red card after a rough sliding tackle, reducing its men on the field to 10. With momentum shifting to EOU, the Mountaineers found their second opportunity in the 72nd minute, when sophomore Steven Beaudry found the back of the net with a strike after a scramble in the 18-yard box.
Despite constant pressure from the Mountaineers, the Warriors pulled out all the stops defensively to defeat Eastern Oregon (9-6-1, 4-6-1 CCC) as the final buzzer sounded.
Altogether, there were five yellow cards and one red card handed out on the match. Eastern Oregon outshot the Warriors 12-4 in the second half, and EOU held a slight advantage in total shots, 15-12.
Corban (13-2, 8-2 CCC) looks to extend its winning streak against Warner Pacific College on Saturday at Willamette University's Sparks Field. Kick-off is set for 8 p.m.