Kemar Prince scored twice in Corban's 2-1 win over Northwest. (Photo Credit: Doug Pfeiler)
SALEM, Ore. – Senior midfielder Kemar Prince scored two crucial goals on Friday afternoon at Willamette University’s Sparks Field, lifting the No. 15-ranked Corban University men’s soccer team to a pivotal 2-1 triumph over Northwest University. The win means that the Warriors will play for at least a share of the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) regular-season title tomorrow evening when they host The Evergreen State College.
“Kemar Prince found ways to impact the match on both sides of the ball today,” said Corban head coach Aaron Lewis. “He lifted our team in big moments, and teams need those types of performances to win a conference.”
Prince scored a diving header in the first half off of a perfectly-placed corner kick from junior forward Timur Zhividze in the 18th minute of play, putting the Warriors up 1-0.
By the half, Corban led 10-4 in the shot category, including missing three breakaways.
In the second stanza, Prince bagged his second of the day when he buried a header off a long throw-in from senior defender Jacob Young.
The Warriors seemed to be in full control of the match, but then a giveaway in the back led to a break down the left side for Northwest, and after being fouled in the box, Chris Ialcolucci scored his penalty kick, halving the deficit.
After giving up the goal, Corban continued to knock on the door, trying to close the game out, but missed opportunities kept the Eagles in the contest. Northwest hit the crossbar twice late on in regulation, and a pair of big saves from Warrior junior goalkeeper Jordan Farr kept Northwest off the scoreboard again, sealing the 2-1 CCC victory.
“Our sites are now firmly set on tomorrow’s opportunity to bring home a conference championship,” said Lewis.
Corban (15-2, 10-2 CCC) outshot the Eagles for the match, 20-10, and tallied 10 corner kicks to just three for Northwest (10-7, 6-6 CCC).
Corban remains in a four-way tie with Rocky Mountain College, Southern Oregon University, and Evergreen for first place, as all of those three teams won today as well. Rocky Mountain plays SOU tomorrow at 12 p.m., and then Corban hosts Evergreen at 6 p.m. at Willamette’s Sparks Field.
With many scenarios that could take place in the two games, Corban knows this: win tomorrow vs. Evergreen and clinch at least a share of the CCC regular-season title. Depending on how results go in the Rocky-SOU contest, a win could mean even more.
Tomorrow’s match will have both live video and live stats on Warrior TV.