Corban suffered its first loss of the year, falling to Rocky Mountain at home on Friday.
SALEM, Ore. – It was a dream start for the No. 6-ranked Corban University men's soccer team on Friday, but a tough second half led to the Warriors' first defeat of the 2017 campaign, losing to No. 10-ranked Rocky Mountain College (Mont.), 4-1. For the Battlin' Bears, it marked the squad's third-straight victory over Corban.
"We allowed Rocky to get on the ball more than we wanted today, and then didn't do a good enough job keeping them in front of us when they did," said Corban head coach Aaron Lewis. "I'm confident that this group will take this result and find ways to improve."
In what was a pivotal Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) match for both teams, Corban jumped on Rocky just 28 second into the contest, as after Timur Zhividze had a shot saved, Alex Segovia followed up the attempt and blasted home a left-footed shot into the back of the net, putting the Warriors in front before anyone blinked an eye.
Rocky Mountain did a good job settling into the contest after giving up the early goal, however, and the Battlin' Bears scored just before the half ended when Chasen Lashure scored from point-blank range on a bouncing ball in the box.
In the second stanza, Marco Kummerle gave the Battlin' Bears the advantage when he headed in the go-ahead goal in the 57th minute, and Rocky then made it 3-1 just a few minutes later when Lashure scored on a deflection from the top of the box.
The Battlin' Bears eventually made it 4-1 when Sam Davidson slotted home a goal in the 72nd minute, putting the match well out of reach.
Rocky Mountain (11-1-0, 7-1-0 CCC) held the shots advantage on the afternoon, 22-7, while Corban held the slight edge in corner kicks, 5-4.
Corban (10-1-2, 6-1-1 CCC) returns to the pitch tomorrow for another crucial CCC match against the College of Idaho. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m.