Strong Corban Team Beats Lady Argos in 2-0 Loss
GREAT FALLS, Mont. – A strong Corban University team proved too much for Lady Argo soccer to handle, losing 2-0 to a team UP had never beaten. The Warriors dominated the first half, but the Lady Argos put up a strong fight in the second half.
Possession was almost all Warriors in the first half, including a handful of dangerous scoring chances. In the 11th minute, one of those chances found its way home. The score came on a quality shot from the top of the penalty box that found its way into the upper left corner of the net.
UP made a couple good runs down the field, but couldn’t get much out of them. The Lady Argos did earn a corner kick in the 19th minute, and senior midfielder Serafina Robles got off the team’s first shot of the game in the 27th minute, but it sailed wide.
It was clear at the start of the second half that UP wasn’t going to go away quietly. Less than 30 seconds into the period, junior Malena Lennon got off the team’s second shot of the game, and about a minute later, junior Sydney Knieriem forced Corban keeper Sheyenne Brusven to make her first save.
That momentum quickly dissolved, however, with Corban answering with two corner kicks, the second of which found Heidi Fronk open inside the box for the Warrior’s second goal.
For the rest of the game, the Lady Argos controlled play more and more, but couldn’t quite turn possession into dangerous scoring opportunities. The closest UP came was a shot from sophomore forward Eme McLaughlin in the 90th minute that hit off the crossbar.
UP’s only other shot on goal, besides, Knieriem’s early in the second half, came from freshman Soraya Alfaro.
The Lady Argos were outshot 17-9 and beat on shots on goal 9-2, but despite a bigger goal differential, those numbers showed improvement from when the two teams met in 2016. In that game, the Lady Argos simply bunkered down on defense and were able to force overtime in a 2-1 loss, but they were outshot 23-6 in that contest.
The loss brings UP’s record to 2-4 (1-1) on the year and the leaves the Lady Argos tied for 5th in the Cascade Collegiate Conference standings. Corban currently sits atop the standings with a conference record of 3-0-1.
Next for the Lady Argos will be Warner Pacific College, the second to last team in the standings, in a road match on September 29 at 4 p.m.