No. 21 Corban Men’s Soccer Wins Battle for Salem in 2-1 Triumph over Willamette

9/1/2018 10:18:00 PM

Danny Day, Assistant Athletic Director - External Operations

SALEM, Ore. – The No. 21-ranked Corban University men's soccer team won the battle for Salem on Saturday evening on the road, downing the Willamette University Bearcats across town, 2-1. For the Warriors, it marks their third-straight year in which they have defeated Willamette.

Click the 'Play Button' on the photo above to watch the video of the game-winning goal.

"Credit Willamette with a hard-fought, well-played match," said Corban head coach Aaron Lewis. "They are conference champs, and they showed their quality tonight. Our guys continue to find ways to earn results while making progress as a team. We had new guys step in today that made a difference. That depth was called upon in key moments tonight and we're going to need that heading into back-to-back situations later in the year."

Willamette, last year's Northwest Conference champions and NCAA Tournament representative, found the back of the net first on the night, taking advantage of a miscue in the back from Corban to make it 1-0 in the seventh minute.

Corban responded and actually had a chance to tie it in the 20^th minute, but the penalty kick was saved. A minute later, however, Kohl Hurtado continued his strong start to his rookie campaign when he found the back of the net off an assist from Camilo Avendano.

The game-winner came in the second half when Jesse Martin received a through ball down the right side of the 18-yard box, and he beat his defender and chipped in a perfect cross to the onrushing Armando Lopez who buried his header past the goalkeeper to give the Warriors the 2-1 advantage.

During the waning moments of the match, Warrior goalkeeper Jordan Salim was forced to make a few big saves, including one with just a second left on the clock to preserve the victory.

Corban (3-0) returns to the pitch next Saturday when it takes on Westmont College (Calif.). Kickoff in Santa Barbara is slated for 12 p.m.