SALEM, Ore. – It has been a magical season for the No. 19-ranked Corban University men's soccer team, and the squad made history on Sunday night with a 3-1 victory over (RV) Rocky Mountain College in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Regular-Season Championship.
With the victory, the Warriors claim their first outright conference title since 2013, while also clinching the squad's seventh-straight NAIA National Tournament berth and first-ever undefeated regular season.
"Very proud of our team performance today," said head coach Tim Kagey, who was a freshman when Corban won its last outright conference title in 2013. "We've shown we are a top team in the country, beating a very quality Rocky Mountain team. We are excited to be the conference champions. Go Warriors!"
It was a packed house at the CFC Soccer Complex, with the two CCC powerhouses separated by just a point in the standings heading into play today.
Charles Cleyton ignited the crowd early, sneaking a loose ball past Battlin' Bear goalkeeper Kristofer Wennin to give Corban an early 1-0 advantage. The goal was assisted by Camilo Avendano—who sent the ball into the box with a corner kick—and Christian Silva—who deflected the corner to the feet of Cleyton.
The Warriors' leading goal scorer, Matheus Giron, then doubled the lead in the 26th minute, finishing off a deflection for his 12th goal of 2019.
The high-powered Battlin' Bear offense wouldn't remain quiet for long, however, cutting the deficit in half via a 33rd-minute goal from Finn Lane (1).
After taking a 2-1 lead into the half, Corban caught a fortunate break just minutes into the second stanza. After a Rocky Mountain foul in the box, Giron provided valuable insurance for the Navy and Gold, converting the penalty kick to push the lead to two.
Rocky Mountain sought frantically for an answer, creating a number of promising second-half opportunities. Warrior rookie Justin Keegan was up for the task, however, tallying three saves in total on the night.
Two of those came in the second half, the first of which was on a header from Rocky's Quique Garcia. The second of Keegan's two second-half saves was a sparkling one, with the freshman from Portland, Ore. sprawling to deny a goal to Rocky Mountain's Sky Swenson in the 69th minute.
With the win, the Warriors finish the 2019 regular season with a 14-0-2 record (12-0-1 CCC), the first unblemished regular season in the program's history.
After celebrating the historic championship, the Warriors will turn their sights upon the CCC Tournament, which will begin on Tuesday morning. The No. 1-seeded Warriors will take on eighth-seeded Evergreen at 11 a.m. at the Willamalane Complex in Springfield, Ore.