LACEY, Wash. – In a Saturday afternoon exhibition against NCAA Division II Saint Martin's University, the No. 16-ranked Corban University men's soccer team struggled to gain traction on either side of the ball. The Warriors fell to the hometown Saints by a final margin of 3-0.
"I didn't prepare the group well enough today," said head coach Tim Kagey. "We will address what needs to be fixed and move on to our next match."
Saint Martin's Brandon Madsen opened the game's scoring in the 11th minute, blasting one into the upper-right corner to give the Saints an early advantage.
Madsen then assisted Jason Fairhurst's goal in the 27th minute, expanding the deficit to two. The score would remain that way for the remainder of the first half.
Two and a half minutes past the midway point, the Saints struck again, this time courtesy of Amri Mwenyeheri.
Despite the lopsided final tally, the shot count and save count of the two teams looked very similar. Corban mustered 12 shots (six on goal) on the afternoon to Saint Martin's 13 (eight on goal), but the squad was unable to sneak one past Saint goalkeeper Gunnar Morehead, who racked up six saves.
On the opposite end, Warrior freshman Justin Keegan got his first collegiate start in goal, collecting a save in 45 minutes between the pipes. Marcos Ochoa came in for the second half of play, surrendering a goal and accruing four saves.
Corban (1-0) will look to have a short memory, returning to Salem for a highly-anticipated matchup with crosstown rival Willamette University next weekend. The game is scheduled for September 6, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. at Sparks Field.