OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – There just wasn’t quite enough magic left in the tank for the No. 25 Corban University Men’s Soccer team (16-3-2), who dropped their final game of the 2022 season earlier this afternoon against the No. 17 Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles (14-5-3) in the First Round of the NAIA National Tournament. The Eagles advanced to the Second Round via penalty kicks, 5-4, thus ending the Warriors’ record-breaking season.
Both the Warriors and Eagles began the contest focusing heavily on possession and offensive pressure, as there was a shot and save made within the first minute of the referee’s whistle to begin the match. Warriors’ sophomore defender Edson Jimenez got the shot off on Eagles’ goalkeeper Ilija Catic, who made the save to prevent the opening minute goal.
The Eagles jumped on the board first in the 27th minute, when midfielder Uros Rosic found himself wide open in the middle of the field in front of the net, blasting a shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the net, just out of the reach of Corban graduate student goalkeeper Quinn McCallion. Rosic was assisted by midfielder Zlatan Ramic and hockey assisted by forward Stefan Cvetanovic on the play.
Despite trailing 1-0 at the half, Corban led in both shots and corner kick opportunities, as the Warriors were just barely missing out on their opportunities in the penalty box. Senior forward Yuki Onishi, sophomore midfielder Andres Labate, and freshman defender Joao Gomes all had two shots to lead the team.
Corban had dominated in every aspect of the contest up to this point of the afternoon, yet every attempt came up emptyhanded with nothing on the scoreboard to show for their efforts. Coach Kagey had provided plenty of substitutions to try changing up their gameplan and keep the Eagles off balance, with his plan finally coming to fruition in the final minute of regulation for the second time this season.
With 52 seconds remaining, Corban found their equalizer, as sophomore midfielder Alexis Luna hit redshirt junior Nate Sherwood in stride to slide one past Catic for the game-tying goal. Sherwood’s fifth goal of the season provided the Warriors with 20 extra minutes to try to earn the first round upset over the Eagles.
The Warriors and Eagles each had some decent opportunities in the overtime periods, but both sides were clearly playing with the thought of penalty kicks in mind, which would be the first instance of postgame PKs this season for Corban. After the 110th minute finally hit zeros, both Corban and Oklahoma Wesleyan prepared for the penalty kick scenario, with the sights of a Second Round opportunity in plain view for each team.
The first two pairs of penalty kicks were exchanged even at two scores apiece, but the third attempt for Corban was hauled in by Catic, providing the Eagles with a 3-2 lead after midfielder Pol Mur scooted one past McCallion.
Although the Warriors were able to convert on their next two attempts, Oklahoma Wesleyan’s midfielder Ivan Tadic sunk the final PK into the back of the net, providing the Eagles with the 5-4 advantage to advance to the next round of the NAIA tourney.
The Warriors offense left it all out on the field this afternoon, leading the Eagles 19-10 in total shots, while taking 12 corner kicks and receiving four less fouls called upon them. Jimenez ended with the team-lead in shots with three, with himself, Sherwood, graduate student defender Derek Neidlinger, and senior defender Robin Terry each registering a shot on goal.
Both goalkeepers in McCallion and Catic allowed a goal and hauled in three saves for the postseason draw being added to their records. Eagles’ Rosic matched Jimenez with three total shots, while Ramic pushed his pair of shots towards McCallion for the game-high in shots on goal.
Corban Men’s Soccer completes their 2022 season with multiple NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 appearances, the 2022 CCC Defensive Player of the Year, four First Team All-CCC selections, two Honorable Mention All-CCC honorees, a handful of Academic All-CCC team members, the NAIA lead in total shutouts (14), and will return a decent chunk of their starting lineup next season.
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