SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University Men’s Soccer team (1-0, 0-0) returned to campus in style Thursday afternoon, defeating the No. 25 Northwestern College Red Raiders (0-1, 0-0) on their home field with a 3-0 margin of victory in the first game of the 2022 Corban Men’s Soccer Jamboree.
“It was great to get our first win of the season against a Top 25 opponent,” Warriors’ Head Coach Tim Kagey shared on the dominating shutout.
Kagey went on to state, “I think we still need to fix a few things, but I was very pleased to see the depth of our roster. We look forward to competing hard again on Saturday at home again.”
Defense proved to be the biggest factor in today’s contest for either side, with the Warriors holding the Red Raiders to just three total shots, only one of which was on goal. Whereas Corban managed seven shots in total, with six of them being on target.
That defensive mindset for both teams showed itself early, with the first goal not coming until less than a minute on the clock before the halftime break. Sophomore midfielder/forward Andres Labate was fouled in the penalty box on a shot attempt, providing him with a penalty kick opportunity. Despite Red Raiders’ goalkeeper Ezekiel Foltz hitting his 50/50 shot on guessing which side of the goal Labate would shoot for, the ball was stung way too hard, and sailed into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Warriors wouldn’t pick up their second goal until the 72nd minute of the game, when senior midfielder Saad Mohacht was granted a penalty kick try after also being fouled in Northwestern’s penalty box. This time, Foltz wasn’t as lucky, diving to his right while Mohacht’s ball flew to his opposite side, and doubling Corban’s lead to 2-0.
The only score of the afternoon that wasn’t allowed due to a penalty came in the 85th minute, when senior forward Reggie Reyes collected a bombing clear from the Corban defensive line, resulting in a one-on-one situation for Reyes and Foltz. With a defender gaining on Reyes, he shot the ball right into the blocking hands of Foltz, but collected the rebounded ball to easily score the third Warrior goal of the afternoon.
Warriors’ goalkeeper Quinn McCallion (1-0) was hardly phased this afternoon, as his stout defensive front allowed just one shot to reach his mitts, resulting in a single save opportunity. However, the Wallingford, U.K. native commanded the Warriors to their first shutout win of the season, and over an NAIA Top 25 team no doubt.
Foltz (0-1) was able to swat away three shots on goal for three saves, but ultimately allowing three goals pass his watchful eye caused him to take the loss this afternoon.
Corban did manage to commit almost double the fouls than Northwestern (20 vs 12), but not allowing those penalties to come within striking distance of McCallion’s net proved to be incredibly meaningful in today’s contest, with two of Corban’s goals coming via penalty kicks thanks to Red Raider fouls.
The Warriors will return to the Outdoor Athletic Complex this upcoming Saturday, August 25th, when they host Concordia University Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0) in a battle of the Corban Jamboree opening day victors. The Northwest University Eagles (0-1, 0-0) and Red Raiders will compete shortly after, following the conclusion of the Corban/Concordia matchup.
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