SALEM, Ore. – Back-to-back shutouts gave Warrior Nation exactly what they were looking for this week from the Corban University Women’s Soccer team (3-0, 0-0), as they capped their week with a 2-0 victory over Soka University of America (0-4-1, 0-0) at the Outdoor Athletic Complex.
“It was a great team effort tonight, many players contributed to the win,” Corban Head Coach Whitney Pitalo said when asked on her team’s efforts today.
“It was unfortunate to see Mei’s goal get called back, but I was happy with the overall result. Soka came to compete and gave us issues, but now we get back to work,” Pitalo concluded.
Scoring opened in the 20th minute after multiple good looks from both the Warriors and Lions, as junior defender Jamine Biava found the back of the net after a bobble and pass from sophomore midfielder/forward Shayla Hatfield, giving Biava the perfect look to scorch a shot past the diving hands of Lions’ starting goalkeeper Mackinzie Stenstrom.
With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Soka committed a foul just inside their territory near the midfield line, giving the Warriors with a free kick opportunity that they played on quickly. The free kick distance was misjudged by Stenstrom, who raced out of the box to defend, only for freshman forward Carley Diaz to tap the ball out of Stenstrom’s reach.
The push Diaz gave to keep the ball from Stenstrom and the trailing Lion defender provided junior midfielder Asia Jackson with an unguarded opportunity in front of the net. Diaz assisted Jackson with her first score of the season, and gave the Warriors the extra goal of comfort in the 45th minute to ride this game out with no additional scoring needed.
Corban outshot the Lions by a sizeable nine opportunities, 13-4 on the final score sheet, with six of those 13 shots finding the mark. Soka’s missed opportunities on the offensive end and fouls ended up costing the Lions in the end, providing the Warriors with four more free kick opportunities (15 vs 11) by the time the final horn blew.
Warriors’ junior goalkeeper Makida Herbert (3-0) picks up her third win of the season and second straight shutout with only one save required thanks to her impressive defensive line. Stenstrom (0-4-1) takes the loss after allowing the scores from Biava and Jackson, but picks up four saves to add to her final season stats.
Corban Women’s Soccer returns to the OAC this upcoming Thursday, where they will host fellow NAIA institute San Diego Christian College (1-0-1, 0-0) at 3pm PDT to lead off a non-conference doubleheader with Corban Men’s Soccer.
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