SALEM, Ore. – It took less than 11 minutes for the Corban University Women's Soccer team to snag a homefield advantage over the visiting Top 25 team, as the Warriors scored early but couldn't keep the RV Taylor University Trojans off the scoreboard for the entirety of the contest, resulting in a 1-1 draw at the Outdoor Athletic Complex (OAC) earlier this afternoon.
The Warriors (1-2-1) clearly had the scouting they needed from watching the neutral site game they hosted between the Trojans (2-0-1) and fellow Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) member Northwest University this past Thursday, as they had a shot on goal in the first 13 seconds of play and used that aggressive nature to score their earliest goal of the season.
Junior midfielder Alysia Alvarado found a teammate flying through the Taylor defensive zone with just over 10 minutes having ticked off the scoreboard, as senior forward Fatima Jimenez collected the ball, juked the goalkeeper and a few trailing defenders for the wide-open shot and goal.
The Trojans built up their own intensity from there, as they would go on to out-shoot the Warriors 7-5 in the first half but failed to lockdown a goal of their own, including a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Taylor would finally even the playing field in the 70th minute, as midfielder Morgan Fletemeyer took on a hoard of Warriors on the right side of the penalty box, eventually working her way to within ten feet of the goal and blasted a shot into the back right corner of the net.
With a goal now on their side, the Trojans pushed the possessions even harder in an attempt to keep their perfect record alive, forcing twelve shots against Corban in the second half alone. However, the Warriors' stout defense would hold on for the remaining 20 minutes of action, resulting in the 1-1 tie at the OAC.
Jimenez picked up her second goal of the year and doubled the Warriors' totals to own both scoring opportunities this season. Alvarado led all Corban student-athletes in shots this afternoon with a trio of opportunities, two of which came on goal but were eventually saved. Senior goalkeeper Makida Herbert put together a fantastic effort in-between the posts today, swatting away 10 saves and allowing just a single goal to the NAIA Top 25 program.
Fletemeyer earns the designation of Trojans' MVP with her second half score, keeping the Trojans out of the loss column for the first time in this early season. Defender Claire Massey led the team with three shots, all of which were saved by Herbert, while forward Kiana Siefert matched Alvarado with a three-shot, two shot-on-goal performance.
Two more non-conference matchups sit between the Warriors and the beginning of CCC play, as they'll have two weeks to prepare for back-to-back matches at NCAA DIII schools Whitworth University and Whitman College, with their matches scheduled for September 9th and 10th, respectively.
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