SALEM, Ore. – The new era of Corban Men's Soccer has officially begun in Salem, as the regular season kicked off this evening on the road at Sparks Field for the Warriors, who came storming back from a two-goal deficit to force a 4-4 draw against crosstown rival NCAA DIII Willamette University in an offensive spectacle. The contest counted as an exhibition for the Bearcats, their final non-counting match of the season.
"Exciting way to start off the season with a very competitive and thrilling crosstown derby," first-year Corban head coach Corbin Bowers stated following the conclusion of the match. "I am proud of the response our team showed in the second half by taking an adverse result and turning it around. We will take this week to get better and improve our standard of soccer."
It took all but 27 seconds for the host squad to take an advantage on their home field this afternoon, as a misplay in the Warriors' backfield off the opening kickoff was taken advantage of by Bearcats' forward Krisna LaFrance, who scored on a quick cross in the box from midfielder Tiago Palhetas to go up 1-0 on Corban.
However, Corban (0-0-1) found the back of the net themselves not even three minutes later, as redshirt senior defender Evan Hoover tipped in a cross from the right side of the box by redshirt senior forward Nate Sherwood, giving each team a goal before the third minute of the game had even passed.
Eleven minutes later, Willamette (0-0-0) took the lead once again via a corner kick opportunity that just wouldn't vacate the penalty box, allowing defender Hadyn Duncan to score via a header thanks to an assist by forward Evan Mariscal. In the process of less than fifteen minutes, three goals had already been scored by the two Salem crosstown rivals.
Palhetas was involved once again for the Bearcats offensively in the 30th minute, but this time on the passing end of the spectrum, as he found forward Lucas Carballo alone in front of the goalkeeper on a delivery from about 30 yards out, providing Willamette with a 3-1 lead with still over fifteen minutes left in the first half.
The first half scoring wouldn't be over quite yet, as the Navy and Gold would pull within one on a corner kick attempt of their own with a little over five minutes remaining before halftime. A quick pass corner kick gave redshirt senior midfielder Jairo Aguirre a perfect angle into the box, where freshman midfielder Alejandro Andrade was waiting to angle a shot past the Bearcats' keeper and cut the deficit to within one goal.
It's anyone's guess whether or not first half goals is exactly what the 200 Salem natives expected when they arrived at Sparks Field this afternoon, nonetheless, the Bearcats secured an extra goal to sit ahead 3-2 at the break. The high-flying offenses were led by Corban, who had nine shots compared to Willamette's seven, including a 5-3 ratio in shots on goal. The fouling and corner kick margins were fairly even, signifying this could be anybody's game down the stretch.
The offensive intensity continued into the second half, with Willamette taking another two-goal lead via a free kick opportunity by midfielder Brandon Rodriguez-Hernandez. His look provided midfielder Kiernan Van Engen a header on goal that snuck under freshman goalkeeper Miguel Trujillo's gloves to give the Bearcats a 4-2 lead.
Right on queue fifteen minutes later, the Warriors struck back again with a breakaway opportunity by the duo of senior midfielder Gian Gargurevich and redshirt sophomore Irwin Leon, as Gargurevich hit Leon with a touch pass that he smashed over the top of the Bearcats' goalkeeper that bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and into the netting.
It was a Corban defender who would go on to knot this contest at four goals apiece in the 77th minute, as redshirt sophomore Riley Menezes connecting on a corner kick by Leon to restart this game with just under fourteen minutes remaining.
Despite both teams having multiple opportunities to take the lead for good over the final minutes of play, the battle for the city of Salem would go on to end in a 4-4 draw, with the Warriors falling just shy of the comeback win and settling for a regular season opening tie.
Leon was the sparkplug in the second half that ignited the Corban offense into tying this contest back up, scoring his first goal of the season before assisting on the game-tying score. He was the game's leading shot taker with five on the day, three of which were on goal.
Gargurevich picked up a pair of assists after being credited with the hockey assist on Andrade's goal, with the entire Warrior lineup getting in on the scoring action this evening. As a team, Corban outshot Willamette 18-13 in the contest, including a 10-6 shots on goal margin.
Redshirt sophomore Isaac Pureco and Trujillo split time in-between the posts today, with Trujillo taking over at the 33rd minute mark. He held the Bearcats to just one goal while saving two shots on goal to take home a tie in his first collegiate decision.
The Bearcats were just as generous in their sharing of the ball around the pitch this evening, establishing four different goal scorers of their own in their final exhibition match of a young season. Carballo took four shots against the Warrior' goalkeepers to lead the team in offensive chances.
The Warriors' non-conference slate will continue next weekend, as Corban Men's Soccer will head south to California and battle the Oakes of Menlo College (1-0-2) and Pioneers of Pacific Union College (0-0) on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Their first bout with the Oakes is scheduled for a 4pm PT start time.
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