SALEM, Ore. – For the first time since 2008, the Corban University Men's Soccer team suffered a loss to their crosstown rivals in NCAA DIII Willamette University, as the Bearcats scored the opening goal and never looked back in a 4-1 victory at Sparks Field on Sunday evening in front of a raucous crowd.
"Our group experienced many growing moments today," explained Warriors' head coach Josh Rios Noonkester following their first loss of the season. "Collectively, we believe we can perform at a higher level. The scoreline didn't feel indicative of our overall performance with the chances we created as well."
With the Warriors (1-1-0) having over a fourth of their starting lineup out due to injuries, multiple reserves stepped up in key roles to slow the Bearcats (0-0-0) pace of play and had a handful of scoring opportunities early that missed the mark. With Willamette utilizing this contest as an exhibition to gear up for the 2024 season, Coach Noonkester was hopeful his program could earn a hard-fought road win early in their non-conference schedule.
"Credit to our opposition for capitalizing on four clearing errors on our part," shared Noonkester. "There are many areas we can clean up and I'm confident our group will have the right response to this result. It's a long season, and we'll learn from this performance and move forward with a positive mindset."
Just five minutes before the halftime break, Willamette midfielder Tiago Palhetas soared through the Warriors' midfield and launched a shot from just outside the penalty box, which connected in the upper right corner of the goal for an early 1-0 Bearcat lead.
In the 60th minute, defender Ryan O'Grady collected a header pass from midfielder Andrew Reed just feet from the goal line, as Warriors' redshirt junior goalkeeper Isaac Pureco had cleared a previous attempt, thus leaving the net open for O'Grady's secondary attempt.
Determined to not be shutout and potentially fight back into this contest, a freshman-to-freshman connection resulted in the Warriors' first goal of the game and first career goal for forward Zachary Milczarek, who took a cross from forward Jose Guzman and perfectly placed a header past Bearcats' goalkeeper Ibrahm Garza to cut the Willamette lead in half.
However, exactly three minutes later, Bearcats' forward Krisna LaFrance collected a failed clear by the Warriors' backline and popped the ball over the outstretched arms of Pureco to increase the home team's lead back to two goals. A frustration foul in the Corban box in the 80th minute resulted in the final goal of the game, which Reed scored via penalty kick attempt.
Corban was able to control the pace early but ultimately lost the Battle for the Capital in unforced errors and missed opportunities on their own offensive end of the field. Willamette took advantage of a 5-0 corner kick advantage and took seven more shots than the Navy and Gold (19-12), yet equal shots on goal (7).
Warriors' junior midfielder David Montano took a game-high four shots for Corban, three of which came on goal. Senior midfielder Diego Gonzalez-Ruiz and junior forward Rodrigo Bonilla joined Milczarek with two shots apiece.
The Warriors return to the pitch this upcoming Thursday, August 29th, at the Outdoor Athletic Complex, as they'll host Missouri Baptist University (1-0-0) for an NAIA matchup under the stadium lights at 7pm.
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