Kellen Luey played a key part in the the Warriors' shutout of the Beacons on Saturday, while also consistently getting forward in the attack.
SALEM, Ore. – While the shots may not have found the back of the net last week in Eugene, the Corban University men’s soccer team exploded for five goals on Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field in a 5-0 triumph over Northwest Christian University. For Corban, it is the team’s second win of the week, with the squad totaling an 8-0 aggregate in its two Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) wins.
“The team has generated momentum in our season recently by decreasing the time our opponents have to make decisions with the ball,” stated head coach Aaron Lewis. “Today was a great example of our guys starting off with the right mentality, and carrying that throughout the match.”
The Warriors began the game with a purpose and always looked on the front foot, attacking at will towards the Beacons’ goal. After a few shots were sprayed wide and couple of saves were made, Corban found what it was looking for in the 20th minute when sophomore midfielder Kemar Prince (Kingston, Jamaica) slipped a through ball behind the Beacon defense, and senior midfielder Eliseo Santana (Idaho Falls, Idaho) ripped a left-footed shot past the diving goalkeeper and into the back of the net. For Santana, it was his second goal in as many games.
Just seven minutes later, sophomore defender Tim Kagey (West Linn, Ore.) played a long ball forward to Prince who flicked the ball onto sophomore forward Bobby Hutchin (Vancouver, Wash.). Hutchin ran past a Northwest Christian defender and laced his shot with a one-time hit into the goal, doubling Corban’s advantage.
Later in the first half, with the Warriors continuing their onslaught of the Beacon goal, sophomore midfielder Quamie Dinnall (May Pen, Jamaica) received a pass from sophomore midfielder MyKenze Caswell (Eugene, Ore.) after a nifty piece of skill in the 40th minute, and Dinnall made no mistake, curling a left-footed strike over the Beacon goalkeeper and into the goal for Corban’s third score of the stanza.
At the halftime break, Corban held the shots advantage, 16-4, while Northwest Christian held the corner-kick edge, 2-0.
In the second stanza, Santana immediately got the Warriors going again, serving as the playmaker and finisher. After making a penetrating run forward in the 50th minute, he combined with Dinnall for a give-and-go pass, and after receiving Dinnall’s through ball, Santana calmly took his time and blasted his shot past the goalkeeper for his second goal of the day.
Twelve minutes later, the Warriors added a fifth goal when senior forward Derik Chaney (Helena, Mont.) beat a defender and then skillfully played a pass back to senior forward Arsinio Walker (Kingston, Jamaica) who tucked his right-footed shot into the right-side netting. For Walker, it was his team-leading sixth goal on the campaign.
The Warriors tried to add a sixth late in the contest, and freshman midfielder Clement Dushimimana (Kigali, Rwanda) came closest when he ripped a rocket off of the crossbar. The ball fell to freshman midfielder Miguel Naves (Veradale, Wash.) who also cracked a shot on goal, but the ball was deflected wide by a Beacon defender, keeping the score at 5-0.
That is how the match would end, with Corban registering a 32-6 shots advantage. A quartet of players racked up four shots each for Corban, with Santana, Prince, Dinnall, and Naves each tallying four.
Following the match, Santana talked about the big win in a post-game interview.
For the Beacons (1-5-2, 0-3-1 CCC), Colin McManamon recorded a team-best two shots on the day.
Defensively, the Warriors finished the week strong, earning their second-straight shutout. While a combination of players got the job done for Corban, the starting back-line of defense of junior Kellen Luey (Beaverton, Ore.), Kagey, junior James Williamson (Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho), and senior Daniel Fredrickson (Boise, Idaho) led the way in the goose-egg. Additionally, senior goalkeeper Steven Mason (Santa Rosa, Calif.) notched his second shutout of the week and fourth of the year, making one save in the process.
Corban (4-3-1, 2-1-1 CCC) returns to the pitch on Wednesday for another pivotal conference match when it travels to first-place Concordia University (5-2-0, 4-0-0 CCC). Kickoff against the Cavaliers is scheduled for 7 p.m.