SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University Women's Soccer team earned its second consecutive victory of the season on Friday afternoon at home, shutting out Pacific Union College, 2-0, behind a second-half offensive surge and another strong defensive effort. After a scoreless opening 67 minutes, the Warriors broke through twice in an 11-minute span as freshman forward Haley Miersma found the back of the net on both occasions to secure the non-conference triumph.
"Great team win today!" exclaimed Corban head coach Tim Kagey. "We are excited by the result and to keep working towards our goals as we get closer to the start of conference play."
The Warriors (2-2-0) controlled much of the possession throughout the afternoon but were unable to break through in the opening half despite earning a pair of corner kicks and limiting Pacific Union (0-4-0) to just two first-half shot attempts. Corban's back line and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Jordyn Labajo remained organized defensively, helping preserve a scoreless deadlock heading into the halftime break.
Corban continued to apply pressure after intermission, generating five second-half shots and forcing the Pioneers onto their heels. The breakthrough finally came in the 68th minute when senior midfielder Gabrielle Nakamura delivered the setup to Miersma from just over midfield, who finished the chance inside the penalty box for her second goal of the season and a 1-0 Warrior advantage.
The Warriors nearly doubled their lead moments later, but Pacific Union goalkeeper Scarlet Gonzales made a save on another Miersma opportunity. Corban eventually found its insurance strike in the 79th minute when Labajo gained possession and launched a punt from her own penalty box, earning the assist on Miersma's second goal of the match as she took one touch and struck from just outside the Pioneers' goalkeeper box. The finish gave the Warriors a comfortable 2-0 cushion and sealed Corban's second shutout victory of the young campaign.
Miersma paced the Corban attack with a game-high three shots, all on target, while scoring both Warrior goals. The multi-goal performance increased her season total to three scores through four matches. Nakamura recorded her first assist of the year on the game-winning strike, while Labajo added an assist of her own from the goalkeeper position to go along with two saves and her second shutout victory of the season. Corban outshot Pacific Union 7-5 overall and held a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.
For Pacific Union, Camryn Folkers led the attack with three shots and one shot on goal, while Rose Portillo accounted for the other Pioneer attempt that tested Labajo. Gonzales made one save in goal and kept the visitors within striking distance before Corban's late offensive surge.
Miersma became the first Warrior this season to register a multi-goal game, scoring Corban's second and third goals of the year personally and is personally responsible with scoring every Warrior goal to date. Labajo's assist marked a rare goalkeeper point and helped highlight a complete performance from the Warriors, who held Pacific Union to just two shots on goal all afternoon. Corban also recorded its second shutout of the season and has now allowed one goal or fewer in all four of their first matches in 2026.
Corban will look to continue its momentum into next week back on the road, as they'll travel north to McMinnville to battle NCAA DIII Linfield University (0-1-0) at 7:30pm on Thursday, September 10th.
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