PORTLAND, Ore. – Needing to overcome the odds all season long, the Corban University men's soccer team did just that on a frigid and windy Tuesday evening in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) semifinals, defeating the top-seeded Concordia University Cavaliers on the road, 2-0.  With the victory, fourth-seeded Corban heads to second-seeded Northwest University on Saturday for the CCC Tournament Championship match.

"The conditions today mandated that we adjust our game and our guys did that really well," stated head coach Aaron Lewis.  "During the playoffs, being able to adjust and come up with a big moment makes all the difference.  This team has demonstrated the ability to overcome when it matters most."

In a very back-and-forth game during the first half, the Warriors ultimately got on the board first when sophomore midfielder Nathaniel Cheney (Clarkston, Wash.) received a pass from sophomore forward Bobby Hutchin (Vancouver, Wash.), and Cheney tucked his shot into the bottom-left corner of the goal to give the Warriors the 1-0 lead in the 43rd minute.  For Cheney, having just entered the match, it was his second goal of the season, and to top it off, the goal came on his birthday.

Corban is now 11-1 on the campaign when scoring the game's first goal.

During the first 45 minutes, Corban, while battling against the howling wind, outshot Concordia, 6-4, while Concordia held the corner-kick edge, 3-2.

In the second half, the Warriors rattled off a number of close opportunities, with senior forward Derik Chaney (Helena, Mont.) blasting a shot off the crossbar early on.  Not long after, the Warriors watched as a ball rolled along the goal line and looked to be headed in, but the wind ultimately blew the ball off the line and back into play, keeping Corban from taking a two-goal advantage.  Hutchin also had a breakaway late in the contest that could have sealed the match, but the opportunity was missed, keeping the contest tight.

The Cavaliers (13-5-0), knowing they needed to find a goal to send the match to overtime pressed in search of a goal, but Corban senior goalkeeper Steven Mason (Santa Rosa, Calif.) came up with two big-time saves to stone the Concordia attack.

The Navy and Gold eventually sealed the win and the trip to the CCC Championship match when Chaney jumped on a miskick by a Cavalier defender, beat another defender with a nifty move, and then buried his left-footed shot into the back of the net in the 90th minute.

Watch the game highlights here:

For the match, Corban outshot Concordia, 12-7.  Sophomore midfielder Quamie Dinnall (May Pen, Jamaica) led the way with three shots for Corban, while senior forward Arsinio Walker (Kingston, Jamaica) tallied two. 

Defensively for the Warriors, it is their eighth shutout of the season.  Overall, Mason tallied four saves in the win.

After the match, Cheney and Chaney spoke about the exciting triumph in a post-game interview:

Corban (11-7-1) heads to Kirkland, Wash. on Saturday for the CCC Tournament Championship match to take on Northwest (15-4-0).  With a berth to the NAIA Opening Round on the line, kickoff is now set for 1:30 p.m.