BOX SCORE

PORTLAND, Ore. – In a mirror image of the game during the regular season between the Warriors and Cavaliers, Corban's women's soccer team put the NAIA's No. 1-ranked Concordia into a first half deficit before the host team came charging back en route to securing a 2-1 victory Saturday in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament finals played at Delta Park.

Freshman Audrey Sullivan (Puyallup, Wash.) scored the game's opening goal in the 26th minute when she stole an attempted clearance pass by Concordia's defense and rifled a shot from 25 yards out into the back of the net for her ninth goal of the season.

Holding onto a one-goal lead at halftime is all too familiar to the Warriors this season against Concordia, yet the host Cavaliers have only trailed for a little over 16 minutes all season heading into tonight's game.

Keeping the high-scoring Concordia offense off the board was going to be a challenge for the Warriors, as the Cavaliers knotted the game at 1-all in the 53rd minute when Kaitlyn Tebbs rebounded a Tahlia O'Loughlin shot into the back of the net giving Concordia new life.

Just over 15 minutes later, Concordia was awarded a penalty kick after the Warrior defense was whistled for a foul in the box. Stepping up the circle was the Cavaliers' Lauryn Helmers, who calmly deposited her shot into the back of the net past a diving Corban keeper for the eventual game-winner.

Over the remaining 20-plus minutes, Corban's offense stepped up the pressure as the Warriors registered seven shots versus Concordia's zero. The Cavaliers keeper came up big with a pair of saves, while Corban's last scoring opportunity came in the 86th minute when freshman Tera McDonough (Boise, Idaho) ricocheted a shot off the cross bar that was cleared away by Concordia's defense.

Freshman goalkeeper Alexis Beattie (Brea, Calif.) registered five saves in her first championship game for Corban, while Concordia's Tori Talbutt snagged a game-high seven saves en route to picking up the win.

Overall, Corban outshot Concordia by one (16-15) as both teams tallied six shots in the first half with the visiting Warriors getting off 10 over the final 45 minutes compared to the Cavaliers' nine.

With the win, Concordia secures the conference's automatic berth to the 2010 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship tournament and improves to 18-0-2 on the season. Meanwhile, Corban falls to 16-4-0 this year and will have to wait to see if it can grab one of the at-large berths into next week's national tournament. If the Warriors do not get into the NAIA tournament then they will have to wait and see if the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) awards them the West Region berth.