BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing in constant rain against the NAIA's No. 13-ranked team in the country, Corban's men's soccer team dropped a heart-breaker against rival Concordia, 3-0, Tuesday on Strausser Field at Delta Park.
"The effort was there, we just need to be sharper in a couple areas," said head coach Paul Meehan. "It was not our best performance and it is rare that you'll get the result you want against a good team like Concordia unless you have a very good performance by everyone."
Looking to move two games above .500 for the first time all season, the visiting Warriors could not overcome a pair of first half goals by the host Cavaliers as well as a goal by Concordia in the game's final five minutes.
Reigning CCC Defensive Player of the Week freshman goalkeeper
Steven Mason (Santa Rosa, Calif.) tallied a game-high five saves between the pipes for Corban despite suffering the loss, while Concordia's Cole Dahle registered three saves en route to picking up the shutout victory.
After nearly 20 minutes of scoreless soccer, Concordia struck the game-winner at the 19:41 mark when reigning CCC Offensive Player of the Week Jared Brace teamed with Facundo Dipascuale and Septi Danciu. The score play began with Danciu sent a ball up to Dipascuale, who floated a pass to the upper right corner where Brace was waiting and knocked home his fifth goal in CU's last two games.
Just under nine minutes later, Concordia struck again when Daniel Anderson netted a goal a mere eight minutes after entering the game off the Cavaliers' bench. Anderson would team with Brace and Danciu on Concordia second goal, as Brace and Danciu connected on a perfectly placed pass before Danciu sent a through ball behind Corban's defense to Anderson where he drilled a shot to the left post to make the score 2-0 in favor of the home team.
Concordia would take a two-goal lead into halftime, as both teams stepped up the defensive pressure in the second half keeping the visiting Warriors within striking distance.
Unfortunately, Corban could not capitalize on an scoring opportunities and allowed Concordia to put a third and final goal on the board in the 85th minute when Tanner French headed home a corner kick off the foot of Nate Boatright. Off the perfectly placed corner kick from Boatright, French got his head on the ball and sent the Cavaliers' final shot into the upper right corner of the goal.
Concordia would control each of the offensive categories, including total shots (15-to-6), shots on goal (8-to-3), and corner kicks (8-to-0).
With tonight's result, Corban evens its record at 6-6-0 overall and 4-4-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference games. Meanwhile, Concordia improves to 11-1-0 overall and a conference-leading 7-1-0 in league contests. The Warriors will return to the field on Saturday, October 15th, against the visiting Knights of Warner Pacific beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Warrior Field in Salem.
