BOX SCORE

HELENA, Mont. – Junior Brittany Bowman (Shelton, Wash.) scored her second goal of the season, but it was not enough as Corban's women's soccer team fell to the NAIA's No. 21-ranked Saints of Carroll, 3-1, Thursday at Nelson Stadium.

"We played well today," said head coach Marty Ziesemer. "I was pleased with our intensity and effort. For a good portion of the game I thought we outplayed them. To play a quality team like Carroll on the road is always a challenge, but we were up to it."

Playing its first game against a nationally-ranked opponent this season, Corban came out of the gates and built a quick one-goal lead in the ninth minute when Bowman teamed with sophomore Audrey Sullivan (Puyallup, Wash.) on the opening score. For Bowman, it was her second goal in the past two games and Sullivan registered her team-leading fifth assist of the season.

Unfortunately, Corban's lead would not last long as the nationally-ranked Saints tied the game at 1-apiece in the 21st minute thanks to an unassisted goal by Molly Clark.

The two teams would remain tied heading into halftime, as both teams registered six shots.

Neither team would get much offense going over the opening 15-plus minutes of the second half until Carroll got the eventual game-winning goal from Meghan O'Connell in the 64th minute via an unassisted goal. For O'Connell, it was her team-leading fifth goal of the season after a four-goal performance two days ago against Eastern Oregon.

Corban would have a few chances to tie the game, but could not capitalize on any of its scoring opportunities.

Carroll would put an insurance goal on the board in the 85th minute when Kailey Edgar teamed with O'Connell at the 84:15 mark to put the Saints up by the final margin of two goals, 3-1.

Sophomore Alexis Beattie (Brea, Calif.) and freshman Kaitlyn Mendenhall (Windsor, Calif.) split time in goal for Corban with Beattie registering one save in the first half, while Mendenhall recorded a game-high tying six saves despite suffering the heart-breaking loss. On the other hand, Carroll's Erin Volz recorded a game-high tying six saves for the Saints en route to picking up the hard-fought win.

Overall, Carroll squeaked out an edge in total shots, 16-14, over Corban yet the Warriors controlled the offensive flow capturing four more corner kicks (7-3) than the host Saints.

With today's result, Corban falls to 2-1 on the season and Carroll improves to 2-0. The Warriors will return to action following a one-week break on Thursday, September 1st, against cross town rival and NCAA Division III member Willamette beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Sparks Field in Salem.