SALEM, Ore. – For the first time in program history, Corban's men's soccer team will host the final game of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship presented by U.S. Bank on Saturday, November 16th, against No. 3 seed Concordia beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Blanchet Catholic School on Market Street in Salem.
Coverage of Saturday's finals will be available via
Live Stats and
Live Video thanks to the University's partnerships with SIDEARM Sports, Stretch Internet, and TNT Management Resources, Inc.
After a victory in the semifinals, the Warriors advance to their second tournament championship game in the past three seasons and will face CCC rival Concordia for the second time in that same span.
In the finals of the 2011 CCC Tournament, Concordia defeated Corban by a score of 2-0 in the first-ever men's soccer game at Hilken Community Stadium in Portland.
ABOUT CONCORDIA: The Cavaliers come into the finals with a win-loss record of 15-4-0 (11-3-0 CCC), as Concordia is riding a six-game winning streak after picking up a convincing 4-0 victory over Northwest in the first semifinal game played Tuesday in Kirkland, Washington. The senior duo of Septi Danciu and Michael Chamberlain lead Concordia in scoring with 16 and 13 goals, respectively, while Danciu leads the Cavaliers with a conference-high 45 points (16 goals, 13 assists). Defensively, Concordia ranks second in the conference behind Corban in Goals Against Average (GAA) with the Cavaliers surrending a mere 0.83 goals per game having allowing 16 goals in 19 games so far this season.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: Since 1995, Corban is a combined 10-11-4 in postseason play that includes 12 games in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Tournament where the Warriors are a combined 5-5-2 that includes winning a national title in 1996.
AGAINST CONCORDIA IN POSTSEASON PLAY: In the series history between Corban and Concordia in the postseason, the Cavaliers hold a 4-0-1 mark with the lone tie going to a shootout that was won by Concordia, 4-2, during the 2006 NAIA Region I Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah. Since 1998, Concordia has picked up four victories over Corban in the playoffs (3-2 in 1998 finals, 4-1 in 2001 semifinals, 1-0 in 2002 finals, and 2-0 in 2011 finals) to knock the Warriors out each time.
PLAYING AT HOME IN THE POSTSEASON: Prior to this season, the last time that a playoff game was hosted in Salem was during the 1997 season when then-Western Baptist lost to former NAIA member Simon Fraser, 3-2, in a shootout in the semifinals of the NAIA Region I Tournament.
RECENT RESULT: In the semifinals played at Willamette's Sparks Field on Tuesday against The College of Idaho, Corban scored a goal 61 seconds in the second overtime period thanks to junior
Arsinio Walker's fifth goal of the season off a combo assist by the freshman duo of
Kemar Prince and
Tim Kagey. The game-winning goal came off a set play, as Kagey lofted a free kick into the box that was flicked back by Prince to an awaiting Walker, who headed home the game's only goal. Freshman goalkeeper
Jordan Farr registered a game-high tying five saves en route to earning his 11th shutout of the season, as the first-year Warrior broke the conference's single-season record for shutouts that he held previously with two other players.
DEFENSIVE STOPPERS: Through 18 games so far this season, Corban has allowed a mere 10 goals with five coming in one game versus Concordia in late October. The Warriors' defense ranks first in the conference and NAIA in Goals Against Average (GAA) at 0.59, while sitting tied for second in shutouts with Oklahoma Wesleyan at 11 each.
ABOUT COACH LEWIS: Head coach
Aaron Lewis is in his first season at the helm of the Warriors after being an associate head coach at Corban for the previous three seasons. Lewis, a 2010 inductee into the Warrior Hall of Fame, is a former student-athlete at Western Baptist having played on four straight Cascade Collegiate Conference title teams and was named CCC Player of the Year twice during his career. After concluded his career at WBC, Lewis became the first NAIA player to ever be drafted by a Major League Soccer (MLS) organization with a three round pick by the Dallas Burn.