PORTLAND, Ore. – Needing to come from behind for the second-consecutive Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) match, the Corban University men's soccer team won a thriller against Warner Pacific College in overtime on Saturday night, 4-3.  Senior midfielder Kyle Hammond (Missoula, Mont.) served as the hero on the evening, scoring the golden goal in the eighth minute of overtime.

The Warriors began the game very positively, scoring a goal in the third minute of play when senior forward Josh Hamilton (Portland, Ore.) ripped a shot that bounced off the keeper to senior forward Arsinio Walker (Kingston, Jamaica).  Walker then made no mistake and buried his shot into the back of the net to give Corban the early lead.

Warner Pacific, however, responded with three unanswered goals before the 29-minute mark.  Geovanny Vasquez scored one, and then Mario Guizar scored twice to put the Knights up 3-1.

At the halftime break, Corban held the 6-4 shot advantage, while Warner Pacific held the corner-kick edge, 5-1. 

In the second half, knowing it needed to press in search of goals, the Warriors eventually pulled one back in the 62nd minute when senior defender Daniel Fredrickson (Boise, Idaho) scored a header off of a corner-kick for the second-consecutive contest.  The assist on the play went to Hamilton, marking his second of the match.

Corban still needed one more, however, to tie the game, and showing its resiliency, that goal would eventually come.  With the clock ticking down and just over a minute to play in the match, sophomore forward Bobby Hutchin (Vancouver, Wash.) found Walker with a pass on top of the 18-yard box, and Walker turned and ripped the equalizer past the Knights' goalkeeper to tie the contest at 3-3.

Then in the first overtime period, sophomore midfielder Quamie Dinnall (May Pen, Jamaica) acted as the playmaker and put a cross into the box, finding Walker who got a touch on the ball and passed it to Hammond who was coming into the box as the trailing runner.  Hammond seized the opportunity and buried the golden-goal game-winner, winning the match for the Warriors on the spot.

Following his return to Salem, Hammond stopped by the Sports Information Office to talk about the big win in a post-match interview:

For the match, Corban outshot Warner Pacific, 15-9, while also holding the corner-kick edge, 9-7.  Walker led the way for Corban with five shots, while Hamilton added three.

"Our team is proving to be a resilient group," commented head coach Aaron Lewis.  "The extraordinary will of our guys is becoming more and more evident as this season unfolds."

With the win, Corban remains in second place in the CCC standings with three matches remaining, including its final two home matches in the upcoming week against third-place Northwest University (12-3-0, 8-3-0 CCC) and fourth-place Evergreen (6-7-1, 6-4-1 CCC).

The match against Northwest is slated for Wednesday, October 29, at Warrior Field.  Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.