SALEM, Ore. – Amidst 50-60 mph winds on Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field, the Corban University women's soccer team overcame the conditions and scored three second-half goals to top the Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers on Senior Day, 3-0.  With the victory, the Warriors secured the No. 3 seed in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament.

On what was also Breast Cancer Awareness Day at Warrior Field, the Warriors donned their white uniforms while wearing pink socks in support of the cause.  The match started with the wind increasing in intensity, and early on, not many chances were created.

With the wind blowing from left to right, or east to west, Eastern Oregon had the wind behind its back to begin the first half.  Unable to take advantage, however, the Mountaineers only registered two shots during that first stanza, while Corban tallied four.  The score at the halftime intermission was 0-0.

In the second half, the Warriors knew they would have the wind at their backs, so the pressed forward immediately in search of the game's first goal.  That goal came in the 49th minute when junior midfielder Randi Donahue (Bellingham, Wash) blasted a shot from the top of the 18-yard box, and after taking a deflection, it went straight into the back of the net.  For Donahue, it was her fourth goal of the season.

Not long after that score, sophomore defender Olivia Erskine (Chehalis, Wash.) received a pass from sophomore midfielder Karissa Stark (Castle Rock, Colo.) in a similar spot that Donahue hit her shot, and Erskine blasted a low drive into the bottom-left corner of the net, doubling Corban's advantage.  For Erskine, it was her second score of the campaign.

In the 59th minute, the Navy and Gold effectively sealed the triumph when senior midfielder Sierra Brusven (Silverton, Ore.) headed home a flicked pass from junior forward Katelyn Fekkes (Stanwood, Wash.).  On the play, freshman defender Alanna Robinson (Sagle, Idaho) crossed the ball to Fekkes who flicked it on to Brusven, and Brusven capped off her final regular-season match at Warrior Field with a beautiful header goal.

That was more than enough for Corban, as with the wind at its back, it controlled the remainder of the contest.  Eastern Oregon (3-8-4, 1-5-3 CCC) did put together one final attack at the end of the match, however, and mustered up two shots from close range, but Warrior senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Mendenhall (Windsor, Calif.) came up big to preserve the shutout by stonewalling the Mountaineer attackers with two saves.

That is how the match would finish, with the Warriors securing the third seed in the CCC Tournament. 

Following the contest, the four Warrior seniors talked about the exciting win in a post-game interview:

For the game, Corban outshot Eastern Oregon, 19-7, while also holding the corner-kick edge, 6-4.  Senior defender Emily Anderson (Salem, Ore.) and Brusven led the way for the Navy and Gold with four shots apiece, while sophomore midfielder Amber Lennier (Tracy, Calif.) tallied three.

As the leader of the Warriors' defense, senior Danni Buechley (Roseburg, Ore.) helped Corban earn its third-straight shutout and eighth of the 2014 campaign.  For Mendenhall, it was also her eighth shutout of the season, as she made six big saves in the process.

"I'm just really proud of this team after starting conference play 0-2-1, we fought back and persevered and believed that we could get to third place," stated head coach Marty Ziesemer.  "I'm very happy with the effort of this team.  Today we fought the elements, and were successful as a team.  Now we look forward to some rest, and our first postseason match."