SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – The 13th-ranked Corban University men's soccer team defeated the University of Great Falls on Monday afternoon, 3-0, capturing its fourth-ever Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament Championship presented by U.S. Bank while booking its ticket to the NAIA National Tournament for the fourth-consecutive year. The Warriors now have 19 wins on the year to lead the NAIA in total victories while also setting a new program record for triumphs in a year.
Click 'Play Button' on photo above for video highlights of the three goals from Corban's win.
"Today our team came out and established control early with ball possession and good movement," said Corban head coach Aaron Lewis. "That ultimately helped us get the ball up in their end where our set pieces became a factor. Once we scored the two goals, the defense did a great job of absorbing their numbers and countering the other way."
The Warrior men's soccer team has now won six CCC regular-season titles to go with the four CCC Tournament championships, winning both the regular season and tournament championships in 2016. Head Coach Aaron Lewis has now been a part of all 10 of those championships, as during his playing days at Corban, he won four regular season titles and one tournament championship, and now as the head coach has captured three tournament titles and two regular-season championships.
In a back and forth first stanza, Corban opened the scoring in the 28th minute when Igor Hubenya rose above the Great Falls' defense and headed in a long throw-in from Jacob Young, putting the Warriors up 1-0. In the 43rd minute of play, Corban made it 2-0 off almost an instant replay of the first goal, as Langdon Roscoe headed Young's long throw-in into the back of the net.
Up 2-0 at the break, the Warriors knew they would have to withstand some pressure from the Argos in the second stanza, and the defense was more than up to the challenge. With Jordan Farr in goal for Corban making eight total saves for the match, he and the Warrior defense proved to be the difference. While Great Falls racked up 12 shots in the second stanza, Corban kept the Argos from really generating good looks at goal, forcing many shots from the outside.
Great Falls (11-8) did have one opportunity with a cross to the back post, but the shot from the Argo attacker went wide of the goal, keeping the score at 2-0.
The Warriors remained strong defensively all half long, and then after Corban was unable to convert on one breakaway opportunity, when the next chance came around to put the nail in the coffin, Corban did not miss. After a nice combination play in the middle, Hubenya got in behind the defense and then slotted a pass back to CCC Player of the Year, Timur Zhividze, and Zhividze blasted a shot past the goalkeeper and into the top shelf, sealing the championship for Corban in the 87th minute.
"Tonight I'm extra thankful for all who contribute time and talent for our program," said Lewis. "We recognize this is a big team effort, and that team is much larger than just the guys that wear the uniforms."
For Corban, it was the 10th shutout on the year, and it came against a red-hot Argo team that had just defeated Rocky Mountain College 4-0 and Evergreen 2-0 in the tournament. The win also is sweet for the Warriors after having lost to Great Falls in penalty kicks in the CCC Tournament last year. On the season, Corban won both matches against the Argos, with the tournament championship proving to be the decisive victory earning Corban its fourth-straight trip to the national tournament.
For Great Falls, Christopher Chavez and Adrian Gomez led the way with four shots apiece, while Mohamed Oulare also came off the bench to register four shots. Zhividze led the way for Corban with five shots.
Following the match, Lewis and Farr talked about the championship effort in a post-game interview:
Corban (19-2) will wait now until Monday, November 14, for the official announcement from the NAIA as to who and where the Warriors will be playing. The game will be played on November 19, so stay tuned at www.CorbanWarriors.com for full details for the match.
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