SALEM, Ore. – The No. 20 Corban University men's soccer team competed in their first game action of the 2020-21 COVID-interrupted season. The Warriors were glad to be back on the pitch, as they ended up in a 2-2 draw with cross-town foe Willamette University.

"It was great to finally get a game under our feet," said head coach Tim Kagey. "It is even better that it was against a quality side like Willamette. Our group got to see exactly what we were hoping for."

It was a quick start for the Navy and Gold, as standout midfielder Matheus Giron blasted the back of the net unassisted in just the fifth minute of action. 

The Warriors looked to be off to an extremely impressive start, but Pierce Gallaway retorted with a tally for the Bearcats in the 16th minute. He received an assist from Ardem Baronian on the goal. 

The two squads entered the half tied 1-1. Corban led the shot battle at the break by a tally of 8-1. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the one shot that Willamette took ended up in the net. 

When the squads returned to the pitch for the second half, the Navy and Gold were the first to pick up another goal, as Chadwayne Johnson scored on an assist from previous goal-scorer Giron. The goal occurred in the 58th minute.

For Corban, though, the lead would not last long. The Bearcats would tickle the twine in the 58th minute as well, on a beautiful finish from Edwin Ortiz. In addition, Baronian earned his second assist of the evening.

The rest of the match remained scoreless, and Corban would end up leading in the shot column 13-11 at full-time, holding the advantage in the on-goal category 6-3. 

The Warriors are set for a busy week, as they will be heading east to La Grande, Ore. to face the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers in a non-conference matchup on Feb. 22. Following that meeting, the Navy and Gold will travel to Portland to face Multnomah on Feb. 25.

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