LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 23 ranked Corban University Warriors came to play tonight in La Grande. Controlling the pace of the game and fighting to maintain possession led the Navy and Gold to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers.
Director of Soccer, Tim Kagey had this to say about tonight's game, "Great to see Irwin and Saad score today. We are excited to be heading home after traveling over 4,000 miles the last 10 days." The Warriors will remain at home for their next six games.
The Mountaineers were ready for the Warrior attack in the first half, rarely allowing the Warrior offense to reach even the 18-yard line. Since the Warriors were not getting any close looks, Giacomo Sanvitale shot several times from 30-yards out, hoping for a breakthrough. Even a EOU yellow card in the 28th minute, could not get Corban close to the net.
The first half was a battle for consistent possession, but Corban was finally able to find the net in the 40th minute. Just three minutes after entering the game, freshman Irwin Leon was able to break through the tough Mountie defense, scoring his first goal of the season on a ball from Corban defender, Evan Hoover.
The Warriors came out strong in the second half, firing off a tough shot on Mountie keeper, Noah Galow, who was able to make a remarkable save by punching the ball out over the goal. This play earned Corban a corner kick, from which they were able to draw an EOU handball and yellow card. Saad Mohacht took the penalty kick for the Warriors and blasted the ball over the hands of Galow, for Corban's second goal of the match. This was not the end for Eastern thanks to Greg Rodriguez who scored his first goal of the season in the 61st minute making the score 2-1, Corban.
The Mounties worked hard for the equalizer, but the Warriors quickly regained their composure and dominated the remainder of the very physical second half. All three goals scored in tonight's match were their attacker's first this season.
The Warriors (4-3, 3-1 CCC) will be back in action next weekend in Salem, for their home opener at CFC Soccer Complex against the visiting Knights of Warner Pacific (7-1, 4-0 CCC). Kickoff will be at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
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