SALEM, Ore. – After a heartbreaking loss in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) semifinals, the future was uncertain for the Corban University Men's Soccer team. Having one of the staunchest defenses in program history, it wasn't until Monday morning when the team learned it had earned an At-Large Bid to the Opening Round that the Warriors knew they would be making the program's ninth trip to the NAIA Men's Soccer National Tournament in the previous ten seasons.
Corban enters the tournament looking to prove they are deserving of their at-large berth. The No. 3 seed Warriors will travel to Oklahoma City to battle No. 2 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan University in the opening round on Thursday, November 17th.
The Navy and Gold have envisioned this moment of postseason play since the middle of August. The veteran group of Warriors look to continue influencing the outcome of the game through ball control and defense, while the experienced core of offensive attackers look to take advantage of transition opportunities to score on set plays and while the opposing defense is out of sync.
The No. 25 NAIA ranked Warriors (16-3-1) will rely on their trademark mix of offensive possessions and lockdown defense in their pursuit of a return to the NAIA Final Site. The team's two leading goal scorers, and First Team All-CCC honorees, sophomore midfielders Andres Labate and Alexis Luna, who each have eight goals and eight assists on the year, will look to create opportunities early and often.
Corban has a strong lineage of decorated goalkeepers in recent program history. This year, graduate student goalkeeper Quinn McCallion, the 2022 CCC Defensive Player of the Year, etched his name among the greats. McCallion broke the single season shutout record with 14 on the season, two more than the previous record, as well as the goals against average record with a 0.40 on the season. Corban had a prolific defense in 2022, and if there was ever a shot that did find its way towards the net, it was more than likely stonewalled by McCallion.
Finishing No. 17 in the final NAIA poll, Oklahoma Wesleyan University (14-5-2) won the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference regular and post season titles in this season. This will not be the first time the Warriors have battled against the Eagles, as both of these teams played each other just last year in non-conference play, when Corban traveled to Baldwin City to play out a 2-1 Eagles' victory in the Warriors' first non-conference trip to the Midwest in many years.
Oklahoma Wesleyan brings a high-powered offense with them to Oklahoma City, spotlighted by forward Stefan Cvetanovic. Cvetanovic ranks fourth in the nation with 27 goals scored on the year. The prolific offense averages over three goals a game. The man between the posts for the Eagles will be junior Ilija Catic. Catic has three shutouts in 12 games with a goals against average of 1.41 thus far this season.
The bracket style format will pit the winner of the Warriors' game against the winner of the No. 1 seed Mid-American Christian University (Okla.) and No. 4 seed Bellevue University (Neb.) on Saturday afternoon. The winner of Saturday's match will receive a berth to the final site in Decatur, Ala. The final site matches will run from November 29th to December 5th.
Live video for the Warriors' Thursday contest will be available HERE, while live stats for the contest can be found HERE.
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