SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Opposed to in years past, this postseason appearance for the Corban University Men's Soccer team has sentimental value that isn't usually seen on the collegiate soccer scene. After losing 14 senior student-athletes last season to the spring commencement ceremony, 9 of which were in the starting roster, newly appointed head coach Corbin Bowers arrived to campus with the opportunity to begin a brand new era in school history, yet the expectancy of keeping the winning traditions alive were certainly in the forefront of his mind given the program's longstanding success.
Despite a lineup that had been virtually cut in half and with only a few months to complete his recruiting class from his date of hire, Coach Bowers knew clinching an eleventh consecutive postseason appearance would not be an easy task. Despite their challenges and obstacles, the Warriors will be playing in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Quarterfinals later this morning in Springfield, with the regular season champions first in line.
"We've had a strong week of training as we prepare for this awesome moment," Coach Bowers shared as he leads his program into the postseason during his first season in the navy and gold threads. "It's exciting to be in the conference tournament and we want to extend our season as long as possible. Our first opponent is no easy matchup, but we are up for the challenge."
No. 25-ranked Southern Oregon University (16-2-0, 12-1-0) is the only postseason team to not fall ill to the "draw disease" that has riddled the west coast, as every other team in this week's tournament has at least two ties on the conference season, with the Warriors holding a team record five draws in a single conference slate. The Raiders' lone conference loss this season came on the road at RV College of Idaho, who earned the No. 3-seed this year.
The remaining teams making up the men's soccer conference tournament are represented by No. 2-seeded Warner Pacific University, No. 4-seeded Carroll College, No. 5-seeded Oregon Tech, No. 6-seeded Evergreen State College, and No. 7-seeded University of Providence.
It's been the Warriors' upperclassmen leaders who have stepped up and made this postseason appearance possible after being selected to finish eighth in the CCC Coaches' Preseason poll, as 29 goals were scored over 16 regular season matches played out to average nearly two goals per game. Of those 29 scoring plays, 25 were punched in by a student-athlete holding junior academic status or higher, with redshirt sophomore forward Irwin Leon at the forefront with eight goals and six assists for 22 total points.
Impressively, the Navy and Gold added 23 assists to their 29 goals, resulting in an 80% threshold that Coach Bowers states is entirely due to the team's superb chemistry both on and off the field. Despite scoring nearly triple the number of goals in the 2022 season, the Warriors assisted on just over 72% of those scores, leading to an upgrade in team ball movement as Corban has methodically moved the ball up the field throughout the season.
The Warriors will certainly have their work cut out for them as they look to avenge a 5-1 loss to SOU at the beginning of the conference schedule in mid-September and book their fourth-straight semifinal appearance in the CCC Tournament. Live coverage of the match will begin at 11am PT at the Les Schwab Sports Park, with both live video and live stats available via host school Bushnell University.
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