SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University Women's Soccer program has plenty of reasons for Warrior Nation to expect an exciting season during the fall of 2023; twelve returners, fourteen newcomers, and a brand new coaching staff that all bleed for the success of Willamette Valley soccer and most importantly, the Navy and Gold uniforms. While the program hasn't reached the NAIA National Tournament since the 2005 season, this year's roster and coaching staff feel that their active postseason streak is ready to take the next step and advance beyond the CCC Tournament.
The 2022 season proved to harbor one of the best defensive teams in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) throughout the regular season, as the Warriors broke four long-standing program team records for fewest goals against (12), fewest losses (4), most ties (3), and most shutouts (12). Despite graduating eleven senior student-athletes last school year, the program lost only five starters and get to enjoy the benefit of six key returning starters that will continue to maintain the primary positions around the field.
It wasn't until their final non-conference contest before the Warriors finally accepted a loss last season, as they were able to allow only two goals over their first five games, four of which ended in shutout victories. After a 3-1 home downfall to Vanguard University, the Navy and Gold wouldn't taste defeat again until the middle of October when they fell 2-1 to the eventual CCC regular season champions, Northwest University.
During that stretch, Corban forced key ties in their first three conference matches with Carroll College and two Top 25-ranked teams in Eastern Oregon University and The College of Idaho. A 5-1-0 record through the second half of the regular season elevated the Warriors into a fifth place finish in the conference standings and setting up a CCC quarterfinal matchup with the same Mountaineer team that they battled to a 0-0 stalemate with at the beginning of the conference slate.
The program will look to avenge that quarterfinal loss in the CCC Tournament last season and will anticipate another defensively heavy starting roster with a group of newcomers set to make some noise offensively, alongside the core of young forwards and midfielders they already possess.
The 2022 season was far from a disappointment for the women's soccer program, as the team saw four student-athletes selected to All-CCC teams, crowned five Academic All-District award winners, and had six players named as NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athletes.
Three straight scrimmages are how Corban will open the 2023 season, starting with their season opener at the Outdoor Athletic Complex (OAC) against NWAC member North Idaho College at 12pm this upcoming Saturday. The program's annual alumni game is set to follow at 4pm and welcomes all alumni and families of the program to attend. Their final scrimmage will take place next Monday, August 14th, at the OAC against Thompson Rivers University, with the night game set to kick off at 8:30pm.
After hosting Arizona Christian University last season to start regular season play, the Warriors will return the favor and travel to Glendale, Arizona to play on the Firestorm's home field in an 8pm MST start time on August 17th. The Navy and Gold will then take the opportunity in a separate NAIA region to play a pair of NAIA Top 25 teams from last year, as Ottawa University Arizona (OUAZ) and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) will play host to Corban on August 19th and 20th at 8pm MST and 7pm MST, respectively.
The Warriors will return to Oregon the following week to play in an exhibition contest with NCAA DIII Pacific University up-state in Forest Grove with a 7pm kickoff set on August 23rd. Later the same week, Corban will host the CCC member Eagles and Taylor University from the Crossroads League in a neutral site contest at the OAC on August 24th before the Warriors get their own opportunity with the Trojans on August 26th. Both contests are scheduled to begin at 2pm PT.
The Navy and Gold will complete their non-conference schedule in Washington against a pair of NCAA DIII programs, as they'll battle Whitworth University and Whitman College on back-to-back days on September 9th and 10th.
CCC play will begin on September 15th in the opposite fashion that the 2022 season slate began for the Warriors, as they'll host I-5 rival Bushnell University at 7pm in the only scheduled contest of the week. They'll then go on a quick road trip the following week to Southern Oregon University and Oregon Tech before setting up their longest homestand of the 2023 slate.
Over the course of the final weekend of September and throughout the first half of October, the Warriors will host six different CCC teams in their last home games of the regular season. They will start on September 29th and 30th with the University of Providence and Carroll, followed by Northwest and The Evergreen State College on October 6th and 7th, and concluding with Warner Pacific University and Multnomah University on October 13th and 14th. Their contest with the Lions will serve as the Senior Day celebration to mark the final home game of the year.
The Warriors will complete the final two weeks of conference play making their way east across the Pacific Northwest, starting in Caldwell, Idaho to face the preseason favorite Yotes before backtracking to La Grande to face the Mountaineers on the weekend of October 20th. Corban's final CCC contest will take place on October 29th in Billings, Montana when the Battlin' Bears of Rocky Mountain College make their final stand for each team to show their worthiness of a postseason selection.
The CCC Championships will once again be held at two different field locations in Springfield and Eugene, Oregon, starting on November 6th and ending with the championship match on November 10th. The top eight teams in the CCC standings at the end of the regular season will earn the right to battle it out at either Les Schwab Sports Park or Civic Park over the course of the five-day tourney.
To view the entire 2023 Corban Women's Soccer schedule, click HERE.
Six starters from the 2022 season will take the field once again in the Navy and Gold uniforms, highlighted by three key upperclassmen on the defensive end of the field in the forms of senior goalkeeper Makida Herbert and junior defenders Josie Brence and Emilly Olvera. Both Brence and Olvera will more than likely slide into the middle of the defensive line for the Warriors this upcoming season, while Herbert will continue to lower her program record goals against average (GAA) in the net for an individual career.
Offensively for the Warriors, while they did lose three of their top goal scorers, junior midfielder Alysia Alvarado and senior forward Fatima Jimenez will head a new and improved attacking brigade at the front of the lineup, as their combined seven goals and four assists last season will definitely play a part in this year's strategy.
On an individual basis, Herbert, Brence, and Alvarado were all named to All-CCC teams at the end of last season, while Herbert was named the first NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week in school history after posting back-to-back shutouts of a pair of NAIA Top 25 teams.
While the program did welcome fourteen newcomers to the roster for the start of fall training just a few weeks ago, there are two newcomers specifically that Coach Whyte has informed Warrior Nation will want to keep their eyes on as the season progresses.
Starting in the middle of the field on the offensive end, transfer junior forward Kelli Huskic brings a highly decorated NWAC career from Clark College with her to the CCC. She was recognized as the South Region MVP, Clark Female Athlete of the Year, and was a two-time NWAC finalist. She left the Penguins as the program's all-time leading goal scorer, all-time leader in points, and a two-time Vice-President's List member.
Looking at the incoming group of true freshmen, midfielder Ella Alvarez brings an incredible club level experience with her to the women's soccer program. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Alvarez made her way to Corban after eleven years of club soccer for San Antonio City SC and was a Girls Academy Top 30 ID Selection for the Frontier Conference.
To view the entire 2023 Corban Women's Soccer roster, click HERE.
To read more on the 2023 Corban Women's Soccer newcomers, click HERE.
As a program, the Warriors added much needed experience to last year's returners by competing in one of the most grueling conferences in the NAIA, but the transfers and freshmen joining the team this season will strengthen the program in every position for not only the 2023 season, but for many years to come. A tenth-consecutive CCC Tournament appearance is well within reach this season for a young program that contains only four true seniors.
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