SALEM, Ore. – One solid half for both teams this afternoon at the Outdoor Athletic Complex resulted in a conference-opening draw for the Corban University Men's Soccer team and their Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) rival Bushnell University, as the Warriors and Beacons each scored a goal in a 1-1 tie where each team had multiple opportunities to take the lead throughout the contest. The Warriors unbeaten streak against the Beacons now stretches to sixteen-straight games, while Bushnell maintains their undefeated record with another draw.
"We continue to find out rhythm and put into action everything we've been training," Warriors' head coach Corbin Bowers stated earlier today. "Frustrating to not get a win on our home field, but the guys showed grit to equalize the game and chase the whole second half. Exciting things to come from this group as we learn and grow together."
The Navy and Gold (0-2-3, 0-0-1) were finally able to shake the proverbial monkey off their backs in allowing early goals to their opponents, as it wasn't until the 30th minute when the Beacons (4-0-2, 0-0-1) struck first. Forward Omar Barajas was left all alone in the penalty box as forward Caleb Premo sprinted through the Warriors' defensive front, allowing Barajas to score on an easy chip shot to give Bushnell the opening lead on the road.
Despite going scoreless in the opening half, the advantage was entirely on the side of Corban, who held possession for a majority of the period and outshot the Beacons 8-4 overall. Five of the Warriors' shots were saved by Beacons' goalkeeper Andre Ferreira who had an outstanding half and kept multiple sure goals from being scored.
Eight minutes into the second half, redshirt senior forward Nate Sherwood finally got his one-on-one opportunity that eluded him on multiple occasions in the first forty-five minutes of action. Thanks to a beautifully placed ball from senior midfielder Gian Gargurevich, Sherwood needed only one step to deke his defender and go face-to-face with Ferreira, squeezing his shot under the goalkeeper's arms to even the playing field at one goal apiece.
The final leg of the contest was nothing short of intense, with both teams taking shots left and right in what would eventually be a 20-shot half for both teams combined. The Beacons held a massive 6-1 lead in corner kicks this afternoon but failed to take advantage of any of them. By the time the dust had settled, the Warriors and Beacons exchanged handshakes in a hard-fought draw that will provide both programs with plenty of film to analyze as the CCC continues play tomorrow while they'll rest up.
Ferreira and Warriors' redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Isaac Pureco both tallied identical stat sheets today, allowing one goal each with eight saves in-between the posts. Bushnell held a slight vantage in shots after a plethora were taken in the second half, 17-15, while Corban played far more reserve players to spread out a whopping nineteen fouls compared to sixteen for the Beacons.
Sherwood's 54th minute goal represents the second of the season for the Sacramento native and advances to two-straight matches with a goal scored. Gargurevich picked up his third assist of the season for the team-high mark. The senior duo took the highest amount of shots by any Warrior this afternoon.
Offensively for the Beacons, midfielder Alejandro Munoz teed off on multiple occasions, but came up empty handed on all eight of his shot attempts. Pureco saved a pair while multiple free kicks bounced off the crossbar or sailed wide. Midfielder Javier Gutierrez was the only other Bushnell student-athlete with more than one shot by taking three today.
The Warriors will take the weekend off while the rest of the conference is in action tomorrow, as they'll prepare for a difficult road trip down to the southern CCC schools, RV Southern Oregon University (5-1-0, 1-0-0) and Oregon Tech (3-1-1, 1-0-0), each of whom earned crucial road wins today in Portland and will provide challenging contests for Corban next week.
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