KIRKLAND, Wash. – Holding a 2-0 lead with 69 minutes to go wasn't quite enough offense for the Corban University Men's Soccer team to salvage a win this weekend on the road in western Washington, as the Warriors allowed goals in the 70th and 89th minutes of play to Northwest University to turn three points in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings into a single point via a 2-2 draw.
"The response from our group was positive today," shared Warriors' head coach Josh Rios Noonkester. "We started both halves really well and scored some quality goals. We created countless scoring opportunities late in the second half that would have put the match away, and we just need to be more clinical. Credit to Northwest, who battled until the end. Collectively, we have to learn from this result and finish games better. Excited for the opportunity to improve this week as we prepare for two tough opponents. Thank you to our traveling supporters!"
Returning to the pitch today was redshirt junior midfielder Irwin Leon, who wasted hardly any time in providing the Warriors (4-6-2, 3-2-2) with an early lead against the Eagles (2-6-4, 0-3-4) in the 8th minute of action. Sophomore midfielder Alejandro Andrade took a chance with Leon from the midfield line to just outside the Northwest penalty box, where Leon juked his defender and easily scored one-on-one against the Eagles' goalkeeper Michael Kot.
A quiet remainder of the first half for both teams resulted in the 1-0 halftime lead for Corban, which they would double in the opening minutes of the second period thanks to the connection between freshman forward Jose Guzman and redshirt junior midfielder Bryan Lopez. After the Eagles' defensive line failed to completely clear a cross, Lopez collected the rebound and found Guzman in stride along the right half of the field with just one defender to beat. A quick jab to his left and Guzman curved his shot around Kot and into the netting.
Despite the fast start to both halves for the Warriors, numerous offensive opportunities slipped through their fingers and the defense was forced to work overtime in an attempt to keep Northwest from mounting a comeback on their home field. Over the final 20 minutes of action, the Corban lead was cut in half in the 70th minute as forward Matthew Ludlow connected on a header that midfielder Elliot Misic crossed into the box, and eventually sacrificed the lead in the 89th minute when Ludlow repaid the favor to Misic to escape another home loss for the Eagles.
Leon and Lopez each took five shots apiece against Northwest this afternoon, with three of Leon's either resulting in his goal or saves by Kot, who finished the day with five deflections. For the Eagles, Ludlow fired three shots in total to lead the program, while Warriors' redshirt junior goalkeeper Isaac Pureco sent eight NU shots astray.
One final road weekend separates the Warriors from a homestand to end the regular season, as they'll start in Portland against Multnomah (5-5-1, 3-3-1) on Friday, October 18th at 2:30pm.
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