SALEM, Ore. – A late lead was extinguished in the 83rd minute for the Corban University Women's Soccer team, as the visiting RV Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon University scored in the 83rd minute to force a 2-2 draw in the first of three-straight home games for the Warriors to conclude the 2024 regular season. The tie snaps a two-game losing skid to the Mounties (6-4-3, 5-3-1) for the Navy and Gold (6-5-5, 3-3-4), who have force draws against EOU in their past three home matchups.
"Proud of the momentum and commitment from our Warriors," Corban head coach Travez Whyte detailed. "We finished today wanting more. These are the moments where we continue to learn and improve from. Shoutout to Abril for her first goal with us, and for Carley with her drive to perform at her best for her teammates. Tomorrow is another day to battle, and we are ready. Thanks as always to our traveling Warriors for your support!"
Needing some points in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings this week to better cement themselves as a playoff program come November, the Warriors wasted hardly any time establishing an early lead thanks to senior midfielder Abril Dimas Camacho. A corner kick opportunity for senior forward Fatima Jimenez was bounced off the crossbar by Dimas Camacho, who collected her own rebound and punched the ball into the back of the net for her first career goal as with Corban women's soccer just 55 seconds into the match.
Nearly 14 minutes later, Eastern Oregon would knot the game at a goal apiece after forward Kaydence Martinez scored on a strike from well outside the penalty box after fellow forward Kapri McMillian tapped the ball back to Martinez with plenty of space in the middle of the Corban backfield. Shot attempts from outside the 18-yard line continue to be a thorn in the Warriors' side this season, with numerous longball attempts finding paydirt for opposing programs all year long.
After a 1-1 halftime discussion for both squads, Navy and Gold junior forward Carley Ganchenko scored her third goal in the past five games played to break the tie once again, as senior defender Emilly Olvera found a seam in the Mounties' defensive line that Ganchenko was able to sprint through and score one-on-one against EOU goalkeeper Rylee Schei.
With their fourth conference loss of the season now on the line, Eastern Oregon began to pepper the Corban defense with shot attempts for the remainder of the second half, and would eventually find the equalizer after a corner kick try wasn't cleared properly and provided defender Joslyn Sizemore with the game-tying opportunity within five yards of the net, well out of the reach of Warriors' sophomore goalkeeper Ava Hayes.
Despite a potential game-winner with less than ten seconds remaining that Hayes was able to swat away, Corban and EOU would play out the 2-2 draw with fairly identical team stats, including ten shots apiece that the Mountaineers held a 6-4 advantage in for shots on goal. Eastern Oregon managed just one more corner kick attempt (6-5), while the Navy and Gold committed far less fouls at exactly half the rate of EOU (12-6).
Martinez, Ganchenko, and Warriors' freshman forward Maya Alston each had three shots apiece for their programs, while Hayes nabbed a game-high four saves. Schei and goalkeeper Madeline Barker split the two halves of play in-between the posts for the Mounties, with Schei eventually earning the draw on her season record.
The Warriors welcome the No. 11-ranked Yotes of The College of Idaho (11-0-2, 9-0-0) to the OAC tomorrow afternoon, looking to hand them their first loss of the year in a 12pm kickoff.
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