GREAT FALLS, Mont. – An incredibly physical game at Argo Field this afternoon for the Corban University Men's Soccer team saw the program fall into a one-goal deficit on two separate occasions before completing a comeback for the ages against the University of Providence, as they scored twice in the second half despite playing down 11-vs-9 due to card accumulation and still managed to hang on for a 3-2 road victory.
"I'm really pleased with our teams resolve today," Corban head coach Josh Rios Noonkester shared. "We faced so much adversity and never gave up on each other. We created numerous chances even after going down to nine players. David and Irwin scored some of the best goals we've seen this year, and I couldn't be happier for them. I'm excited for what's to come from them and the rest of our group after earning this result. We will need to clean up our defensive shape and work harder in transition after losing possession. I look forward to a sharp week of training before we hit the road again!"
A total of 15 cards were awarded from the 43rd minute onward in today's matchup between the Warriors (4-5-1, 3-1-1) and Argos (3-6-0, 2-4-0), as the matchup unfolded into a back-and-forth clash following the two first half goals. Providence jumped on the Corban defense early in the sixth minute and saw midfielder Liam Vaux score on an assist in the box from midfielder Tomeu Nebot-Schmalfe.
Twelve minutes later, junior midfielder David Montano evened the playing field with a 25-yard strike from outside the goalkeeper's box, as redshirt junior midfielder Irwin Leon provided Montano with a quick one-touch assist in the open field and found paydirt for the Warriors.
Nebot-Schmalfe provided the home team with some flare by scoring just three minutes into the second half to put the Argos up 2-1, resulting in a handful of frustration fouls for the Warriors that would lead to yellow cards and eventually, a disqualification in the 50th minute. Now playing down a man for the remaining forty minutes of action, Leon and redshirt junior midfielder Bryan Lopez connected for his third goal of the season to force another draw in the 56th minute, with plenty of time remaining for either team to snag the lead back and earn three crucial points in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) play.
In the 73rd minute, the Navy and Gold were handcuffed even further with another student-athlete disqualified due to a questionable call in the backfield, forcing Corban into a 11-vs-9 playing scenario with less than twenty minutes to play. Coach Noonkester and his staff opted to play defensive for the remaining time to salvage at least one point in the CCC standings before Leon saved the day for Warrior Nation.
After redshirt junior goalkeeper Isaac Pureco prevented every Providence shot from finding the back of the net, Leon collected a pass at the midfield line by senior midfielder Diego Gonzalez-Ruiz and sprinted by the last remaining defenders that the Argos had following a free kick opportunity in which they sent up a majority of their players in hopes of scoring the game-winner.
With just one man to beat, Leon hesitated twice and forced Argos' goalkeeper Teddy Benbow to fade off the back post, allowing Leon to send a shot just inside the goal box and send the Warrior Nation members in attendance, including the women's soccer program, into a frenzy in the corner of the field.
The nine Warriors remaining on the field were able to keep Providence off the scoreboard for the remaining three minutes and secure an incredibly meaningful victory over 750 miles from Corban's campus. The Argos took just two more shots both overall and on goal in today's matchup, yet the Navy and Gold made the most of their opportunities to avenge their home loss to UP last season.
Leon and Montano each took three shots apiece to account for two-thirds of the Warriors' shots, with Leon cashing in twice and assisting on the third goal to find himself involved in each of the Corban scoring play. For the Argos, Nebot-Schmalfe was the game-leader in shots with five in total and four on goal.
Pureco buckled down after allowing two Providence goals to finish with three saves in a complete game effort, while his counterpart in Benbow allowed all three goals and didn't stop a single shot that came on goal.
After their 12-hour drive back to Salem, Corban men's soccer will make their final arrangements as they'll travel to Olympia, Washington on Friday, October 11th, for a 3pm bout with The Evergreen State College (1-7-0, 1-4-0).
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