SALEM, Ore. – It was a scoring frenzy for the Corban University Men's Soccer team today in their final regular season match of 2024, as they scored six goals against Walla Walla University to wrap up the fall slate with a 6-1 win at the Outdoor Athletic Complex (OAC) earlier this afternoon. Two seniors scored goals for the Navy and Gold, while a pair of freshmen each secured braces to power the Warriors to victory over the Wolves in their season finale.
"In my first year as head coach, I learned so much about what it takes to be successful in this competitive conference," shared Corban head coach Josh Rios Noonkester following his program's final regular season match of 2024. "Unfortunately, we didn't reach the goals we had this season. The guys competed until the end and learned along the way as well. Moving forward, I am committed to pursuing excellence within our program. We must maintain a growth mindset and work to improve in many ways to reach the standards our program is striving for on and off the field. I'm thankful for the effort our guys put into this season and look forward to what's to come as we continue to establish a strong culture. Thank you to all our supporters who came out to support the program this season."
It wasn't until the 33rd minute before the Warriors (5-10-3, 4-6-3) broke the scoreless draw with the first of two goals in a ten-minute period by freshman forward Jose Guzman, as he sprinted into the Wolves' (1-12-0, 1-12-0) backfield and received a cross from graduate student midfielder Jairo Aguirre to score with ease.
Nearly seven minutes later, Guzman was left alone in the right side of the goalbox and received a cross from the opposite side from redshirt junior midfielder Noah Gatchet to enter the halftime break with a 2-0 lead.
Three minutes into the second half, Gatchet scored his own goal with an assist from freshman forward Zachary Milczarek, which would represent his first career goal as a Warrior in his final collegiate opportunity. Redshirt junior midfielder Elijah Gish would get in on the scoring four minutes later with his first goal of 2024, as he collected a rebound off a shot from Guzman that hit the crossbar and pelted the ball into the back of the net to score on his senior day in front of family and friends.
After the Wolves got one back on a goal from Daniel Velasco, Milczarek took over and scored twice over a 13-minute period, the first unassisted and the second with an assist from Guzman. Both Milczarek and Guzman registered a brace and an assist today to lead the Corban offense, with Guzman leading all student-athletes at six shots, four of which were on goal. The Warriors outshot Walla Walla 26-14 on the day, including a 12-2 advantage in shots on goal.
In his final collegiate match, redshirt junior goalkeeper Isaac Pureco needed to save just one shot on goal thanks to his defensive backline, allowing the lone goal to pick up his fifth win of the season and lower his goals against average to an even 2.00 for the season. His Wolf counterpart, goalkeeper Kylan LeGault, swatted away six saves but allowed six goals to fall on the road in Salem.
The Corban men's soccer program concludes the 2024 regular season at 5-10-3 overall, finishing tenth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings with 15 points, a 4-6-3 record, and the most saves in the conference with 93 on the year. They were also the most highly attended program in the CCC with an average of 147 people in attendance every home game and 1,173 unique fans over the course of eight games at the OAC.
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