SALEM, Ore. – Over the past decade, the Corban University Men's Soccer program has remained one of the most competitive teams within the Pacific Northwest and expanding into the national scene, as they've concluded two of the past eleven seasons in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament and the other nine within one of the various rounds of the NAIA National Tournament. Despite suffering a slight setback in 2023 with an eighth-overall seed in the CCC tourney, the Warriors have no intentions of taking a backseat within one of the most grueling conferences around the NAIA and plans to return to the postseason for a twelfth-straight season with newly hired head coach and Corban alum Josh Rios Noonkester leading the program once again, but from a slightly different vantage point.
With their current postseason streak beginning in 2013, Coach Noonkester was a student-athlete within the Warrior men's soccer program during their second year of success in 2014, earning All-Conference honors and powering the program to their second-straight NAIA tournament appearance. He then spent the next three years assisting for Corban legend and current Gonzaga University head coach Aaron Lewis, who provided Coach Noonkester with the skillset and lessons he needed to one day take over for the same program he once represented on the field, in the classroom, and in the lives that he touched over his successful career as a Warrior.
"Our program is eagerly anticipating the opportunity to contend again within the CCC," shared Coach Noonkester. "We have brought in some hardworking and skillful players who will look to make an immediate impact. Our coaching staff is excited with the depth of the group at numerous positions. We will go into every match with confidence, understanding it's a new season with so much opportunity ahead of us. Our student-athletes are committed to improving week-to-week and peaking at the right time come conference tournament play."
Now, Coach Noonkester and the staff he assembled is preparing to field the next generation of Warriors to compete in the navy and gold threads, with their first contest of the 2024 regular season scheduled for Thursday, August 15th at the Outdoor Athletic Complex on the foot of Corban's campus. The program will welcome one of the newly accredited NAIA schools from across the nation in Stanton University for a 5:30pm start time, with the women's team hosting Stanton at 3pm.
Corban's final scrimmage of the 2024 preseason will take place on Wednesday, August 21st at the OAC when Lane Community College makes the short journey north to visit the Warriors' campus. The following Sunday, the men's soccer team will put their nine-game unbeaten streak in the 'Battle for the Capital' on the line against NCAA DIII Willamette University at Sparks Field. The Bearcats won the first matchup between these two schools in 2008, yet the Warriors have emerged with either a win or draw in each of the past nine contests, including last season when the two teams played to a hard-fought 4-4 tie in Corban's first counting contest of 2023.
One of Corban's many longtime matchups will be followed by the first contest in program history against fellow NAIA school Missouri Baptist University, as the central region team will travel through the state of Oregon for some marquee west coast bouts, including a stop in Salem on August 29th for the first fall home game of any sport with the entire student body on campus for the start of the 2024-25 school year.
One week later, Coach Noonkester and his program will host once again in a non-conference slate with only two road games, as they'll welcome NCAA DIII Linfield University on Thursday, September 5th at 4pm. Their final tune-up before CCC play begins will be on September 14th at 7pm in Newberg, where NCAA DIII George Fox University will host the first matchup between these two programs since the 2015 season.
The exact inverse of the 2023 conference schedule awaits the Warriors this upcoming fall, with their first game set to take place on Thursday, September 19th at Les Schwab Sports Park, the home of Bushnell University soccer. Having remained unbeaten against the Beacons since 2010, the Navy and Gold will have a prime opportunity to set the standard for the remainder of the regular season with their third-straight win in Springfield.
Corban will briefly return home to the OAC for a pair of conference matchups with Oregon Tech and No. 25-ranked Southern Oregon University on September 27th and 28th, respectively. While the Raiders hold a four-game winning streak against the Warriors, Corban men's soccer traveled to Klamath Falls last season and pulled off the upset win of the conference slate in stunning fashion, as an 89th minute goal broke a two-all tie and propelled the program to their first win in 2023.
After hosting the same six programs for three-consecutive weeks last year, the Warriors will now hit the road for a trio of conference weekends throughout the month of October, beginning with their furthest trip and ending with their shortest. Carroll College and the University of Providence are set to welcome Corban to the Montana mountains on October 4th and 5th, while The Evergreen State College and Northwest University will play host on October 11th and 12th.
The final road trip of the 2024 season will take place in Portland on October 18th and 19th, as Multnomah and RV Warner Pacific University host their own senior weekend contests against the travel partner Beacons and Warriors, respectively.
Four-straight home games to close out the 2024 regular season will prove beneficial for the program after a grueling three-week road trip, beginning with Eastern Oregon University and The College of Idaho during the final weekend of October. Senior Weekend for the Warriors will begin on November 1st against Rocky Mountain College but won't conclude until Sunday when they host Walla Walla University in the final CCC contest of the year for any of the fourteen programs.
With enough points earned in the CCC standings to secure at least the eighth place finish this fall, the Warriors would be postseason bound once again and travel to the first year of tourney games to take place in Medford, Oregon in conference history, which is scheduled to begin on November 10th and end with a champion crowned on November 14th.
To view the entire 2024 Corban Men's Soccer schedule, click HERE.
Coach Noonkester is expected to return six of the eleven starters from the 2023 season this upcoming fall, including redshirt junior goalkeeper Isaac Pureco and at least one key position player from each of the three major sections of the pitch. In front of Pureco, graduate student defender Jairo Aguirre returns for his final season of eligibility to lead a renewed defensive unit for the program.
A majority of the 2024 recruiting class for the program is represented by defending midfielders and backline stalwarts, including a trio of transfers in senior midfielder Grady Thurman out of NCAA DII Northwest Nazarene University, junior midfielder Santiago Castano from Newberry College, and graduate student Eli Donaho who competed at DII Colorado Christian University. Of the true freshmen competing in their first collegiate season of competition, defender Alexander Guindy enters the fold with immediate impact potential according to Coach Noonkester.
On the offensive end of the field, redshirt junior Irwin Leon was the lone All-Conference selection for the program in 2023, earning Second Team honors and expects to flourish in 2024 coming off his eight-goal and six-assist output from last year, both of which were the team-best marks. Meanwhile, redshirt junior Bryan Nicolas commands a controlled midfield unit with several newcomers looking to lock up a spot in Coach Noonkester's rotation. Meanwhile, freshman forward Jose Guzman will enter his name into consideration for being a key attacker under Coach Noonkester's scoring front.
To see the complete 2024 Corban Men's Soccer roster, click HERE.
To find a more in-depth breakdown of the newcomers joining the program this fall, click HERE.
An unexpected appearance outside the top eight teams in the 2024 CCC coaches' preseason poll results will only act as motivation as the program looks to extend their postseason streak to a twelfth-straight year, and with the guidance of Coach Noonkester and his staff, can expect to give everything they have as they reclaim the respect of their fellow conference opponents.
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