SALEM, Ore. – A scoreless draw was broken in the 56th minute of today's Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) contest at the Outdoor Athletic Complex (OAC), as the Corban University Women's Soccer team fell via a 1-0 decision to Warner Pacific University in the Warriors' conference home opener. With the road victory, the Knights snapped a 10-game losing skid to the Navy and Gold dating back to the 2017 season and represents only the third win for WPU since 2009.
"Tough result tonight, as we have to play with urgency from the first whistle and push all the way through to the end, that's where we fell short," explained Warriors' head coach Brooke Alteneder. "We need some more grit to compete. Credit to them for taking their chance but we need to be better, and we will be. That said, there were a lot of positives out there, and we'll build on those heading into Sunday."
Representing the first of two scoreless first halves to be played out tonight at the OAC, both the Warriors (3-6-0, 0-4-0) and Knights (2-6-1, 1-3-0) had their fair share of offensive opportunities yet came up emptyhanded on each attempt despite 17 combined shots.
However, following the halftime break, WPU midfielder Kiya Gramps finally broke through Corban's defensive line to score 1-on-1 against redshirt senior goalkeeper Catriona Burns, eventually resulting in the 1-0 shutout win for Warner Pac and their first victory in Salem since 2014.
Burns finished with a game-high seven saves, while Gramps took seven total shots to lead all attackers. Corban sophomore forward Maya Alston took five shots as the leading attacker for the hometown team, while senior midfielder Abril Dimas Camacho and sophomore defender Meliah Servatius took three shots apiece as well.
The Warriors will enjoy a rest day tomorrow before returning to the OAC on Sunday for a noon kickoff against a second-year CCC program out of Walla Walla University (0-4-0, 0-4-0), representing the first matchup between the two schools in women's soccer history.
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