SALEM, Ore. – Over the past four contests, the Corban University Women's Soccer team's has been held scoreless in 360 consecutive minutes played, yet this afternoon at the Outdoor Athletic Complex, the Warriors finally broke through with the offensive outburst they've been longing for and more than doubled their season scoring in a single contest by securing a 5-0 shutout of Walla Walla University for their first Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) victory of the year.
"I'm incredibly proud of the way we played today," Corban head coach Brooke Alteneder stated when asked to discuss today's result. "We came out with the energy we needed from the start and maintained that intensity all game. The girls have executed what we've been working on in practice; great movement, smart runs, and finishing our chances. It's really rewarding to see that effort translate into a strong 5-0 win. This being my first conference win as a head coach makes it even more special on a personal level, but more than anything, I'm just proud of the complete performance the team put together today."
While the scoreboard reflected that today's result was all Warriors (4-6-0, 1-4-0), the Wolves (0-5-0, 0-5-0) didn't go down without a fight, as their offense still managed ten shots, four of which Corban redshirt senior goalkeeper Cat Burns had to make saves on to prevent goals from being scored and keep both her first shutout and win of the season intact. Walla Walla midfielder Vicky Giardina led the visiting team with six shots and one on goal.
The CCC's reigning Newcomer of the Year was in full control of today's matchup, as sophomore forward Maya Alston scored the game-winner in the 5th minute of play, then proceeded to add three more goals on top of her game-winner in the 19th, 48th, and 86th minutes to give the Keizer native her first-ever four-goal game. Alston led all players 13 total shots, ten of which either resulted in goals or saves by Walla Walla goalkeeper Allanah Rodriguez-Facio, who ended today's contest with ten saves and five goals allowed.
Between Alston's first and second goals, senior defender Chloe Vanderhoof threaded a pass through the Wolves' penalty box to find a wide open freshman forward Kate Dickson, where she scored her second goal of the year to double the Warriors' lead in a matter of minutes.
From a teamwide perspective, the Navy and Gold took double the number of shots (22-10) than Walla Walla, including a 15-4 ratio in shots on goal. The Warriors took three more corner kick tries and committed nearly double the number of fouls for the match (13-7).
The homestand will stretch into next weekend for Corban women's soccer, as the Warriors are scheduled to host Northwest University (5-3-3, 1-1-3) on Friday at the OAC for a 4:30pm kickoff.
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