KIRKLAND, Wash. – The Corban University Men's Soccer team battled through what was a grueling Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) matchup with Kirkland's Northwest University Eagles on Saturday afternoon. Despite a great effort from the Warriors in which they created 19 total shots and eight corner kicks, they fell 1-0 to the home side in Washington. Northwest capitalized on a single second-half opportunity to send Corban home with zero points in the standings to show for their efforts.
Corban opened the match aggressively, with early chances from sophomore forward Jaycob Miller at 8:29 and junior forward Zachary Milczarek at 10:58. Northwest responded by forcing two saves from Corban redshirt sophomore keeper Rylan Davidson in the 10th and 18th minutes.
Corban controlled long stretches of the half, earning five corner kicks between the 26th and 42nd minute. A trio of Corban forwards represented by freshman Antonio Virrueta, junior Jesus Mendoza, and redshirt junior Alvaro Castellon all produced shots within that 16-minute stretch, but none of them found the back of the net. The match remained scoreless at halftime.
Northwest broke free in the 55th minute when the Eagles broke through on a sequence that's uncommon at the collegiate level, with goalkeeper Bailey Hopkins coming up with the assist on the match's lone goal that was put in by forward Matthew Ludlow.
Corban tried to find the equalizer, with chances from Virrueta in the 52nd, 53rd, and 73rd minutes, and a dangerous header from freshman defender Oswaldo Cerda Pacheco at 73:22. Less than six minutes later Northwest nearly bagged their second goal via Chase Carter, who forced a Davidson save.
Corban earned a late corner in the 88th minute but couldn't find the goal that would've helped them escape with a massive draw in their road to making the Cascade Conference playoffs.
Corban produced 19 shots, including six on goal. Virrueta led the squad's shots attempted with six, while Jesus Mendoza had three shots attempted and put all three on target, putting him on top of the shots on goal category. Defensively, Davidson recorded four saves across 90 minutes, supported by a backline featuring Cerda Pacheco, senior defender Aaron James, freshman defender Johnny Garcia, and graduate student defender Landon Moore.
Northwest fired an efficient nine shots, with five of them testing the keeper. Ludlow took just one shot off the pass from his keeper, representing all the Eagles needed to secure the win at home.
Corban returns to Salem for a three-match stretch at the Outdoor Athletic Complex. The Warriors host Bushnell University on October 16th at 7 pm, followed by back-back showdowns against Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon University starting on the 23rd.
Follow Corban Athletics:
Facebook | Twitter (X) | Instagram | YouTube | Email | Photo Galleries
