Warriors to Meet Concordia in NAIA Region I Tournament

Thanks to the play of senior Scott Marshall, senior James Young, and junior Caleb Louvier, the Warriors advance to the post-season where they have an overall record of 8-9-3 since the 1995 season.

Caleb Louvier File photo courtesy: Corban College

SALEM - Corban's men's soccer team had its ticket punched for the NAIA Region I Tournament after an eight-year absence on Sunday, as the tournament's No. 4-seed.

The Warriors will play the tournament's top-seed and Cascade Collegiate regular season champions Concordia at 11:00 AM (MST) on Friday, while Albertson goes head-to-head with tournament host Westminster at 2:00 PM (MST).

Both games will be played on Dumke Field on the campus of Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Despite advancing to the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament three times in the last eight years (1998, 2001, & 2003), the Warriors had not received an invitation to the regional tournament since the 1997 season.

After ending the season with three straight victories and its first winning record since the 2004 season, Corban was on the winning end of the Longo scoring system for the first time in two seasons.

In 2004 and 2005, the Warriors were kept out of the post-season due to the Longo scoring system and had to watch the regional tournament from home.

In regional tournament play, Corban is 0-1-1 with both games against Simon Fraser.

In 1996, the Warriors lost to the Clan, 6-2, before tying SFU, 2-2, in 1997 before falling in a shoot-out, 3-2. Despite Corban's loss in the 1996 regional tournament, the Warriors went on to capture their lone NCCAA national championship with a 6-2 victory over Hope International University (formerly Pacific Christian College).

In the series history, Corban and Concordia have met 37 times with the Cavaliers holding the advantage, 28-8-1. In post-season play, the Warriors have dropped each of their three meetings with the Cavaliers, including a 1-0 loss in Portland in the championship game of the Cascade Collegiate Conference post-season tournament.

Corban and Concordia have met twice so far this season with each team winning on its opponent's home field. On September 21st, the visiting Cavaliers captured a 2-1 victory over the Warriors thanks to a pair of goals by Mirzet Sacirovic.

All-Cascade Collegiate Conference 2nd team member and junior Joshua Crain scored Corban's lone goal, while freshman goalkeeper Aaron Franklin recorded a game-high 9 saves on 22 Concordia shots.

Three weeks later, Corban grabbed a 3-1 victory over Concordia in Portland.

Junior midfielder Andrew Brown scored the Warriors' first goal in the 8th minute via a free kick before Crain scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 16th minute off an assist from Louvier. Louvier capped the game's scoring with two seconds remaining on the clock off a free kick to end an eight-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.

If the Warriors get past the Cavaliers, then they will play the winner of the Albertson-Westminster game on Saturday, November 4th, at 1:00 PM (MST) in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a chance to advance to the NAIA National Tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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