Warriors Prepare For ‘Yotes And Geoducks

Corban Men’s Soccer Weekly Digest

Photo by: Kevin Hays

SALEM - This week, Corban will take its .500 record into back-to-back Cascade Collegiate Conference home matches this week versus Albertson and The Evergreen State College.

The Warriors will match-up with conference member Albertson on Saturday.

On Thursday, Corban will welcome the Geoducks of The Evergreen State College to the Capitol City. Both games will begin at 4:00 PM on Warrior Field.

SERIES NOTES: Corban and Albertson have met 32 times with the Warriors winning 17-outof- 32 games. Last season, Corban swept the series with a 3-0 win in Caldwell, Idaho, and a 6-1 victory in Salem.

Corban and Evergreen have met 19 times in the series history with the Warriors holding the advantage, 12-6-1. Last season, the Warriors lost both games to the Geoducks – 4-0 in Olympia, Wash., and 3-1 in Salem.

LAST WEEK: Corban played two conference games last week against rival Concordia before setting up for an early season rematch with Cascade.

In the opening match of the week on Tuesday, Corban took on the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ (NAIA) No. 25-ranked Cavaliers of Concordia and suffered a heart-breaking loss, 2-1. In the 7th minute, Concordia’s Mirzet Sacirovic scored the first of his two goals on an assist from Tyler Camp, following a deflection off the Warriors’ goalkeeper.

Near the end of the first half, junior midfielder Joshua Crain knotted the game at 1-all via a bouncing ball that hopped over the Cavaliers’ keeper and into the back of the net. Fellow junior Caleb Louvier teamed with Crain on his second goal of the season.

In the 71st minute, Sacirovic scored the game-winning goal on an assist from Kossivi Alokpovi via a through ball that Sacirovic was able to sneak underneath a diving Warrior net-minder. Freshman goalkeeper Aaron Franklin registered a game-high 9 saves, while CU’s keeper Garrett Staples needed to make 4 saves to secure the victory.

On Saturday, Corban hit the field for an early-season rematch with the Thunderbirds of Cascade and were handed its second straight defeat, 4-1. Cascade’s Mark Towers and Gerardo Cifuentes each scored two goals, while Brandon Nolan, Kevin Youatt, and Adalberto Angulo registered assists. Louvier scored the Warriors’ lone goal in the 82nd minute on an assist from junior midfielder Andrew Brown.

The goal kept Louvier’s four game point streak alive and gave him a team-leading six goals on the season. Sophomore net-minder James DelCastillo recorded only 2 saves, while Cascade’s

Anthony Trejo registered a game-high 4 saves despite facing 8 Warrior shots.

POINTS LEADERS: Through 9 games this season, junior Caleb Louvier sits atop a crop of players with a team-leading 7 goals and 15 points. Fellow junior Joshua Crain is second in points with 9 (4 goals, 1 assist), while senior Scott Marshall sits alone in third with 8 points (3 goals, 2 assists).

Sophomore Tyler Grove and junior Quinn Neely-Gallagher each have four points thanks to a pair of goals by Grove and a goal and two assists by Neely. Junior Andrew Brown leads the team in assists with 3, while freshman goalkeeper Aaron Franklin has attempted to keep the net clean with a team-high 31 saves.

HALF WAY THERE: In his first season as head coach, Dave Irby has set the pace to pass last season’s overall mark of 8-9-1 and possibly end a two-year absence from the playoffs. Through nine games, Irby has guided the Warriors to an overall record of 4-4-1, including a conference mark of 2-2-0. In his nine-plus year career, Irby has accumulated a collegiate coaching record (including this season) of 70-95-11.

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