By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

SALEM, Ore.– The fighting never stopped for the 17th-ranked Corban University Men’s Soccer Team in their 3-1 defeat versus the seventh-ranked Biola squad in the NAIA First Round at Willamette University’s Sparks Field Saturday Night.

Warriors head coach Aaron Lewis credits the seniors for setting the pace and an example for the team during the contest.

”The fighting spirit was evident today for sure,” said Warriors Head Coach Aaron Lewis.  ”That was kind of a spearheaded again by those seniors.

“Those three seniors, who played, played fantastic, so it wasn’t surprising.”

Down 2-0 early on the second half, Corban battled hard to get back into the game.

With assistance from the home crowd during their first ever home playoff game, the Warriors fighting spirit remained strong as the clock approached the 20 minutes mark.

“The crowd was fantastic,” said Lewis. “I don’t remember seeing a crowd like that in the three years (I’ve been here).  They wanted to erupt, it was disappointing that we didn’t give them a little bit more to cheer about.”

Then it happened.

Coming down the left side of the field Bobby Hutchin lifted Corban back into the game with his 69th minute goal as the Warriors confidence hit an all-time high.

“We’re all fighting for each other,” said Senior Defender James Williamson.  “No one is out there for themselves.  Everyone is out there for everybody.  The team culture we have here is different from anybody else in the country, it shows.

“We were down a couple of goals, we were still going to fight to the end like we did.”

The crowd erupted when Hutchin’s goal happened and it felt like anything was possible now. Mojo was flowing; momentum was like a long last friend you haven’t seen in a while.

Corban continued their intensity, until the unthinkable.

 

Off a quick save and throw out by Jordan Farr had just performed; Biola’s Joey O’Keefe did the unthinkable by shooting the ball past Farr for the 76th minute goal and for the dagger.

Though damaged, the “Never Say Die” mantra continued for the Warriors as they fought through the final whistle and held their heads high as they saw the Eagles spoil their playoff hosting debut.

“It’s phenomenal, everything about it was really incredible,” said Senior Defender James Williamson.  “The only unfortunate part was the result, I felt like it wasn’t the one we wanted.

“I’ve been here for four long years and it went by in a blink of an eye.  This night was everything we’ve worked for the past four years.  I have nothing I can complain about.”

The first half was filled with a bunch back and forth between the midfielders between both teams capped with a few streaks down the sidelines to no scoring avail with Corban’s Jordan Farr and Biola’s J.T Arrington and their defenses interrupting everything that came their way.

The lone hiccup came when under 10 minutes to play, O’Keefe scored his first of his two scores as Biola held off Quamie Dinnal and company’s assault on goal.

“I thought they did what we thought they were going to do,” said Lewis. “They were dangerous on the counterattack and they put us under a few times.

“Going into halftime I felt like we were in decent shape to get one, and we did.  We just had a few breakdowns on set pieces which ultimately separated us.”

The Warriors finished the 2015 campaign with a 17-3-1 overall record and will be returning all but four seniors for next year’s squad.

PHOTO GALLERY (PICTURES BY JEREMY MCDONALD)

SCORE        1      2    –  T

EAGLES       1      2    –  3

WARRIORS 0     1     –   1

GOALS- EAGLES- O’Keefe, J. (34′, 76′). Tanquary, S.(47′).  WARRIORS- Hutchin, B (69′)  ASSIST- EAGLES- O’Keefe (47′) Mattox, K (34’47’). WARRIORS- Aparicio, C (76′) SAVES- EAGLES- Addington, J-4.  WARRIORS- Farr, J-7.

Jeremy McDonald is a professional sports journalist in the Salem/Portland area and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalist in Oregon with B.S. degrees from Southern Oregon University in Journalism (2011) and Health/PE (2013).  Got a story idea? Email him at jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com or on Twitter at @J_McDonald81!

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