The Corban University Men's Soccer team (15-2-1) will enter the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, as the No. 3 seed next Monday, and is set to face off with No. 6 seed Rocky Mountain College at 8pm PDT on Monday, November 7th.
To access the CCC Men's Soccer Tournament Championship page, click HERE.
The winner of the late-night showdown will advance to the semifinals on November 9th, where the four remaining teams will be re-seeded before facing off for a championship spot.
The Warriors (15-2-1, 10-2-1 CCC) and the Battlin' Bears (10-6-1, 8-5 CCC) crossed paths earlier this year in CCC regular season play, when Corban claimed a dominant road 5-2 victory in Billings, Montana three weeks ago. Following the loss to the Warriors, the Battlin' Bears ride into the CCC playoffs on a two-game winning streak and claimed victories in four of their last five contests.
Rocky Mountain boasts an aggressive offensive attack, outshooting their opponents this season 232-142. This aggressive attacking strategy coordinately leads to more shots on goals as well, leading to a 124-71 margin on the season. The offense is anchored by forward Igor Soares, who leads the team with eight goals and five assists on the season. The Warriors must also find a way to contain midfielder Niklas Kneller, who boasts six goals on the season and scored one of only five goals allowed against the Warriors all year.
Goalkeeper Stefan Schenk has done most of the team's work in goal, starting in all 17 matches and racking up 46 saves, registering a 1.52 goals-against-average on the season.
The Navy and Gold have a high-powered offense to match Rocky Mountain. Relying on a balanced group of scorers, the Warriors will look to control the ball and aggressively attack the box on Monday evening.
The forceful offense is statistically backed with Corban ranking second in conference in points, goals and assists. Sophomore midfielder Alexis Luna led the balanced attack on the season with eight goals and eight assists, while sophomore midfielder/forward Andres Labate also produced seven goals and eight assists on the season for the Navy and Gold. Each enter the postseason garnering CCC Offensive Player of the Week honors on two separate occasions.
What makes the Warriors difficult to defend is the experienced cast of attacking front line members to compliment Luna and Labate. Senior forwards Yuki Onishi and Reggie Reyes, complimented by sophomore defender Edson Jimenez, consistently put pressure on the opponents' box, each registering 16 or more shots on goal this season. Speedster redshirt junior forward Nate Sherwood constantly stretches the field for Corban, darting through defenders for four goals and three assists on the season in limited minutes.
While the offense is worthy of high praise, the backline for the Navy and Gold deserves exceptional credit for only allowing five goals this entire season. The veteran group is led by senior defender Robin Terry, who earned CCC Defensive Player of the Week honors this season. Senior defender Noah Dreves and graduate student defender Derek Neidlinger commanded and control tempo for both the Corban and their opponents all season, hardly allowing their opposition to control the pace of play.
Corban has boasted a recent history of talented goalkeepers, such as USL goalkeeper Jordan Farr, Justin Keegan and now graduate student goalkeeper Quinn McCallion. McCallion recently set a school record with 14 shutouts on the season, which doubles as a new CCC record as well for a single season. He has earned a CCC-record five Defensive Player of the Week honors and will surely earn more accolades next Monday when the All-Conference awards will be announced.
While top seed Warner Pacific and second seed Oregon Tech are playing well going into CCC playoffs, the Warriors are hungry to win a title after being denied in the regular season. The CCC was highly competitive in 2022, with the top six teams separated by just three wins and 11 points. This year's playoffs are shaping up to be an instant classic, with the Warriors centered in among the best for a possible title contention.
The winner of the conference tournament will receive the CCC's second automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament, which will begin on November 17th. Should Warner Pacific claim the CCC Tournament title, the bid would go to the tournament runner-up.
Live stats for next week's tournament will be available HERE, while live video will be made available HERE.
Original source can be found here.
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