BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon University women's soccer team dropped a conference game to Corban University Saturday, 5-1.

The Mountaineers (4-7-1) (4-4) battled with the third place team in the Cascade Collegiate Conference and the Willamette Valley wind.

"We played well soccer-wise the whole time against an excellent team," EOU head coach Keith Scarlett said. "This was a perfect example of our lack of overall team maturity. I leave with a lot of respect for Corban.

"I feel like we definitely were ale to play with them from a physical, athletic and even technical and tactical standpoint. It's a matter of us being better prepared and maintaining our focus."

Corban's Audrey Sullivan scored a pair of the goals, including the game winner. The freshman came away as a highlight on Senior Day. The Warrior offense struck quickly when Katie Hanson scored an unassisted goal 45 seconds in the match when she found the upper right corner of the net. Sullivan then scored off of a through ball from Emily Tsugawa in the fifth minute.

The ball was kept in the Mountaineers half of the field for much of the first half with Corban pressure. Tsugawa then found the lower left side of the net in the 24th minute. Miranda O'Connor was credited with the assist. Hanson set up Abigail Van Hoogen right before halftime with a through ball for the fourth goal.

Eastern had the wind to its back in the second half, and began the period with shots to close a 7-2 shots advantage Corban had in the first half. The Mountaineers capitalized on the pressure with an Amanda Swenson goal in the 56th minute. Mauriana Gonzalez earned the assist when Swenson put the shot into the upper right corner of the net.

Tera McDonough slid a ball through the EOU defense and Sullivan scored her second goal from the assist in the 75th minute. Sullivan placed the ball in the bottom right corner of the net.

"In the first half, we didn't have that much movement and we weren't mentally ready for what Corban was going to bring at us," Scarlett said. "In the second half we had a lot more opportunities to score. We really weren't connecting that final pass.

"The difference in the game is that they knew what they had to do and they were prepared to do it and did so. We wewren't prepearde to play, it showed during our warm-up and there is nothing that can be done
about it at that point.

"I thought our defense played well in the second-half. They did a great job, It wasn't really a defensive breakdown that gave -up the 4 goals in the first-half anyways...it was just a pure lack of all-around focus. If we'd been better prepared individually and focused to start the game, we wouldn't have been in that situation anyway."

Eastern will host The College of Idaho in its final game of the regular season Friday at 2 p.m. in La Grande. The Mountaineers have a chance at making only their second postseason appearance with a win coupled with a Corban win over Northwest University. Fans are strongly encouraged to come and support the EOU soccer program on Senior Day and cheer on Eastern and its chance in the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament.