Penalty Kick lifts Corban past Yotes, 1-0
Mark Mendenhall converted a penalty kick midway through the first half and the Corban College defense made it stand up, as the Warriors upended The College of Idaho, topping the Coyotes, 1-0, at Simplot Stadium.
The loss for the Yotes (6-7-1, 6-5-1) was their fifth loss in six outings - coming eight days after a dominating 3-0 victory over the same Corban bunch. The C of I now sits tied with Northwest in third-place in the Cascade Conference standings, two points clear of Oregon Tech and Evergreen State - with the quartet battling for one final postseason berth.
The Coyotes dominated play all afternoon, but could not take advantage of multiple opportunities. Kazuki Murata missed a 1-on-1 attempt with Warriors (4-10-1, 3-9) keeper Aaron Franklin in the tenth minute, then Franklin made a leaping save of a Mats Boehnke 25-yard drive in the 20th minute.
Corban put the pressure on in the 27th minute, as Aaron Paulsen made a nice run down the right side, with his shot punched out by Yote keeper Aaron Reynolds. However, Paulsen launched a rebound shot that grazed a C of I player in the arm - resulting in a penalty kick. Mendenall drove the PK to the center of the goal, giving the Warriors the lead.
The C of I missed a golden opportunity just before halftime, as a cross by Murata found Matt Kelly alone inside the six-yard box, but his flick missed high over the crossbar. In the 71st minute, a Boehnke drive clanged off the left post, and four minutes later, Zach Pulkinen got inside the Corban defense, but Franklin snuffed out his try for one of his eight saves.
The Warriors commanded the final ten minutes after Boehnke was booked for a red card after colliding with Franklin on a long run into the Corban box - as The C of I did not get another shot on frame.
The Yotes held a commanding 21-9 edge in shots and a 5-4 edge in corners - but failed to score a goal for the second-straight match.
The C of I hits the road for their final two regular-season matches, beginning Friday at 3 p.m. at Northwest University.