By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SALEM, Ore.– The Corban University Women’s Soccer team brought the pressure on the offensive half of the field on Saturday morning in their scrimmage with Chemeketa Community College.
The NAIA school pushed tempo, their midfielders and forwards tested the young Storm defensive backline.
“Our defense is definitely something that we’re going to work on because we only have one sophomore back there. So I really appreciate Corban putting that aggression on us and showing us early that we really need to step it up. Going against their attacking is really helpful and I think it’s going to benefit us in the long run against Highline and Bellevue when we play them because they’re really aggressive like Corban,” said Sprague-grad and Chemeketa Sophomore Tatum Kiger.
“It’s really important for us to play to our advantage. In this game, we knew we had some really fast athlete’s, we’re athletic..so it was using those pieces to our advantage and combining that with quick passes, it’s going to be really important the more we play together, the more comfortable we’re going to get,” adds Amity-grad and Corban freshman Eliza Nisly.
Nisly is one of seven freshmen on the Warriors roster this season as Corban looks to improve under first-year Head Coach Tim Kagey. Corban opens the season August 21 at Simpson University in Redding, California before hosting Pierce College of Washington in a scrimmage.
For the Storm, they’ll head to Washington for the NWAC Friendlies at the Starfire Complex. They’ll play Centralia on August 18 before playing Shoreline August 19 as they’ll look to develop the young talent around them.
“The freshmen are coming into this knowing that we were so successful last year. I know that they want to keep that success. Just keeping it Drama Free, doing team bonding, just making sure we’re all united as one. That’s my biggest thing when I talk to the freshmen,” said Kiger. “We just need to sharpen up our passes, just like who were passing to and smarter plays, I think that’s the big thing I’d say. Just be smart, just make those smart ball movements. I think once we get that down and connect with each other, it will show on the field.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
