Corban Falls to Westmont, 4-1

Ayouba Moussa has scored Corban's last three goals.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

AZUSA, Calif. - In the opening game of the 2007 Cougar Classic, Corban's men's soccer team fell to nationally-ranked Westmont, 4-1, as freshman Ayouba Moussa scored his third straight goal off an assist from junior Justin Lucia on Friday at the Cougar Soccer Complex.

After falling behind 2-0 after the first 18-plus minutes thanks to a pair of goals by Westmont's Anthony Niboli, Corban shut down the scoring onslaught of the nationally-ranked Warriors from Santa Barbara for the next 26 minutes.

In the final thirty seconds of the opening half, Westmont added its third goal when Johnny Alcaraz scored the California-based Warriors' third unanswered goal of the opening half.

Trailing for the first time since the opening half of its first game of the season, Corban pulled within two goals when Moussa teamed with Lucia in the 70th minute.

Lucia sent a cross from the right side that found the awaiting foot of Moussa, who took a low shot from five yards out that found the back of the net for his third career goal as a Warriors.

The 6-foot-4 forward has scored Corban's last three goals dating back to last Friday's 6-0 conference opening win over Northwest Christian at Warrior Field under the lights.

Despite the Warriors' first goal of the contest, Westmont extended its lead back to three goals when Alcaraz scored his second goal of the game in the 79th minute.

Alcaraz notched his fifth point of the game when he sent a shot from 23 yards out towards the far post that found the back of the net for the game's final goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper Aaron Franklin manned Corban's net for the first 56-plus minutes and recorded a pair of saves before yielding the way to junior net-minder James DelCastillo for the final 33-plus minutes.

DelCastillo recorded one save for the Salem-based Warriors, while Westmont's Justin Etherton notched a game-high three saves en route to picking up the win.

Three games into the season, Corban is now 2-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play.

Meanwhile, Westmont remains unbeaten at 3-0-0 overall.

The Warriors are next in action on Saturday, September 8th, when they go head-to-head with the NAIA's No. 5-ranked and Classic host Azusa Pacific University beginning at 3:00 p.m. at the Cougar Soccer Complex.

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