This story first appeared in the November 2019 edition of the Hilltop.
Corban men’s soccer team made history November 3, at the 2019 CCC Championship in Springfield, Oregon, when it clinched its seventh-straight NAIA National Tournament berth and completed the 2019 season undefeated.
This team’s success stemmed from its mindset going into the season. defines his goal from the team as, “Our mindset was to focus on our performances in training, the classroom and in games,” said Coach Tim Kagey. “We graded ourselves by our performance and not by the score.”
Senior Yohanes Susanto described the feeling of winning and completing an undefeated conference season. “It feels good,” Susanto said. “We worked really hard this preseason and throughout the season as well. It shows that out hard work paid off and we built a lot of momentum going into post season.”
“Going undefeated is something every athlete dreams of achieving, especially at the collegiate level,” stated senior, Christian Silva. “My senior year at Corban has been one for the books. The brotherhood we’ve created as a team has been truly special and I look forward to finish my career by their sides.”
When nationals, begin on Saturday, November 23, the goals of the players will shift. “It’s strictly business,” said Silva. “Winning the conference and conference tournament put us in a great spot heading into nationals. It all comes down to who wants it more and how hard we’re willing to fight.”
“We want to head into nationals by taking one game at a time,” said Susanto. “We see every game as a final because it’s a knockout phase and there is no more second chance. We have to stay locked in for 90 minutes every day.”
“This entire team, including starters and reserves, have played a huge role in our success,” said Coach Kagey. “We have gotten our results as a team, starting on the training ground.”
By: Taylor Preston