The first half was scoreless for the first 37 minutes until the host Warriors (1-1-0) got on the board first when Marissa Walter took a through ball from Sara Laughlin and poked a shot past MVNU freshman goalkeeper Jenessa Loewen, who made a diving attempt on the play.

Corban held the 1-0 lead until the closing seconds of the first half when senior forward Kristy Brandolini (left) sent a cross to freshman forward Jena Dickerson, who headed in a goal just ahead of the first-half horn to knot the score at 1-1. For Dickerson, it was her first goal in over a year as she missed all of her senior season of high school with a knee injury.

Early in the second half, the host Warriors had an opportunity to regain the lead when Megan Waunch had a wide open net after Loewen failed on a diving effort to gather a through ball. However, the Lady Cougars’ back line regrouped in time to force Waunch’s shot just wide to keep the score knotted at 1-1.

Less than three minutes later, MVNU (1-1-0) took its first lead of the match when Brandolini split the Warriors’ defense and ripped a left-footed shot from 15 yards out into the lower right corner. Junior forward Kelly Sgambellone assisted on the play as the Lady Cougars took a 2-1 lead in the 56th minute.

Corban battled back to equalize in the 78th minute when Jessica Matthews took a pass from Alex Paradis and found the back of the net to knot the score at 2-2.

With time winding down in the match and an apparent overtime period pending, sophomore defender Angie Misamore won a ball on the MVNU back line and possessed it all the way to the other end of the field before crossing a pass to Sgambellone (right). Sgambellone hit a low dribbling shot that eluded Warrior goalie Karyn Allen and gave the Lady Cougars a 3-2 lead with one minute remaining in the match.

Loewen and the MVNU defense held the lead over the final minute as the Lady Cougars posted their first win of the season. Loewen finished with 10 saves in goal, while Allen stopped 10 shots for Corban. The Warriors held a 20-16 advantage in total shots with each team taking 13 shots on goal.

“It was nice to get our first win of the season out of the way,” said MVNU head coach Jonathan Meade. “(Corban) is a talented, physical team that would be a contender in our conference. It’s a good way to start our trip.”

“I was happy to see Jenessa play more composed in the back and make some steps forward,” Meade added. “Kristy really put the team on her shoulders and carried us at times tonight. Page (Miller) played well, and Angie and Nikki (Bruscino) did a nice job on the back line. Kelly, Jena, and Challyn (Dobson) also showed much improvement from our previous match. We just need to keep getting better each match individually and as a team.”

The Lady Cougars will conclude their two-match trip to Oregon with a contest at Concordia University on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. PST. The Cavaliers are ranked third in the NAIA preseason poll.