2019 Men's Soccer Notebook - Week 2

COMING UP: at Linfield, Friday, 7 p.m. (PT); at George Fox, Sunday, Noon (PT)

COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
 
LIVE STATS/VIDEO: Fans will be able to follow the Yotes on the road this weekend with both Live Stats and Live Video broadcasts. Friday at Linfield, Live Stats will be available through the Linfield SIDEARM Stats Portal, with Live Video through the Linfield Stretch Internet Portal. Sunday at George Fox, both Live Stats and Live Video will be available through GFU's Stretch Internet Portal.
 
OFF TO OREGON: The Yotes close out their preseason schedule with a pair of road games in the Willamette Valley, meeting Linfield and George Fox. C of I makes a rare trip to Oregon for preseason games – as the squad has not played a non-league contest in the Beaver State since 1995 – when the Yotes played matches at Linfield and Pacific.
 
REKINDLE RIVALRIES: It has been nearly 25 years since C of I played matches against Linfield and George Fox – with Linfield a former rival of the squad in the District II, while GFU was one of the original members of the Cascade Conference. The Yotes played Linfield every season from 1984-93 and last played the Wildcats in 1995, while C of I and GFU played every season from 1984-94 – but have not met since.
 
FACING THE DIVISION III: Both Linfield and George Fox are members of the NCAA Division III and the Northwest Conference – with the Yotes meeting a D-III foe for the first time since 2017. C of I has played 13 previous matches against Division III opponents, posting a 5-5-3 all-time record.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – LINFIELD: The trip opens in McMinnville against Linfield College, as the Wildcats (6-9-3) look for bigger things in 2019 after qualifying for the NWC postseason tournament. The 'Cats return 14 of their top 15 players in terms of minutes played – including top scorers in forward Connor Heintz (3 goals, 3 assists) and midfielders Isaias Flores (2 goals, 2 assists), both All-NWC picks – with defenders Luke Marks (2 goals) and Chase Whittaker (2 goals) set to anchor the back line.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – GEORGE FOX: Sunday, C of I meets George Fox for the first time in 25 years, as the Bruins (2-12-4) are in Year 2 of a rebuild under head coach Biniam Afenegus – who built Southern Oregon into a Cascade Conference contender. GFU returns no seniors from last season and will have 22 new freshmen to add to 13 returning players – including defender William Rudd (2 goals, 1 assist) – the top returning scorer from 2018.
 
TOUGH OPENER: With temperatures over 100 degrees on the artificial surface in Nampa, the Yotes and Northwest Nazarene battled for 90 minutes on Saturday, with the Division II school taking advantage of two first half goals in a 3-1 victory. The Nighthawks had the run of the pitch for the majority of the afternoon, recording all nine corner kicks on the day and had two additional goals wiped off the board due to offside infractions. NNU held a 13-7 edge in total shots and held C of I to just four shots on frame.
 
CINAC RETURNS WITH A GOAL: After seeing his 2018 season cut short due to injury, All-Cascade Conference midfielder Bekir Cinac made a triumphant return to the pitch on Saturday, playing 60 minutes – and scoring C of I's lone goal of the match. For the senior, it was his 11th career goal and pushed his career points scored number to 40.
 
SHARING TIME: The Coyotes used both goalkeepers on their roster in the opener at NNU, as Parker Billings earned the start and played the first 45 minutes, while Zac Dean patrolled the net in the second half. Dean saw the bulk of the action - making three saves on four shots on goal - including a stop of a penalty kick opportunity midway through the period. Last season, Billings started the first 13 matches of the year, before an injury kept the then sophomore out of the line-up for the final two games of the campaign.
 
NEWCOMERS DEBUT: Four players made their C of I debuts at NNU, including Enrique Sanchez, who earned a start in a defenders role. Three freshmen - Erik Vaage, Zach Flannery and Ryan Gamboa - all saw action off the bench, contributing key minutes.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Multiple CCC teams opened their schedule last weekend - with Corban earning a 3-0 win over Linfield and Warner Pacific topping George Fox, 3-2. Two teams played Simpson in California - Oregon Tech earning a 4-2 win, but Northwest dropping a 1-0 decision. Walla Walla ended a long losing skid with an 8-0 win at Cal Maritime and a 3-2 win at Pacific Union, while Eastern Oregon grabbed a key 3-2 overtime victory over Whitworth. Key matches this weekend include Rocky Mountain opening the season at Hope International and Westmont, with OIT traveling to UC-Merced and William Jessup.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: C of I will play a scrimmage next Friday vs. Walla Walla CC, their final tune-up prior to the start of the Cascade Conference schedule on Sept. 20-21 at Northwest Christian and Corban.