ASHLAND, Ore. - After earning their first three wins of the season last week, the Southern Oregon women’s soccer team will put its 1-0 Cascade Conference record on the line with a pair of road matches this week.
The Raiders will travel first to Caldwell, Idaho to meet College of Idaho (6-3, 2-0) on Friday, and will make their way to Eastern Oregon (3-6, 1-1) on Saturday.
After an 0-5 start, the Raiders put together a three-match win-streak in a matter of six days - including a 1-0 decision over Northwest Christian to open up league play - before being edged 1-0 against NCAA Division II opponent Western Oregon on Sunday.
“It was a tiring but successful week,” Head Coach Jon Clement said. “We started to hold the ball with more purpose and our pass selection saw great improvement.”
Freshman keeper Jessica Kuehlwien kept opponents in check over the week, yielding only three goals over the four games while tallying 25 saves.
“Jessica has been very, very stellar,” Clement said. “She’s a great keeper, though, and we didn’t expect anything less.”
Clement also noted the solid play of freshman Stacy Hamer, who was responsible for the Raiders’ lone goal in their win over Northwest Christian, and that of sophomore Mo Costello and junior Dianne Uehara.
Sophomore Stacy Szeto’s sliding game-winner in the 86th minute against Westminster was also a highlight, and she became the seventh Raider to get on the board this season, though no one has yet exceeded the one-goal mark.
“This is a team with no superstars, which is OK because everyone can contribute,” Clement said. “But we need to be creative at the front of our team, take more risks and play with a little more urgency. We’re encouraging them to make mistakes, which seems counter-intuitive, but it’s OK if the risks also yield more creativity.”
College of Idaho has won four of five matches going into the weekend, and has triumphed three-straight times at the Raiders’ expense, including a 1-0 win last season in Ashland, evening the all-time series at 5-5.
The Coyotes are led by Jamie Reichel’s five goals and one assist, and Chelsea Heffner has also accumulated three goals and four assists.
Eastern Oregon salvaged a split in their first weekend of conference-play with a double-overtime 1-0 win over Evergreen, and the Mountaineers will try to avenge a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Raiders a year ago.
Eastern Oregon’s Lauren Robideau has five goals to lead the team, while keeper Kalah Minter’s .787 save percentage is third in the conference.
“Both games will challenging, but we feel like we have a good plan of attack and we’re pretty confident right now,” Clement said. “I don’t know if we’ve put together 90-straight minutes yet, but it’s exciting to see if our soccer can keep improving.”