PORTLAND, Ore. – A goal in the 13th minute by Concordia’s Alex Thomas turned into the game-winner as the No. 1-ranked Cavaliers defeated Southern Oregon 1-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference women’s soccer action on Friday afternoon at Delta Park.

 

With the win, Concordia improved to 15-0-2 on the season and 7-0-1 in CCC play. The result clinched the regular season championship and the top seed in the CCC Tournament as the Cavs will host the No. 4 seed on Nov. 6 at Delta Park. Southern Oregon fell for just the second time in league contests and now sport an 11-4-2 overall record and a 5-2-1 mark in conference play.

 

The Raiders will have a chance to claim the No. 2 seed with a win on Saturday against Warner Pacific and a Corban loss versus Northwest. Concordia will host Oregon Tech in the team’s regular season finale on Saturday. Opening kick for senior day will take place at 5 p.m. at Delta Park. The Cavs will have the opportunity against Oregon Tech to secure its ninth undefeated CCC season and seventh undefeated run in the past nine years.

 

Successfully striking on the team’s first shot of the day; Concordia grabbed the 1-0 lead on an Alex Thomas (Wilsonville, Ore./Wilsonville H.S.) blast in the 13th minute of play. Thomas’ shot from 15 yards was set up by teammate Sami Andrews (Camas, Wash./Camas H.S.) who delivered a pass from left-to-right to Thomas where the sophomore targeted the ball into the upper corner of the net.

 

“I thought we played a really good first half,” Landy said. “We came out with only the one goal, but we did exactly what we wanted to do. Alex committed on that shot and it turned into a great goal for us.”

 

After outshooting the Raiders 7-to-4 in the first half, SOU tallied a 5-to-2 advantage in the second half for both teams to finish with nine attempts.

 

Both keepers collected four saves in the contest, with CU’s Tori Talbutt (Boise, Idaho/Capital H.S.) earning the win and SOU’s Jessica Kuehlwein (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City H.S.) taking just her third loss of the season.

 

“Sometimes Tori doesn’t get a lot of touches, but she always comes up with the saves we need.” Landy said. “It was good to see her handle the pressure SOU applied today as her role is going to get bigger for us as we enter the postseason.”

 

Holding the NAIA’s stingiest defense, the shutout was the 15th in 17 games for the Cavaliers this season. Concordia leads the NAIA with a 0.12 goals allowed per game average.

 

The Raiders generated several scoring opportunities in the game. With less than four minutes remaining in the first half, Alexis Mahoney (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente H.S.) nearly squared the match after pulling in a long cross deep in CU’s territory where Mahoney was able to put a foot on the ball but turning the shot over the crossbar.

 

With 37 minutes remaining Stephanie Carr (Upland, Calif./Upland H.S.) connected on a header from point-blank range where Talbutt corralled and with 10 minutes to play, Denise Powell (Grants Pass, Ore./Hidden Valley H.S.) nearly took advantage on a slip by the CU defense with a 1-on-1 shot at Talbutt from 20 yards out which sailed high.