Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.
SOU a win away from CCC title, national tourney berth after topping Argos
SOU Sports Information
ASHLAND – After disposing of Providence (Mont.) with its NAIA-leading 10th shutout and getting all the help it needed around the Cascade Conference on Friday evening, the Southern Oregon men's soccer team is suddenly a win away from its first berth in the NAIA Championships.
The Raiders (10-6-1 overall) upped their CCC record to 10-1-1 with a 2-0 victory over the Argos, using goals from
Esteban Castaneda and
Zac Hansen and a defense that remained unflappable at Raider Stadium. They entered the night in second place, but sixth-ranked Rocky Mountain dropped to 10-1-1 with a tie at Evergreen while No. 11 Corban went to 9-1-2 with a tie at Warner Pacific.
The Raiders host Carroll (Mont.) at 5 p.m. Saturday, the final day of the regular season. If they and Rocky end up CCC co-champions, the Raiders would have the tiebreaker – giving them the No. 1 seed in the CCC Championships and the conference's first of two bids to the national tournament – based on the head-to-head result. If Corban, SOU and Rocky end up in a three-way tie, the Raiders would also likely own that tiebreaker based on allowing the fewest goals in CCC play. And if Corban and SOU end up in a two-way tie for first, Corban owns that tiebreaker.
Castaneda put the Raiders in front of Providence for good in the 16th minute, scoring his team-leading fifth goal of the season after picking up a ball that bounced around in the box and lining up a nine-yard strike.
In the 76th,
Kelly Gieber's corner kick from the left side set up Hansen's a header in front of the goal. Hansen tallied for the second time this season and the assist was Gieber's sixth.
SOU out-shot the Argos, 15-8, and Wyatt Zabinksi picked up four saves for the shutout.
The Raiders have blanked their last six opponents since a 2-0 loss at Corban – they've yet to give up a goal in October – and nine of their last 10.
Carroll will enter Saturday's matchup with a 5-7 CCC record following a 4-0 loss at Oregon Tech on Friday, and is still fighting for a spot in the conference tournament. Rocky plays at Northwest (7-4-1) and Corban plays at Eastern Oregon (5-6-1).