Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.
Cervantes' golden goal makes Raiders 2-1 victors against Providence
SOU Sports Information
ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon women's soccer team reserved a spot in the Cascade Conference Tournament for the eighth year in a row Friday night, but not before tacking on some drama.
With 62 seconds remaining in the second overtime session,
Daisy Cervantes notched a golden goal to give the Raiders a 2-1 victory over Providence (Mont.) at Raider Stadium. She delivered after
Gabi Nevinger lined up a corner kick from the right side that bounced around inside the box and ultimately landed at Cervantes' feet, giving her a clear, five-yard chip shot that she floated outside the reach of Argos keeper Dakota Neumann.
The Raiders improved to 9-7 overall and 6-4 in the CCC going into Saturday's regular-season finale at 7:30 p.m. against Carroll (Mont.). Providence fell to 6-8 and 5-5 but backed into the conference tournament thanks to Carroll's loss Friday at Oregon Tech.
SOU had been in control for most of the night, taking the lead 21 minutes in.
Yvonne Valencia's cross set up
Kelsey Randall's 10-yard shot from right of the post, and it went off Neumann's hands and bounced just inside the left post for Randall's fifth goal of the season.
The teams were quiet until the 84th minute, when Argos striker Eme McLaughlin tracked down an Alejandra Guzman pass on the left side and went one-on-one for a 15-yard shot that turned into McLaughin's eighth goal of the year.
The Argos only had two other shots on goal, both saved by
Hannah Ceciliani. The Raiders maintained an 18-11 advantage in total shots, and Nevinger's final corner was their eighth of the night.
Cervantes' goal was her second of the season, both game-winners.
The overtime game was SOU's first of the year. The Raiders also defeated the Argos in OT in their only previous trip to Ashland in 2015.